University of North Carolina Athletics
Five Tar Heels Headline All-ACC Team
May 10, 2012 | Softball
May 10, 2012
Watch No. 1 UNC vs. No. 8 Boston College LIVE ON ESPN3 | Game Notes | 2012 ACC Tournament Bracket | ACC Championship Site | Follow UNC Softball Via Twitter | 2012 Softball Yearbook | Buy 2012 ACC Championship Tickets
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-- North Carolina, which finished atop the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season standing for the fourth time in school history, leads the 2012 All-ACC Softball Team, as announced Thursday by Commissioner John Swofford.
In addition to placing four players on the first or second All-ACC teams, the Tar Heels received two of the conference's postseason individual wards in voting by the league's eight head coaches. Sophomore Lori Spingola was named the Pitcher of the Year and head coach Donna J. Papa received ACC Coach of the Year honors.
Kelli Wheeler, Ally Blake and Amy Nece were all named to the All-ACC Second Team.
Georgia Tech senior Kelsi Weseman was voted ACC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and NC State's Renada Davis garnered Freshman of the Year accolades.
Spingola finished the regular season with a 30-8 mark, which leads the conference and ranks fourth in the nation. An Atlanta, Ga., native, Spingola was named ACC Pitcher of the Week four times in 2012 and has now been named to the All-ACC First Team in both of her first two season with the Tar Heels.
Coach Papa earns her fifth ACC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Tar Heels to the top spot in the ACC regular season standings. North Carolina enters postseason play with a 40-12 record and a top-25 ranking in both the NFCA and USA Softball polls and has reached the 40-win plateau in six of the last seven seasons. In her 27th year as the Tar Heels' coach, Papa has guided Carolina to the NCAA Tournament in nine of the last 11 years. Papa, who has compiled a 1,052-566-5 record in 30 years of coaching, will be inducted into the NFCA Hall of Fame later this year.
Wheeler makes her second appearance on the all-conference team, also having been named to the second-team in 2011. The Marietta, Ga., native broke the Carolina career home run record April 19, against Hampton and she now has 36 and counting. A senior outfielder, Wheeler ranks among the current ACC leaders in runs scored (2nd/42), slugging percentage (2nd/.616), on-base percentage (6th/.463), home runs (6th/10), walks (6th/32), batting average (8th/.331) and hits (10th/50).
Blake is also making her second appearance on the All-ACC Team. The senior infielder from Concord, N.C., has been a jack of all trades for the Tar Heels this year, appearing at catcher, second base, designated player and shortstop in the Carolina lineup this season. Blake is eighth in the ACC in batting average (.350) and slugging percentage (.559) and is fourth in runs scored (37) and is fourth on the team in doubles (8) and home runs (7).
Nece is also making her all-conference debut, after leading the ACC for most of the season in batting average at a .374 clip. The sophomore outfielder from Redlands, Calif., ranks third in the ACC in sacrifice bunts and is second on the team in multiple-hit games (11) and third in on-base percentage (.383). Nece is also a deep threat, hitting her first career home run at Radford April 25, with a grand slam over the wall in right field in the top of the sixth frame.
Each of the ACC's eight softball schools placed at least one student-athlete on this year's All-ACC Team.
2012 ALL-ACC SOFTBALL TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Nicole D'Argento, Boston College
riana Hamilton, Florida State
Monica Perry, Florida State
Tiffani Brown, Florida State
Hope Rush, Georgia Tech
Kelsi Weseman, Georgia Tech
Kathy McLaughlin, Maryland
Vangie Galindo, Maryland
Renada Davis, NC State
Lori Spingola, North Carolina
Courtney Liddle, Virginia Tech
SECOND TEAM
Andrea Filler, Boston College
Lacey Waldrop, Florida State
Kate Kuzma, Georgia Tech
Kendra Knight, Maryland
Ally Blake, North Carolina
Amy Nece, North Carolina
Kelli Wheeler, North Carolina
Melanie Mitchell, Virginia
Lauren Gaskill, Virginia Tech
