University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Hold Rookie Brunch
August 22, 2012 | Softball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Carolina softball family welcomed the incoming freshmen and welcomed back returning players and staff this Sunday at the annual Rookie Brunch at R&R Grill in Chapel Hill.
Head coach Donna Papa introduced the softball support staff, including several new members for the 2012-13 year, and welcomed six new freshmen to Carolina. Joining the team are: Kristen Brown (Levittown, N.Y.), Elena Covert (Charlotte, N.C.), Tracy Chandless (Canyon Country, Calif.), Lauren Fuller (Columbia, Mo.), Aquilla Mateen (Siler City, N.C.), and Erin Satterfield (Tucson, Ariz.).
"Our annual Rookie Brunch is a special time for our program, and it gives us the opportunity to officially welcome our freshmen and their families to our Carolina softball family," Papa said. "Our whole team is there along with support staff and a number of our current families. It is a great way to kick off the year for everyone, and I enjoy being able to see everyone and start the year with a celebration."
"We have six freshmen this year. It is a very solid class and adds the elements of speed , pitching, and power to our lineup. The freshmen bring with them a variety of accolades, some being that one of our freshmen played on the 18U National Champion Arizona Desert Thunder, another is a Gatorade Player of the Year, all-state performers, state champions and record setters for their respective high schools. So a number of them have had very good success in competing in winning programs. That attitude is what we are looking to foster in our program and bringing it to the next level," Papa said.
In addition to six new freshman, the Tar Heels also announced Wednesday the hiring of assistant coach Tony Baldwin.
Below are the newest additions to the Carolina softball team:
Kristen Brown (General Douglas MacArthur High School)
- 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year for New York
- 2012 Long Island Player of the Year
- First team all-state (2012)
- 2012 Nassau County MVP and Player of the Year
Tracy Chandless (Hart High School)
- First team all-league
- Second team all-state
- All-CIF
Elena Covert (Providence High School)
- MVP and team captain at Providence High School
- Distric 6 4A Player of the Year and All-South Charlotte Player of the Year
- Named all-state, all-district and all-conference
Lauren Fuller (Rock Bridge High School)
- Two-time all-state and all-region
- Four-time all-district
- Rock Bridge MVP as a junior and senior
- Named top-five Athletes of the Year by Columbia Daily Tribune
Aquilla Mateen (Jordan Matthews High School)
- Named MVP of softball, basketball and volleyball teams
- All-conference in softball, basketball and volleyball
- All-district and all-state in softball and basketball
- Named Female Athlete of the Year
Erin Satterfield (Ironwood Ridge High School)
- Member of the 2012 ASA 18U Gold National Champion team, Arizona Desert Thunder Gold
- Named 2012 MaxPreps All-America First Team
- 2012 All-Arizona Team
- Holds eight school records
