VAN NUYS, Calif. - University of Hawai`i Rainbow Wahine Kate Robinson and Clare Warwick have been selected to the 2007 Easton All-America first team, while teammate Tyleen Tausaga was named to the second-team. Fresno State senior Nichole Willis and sophomore Robin Mackin were also named to the 2007 Easton All-American First Team.
Hawai`i was also named one of four Easton Schools of the Year for its success on the field. The 'Bows compiled an overall record of 50-13 and won the Western Athletic Conference regular season title with a 16-2 mark. Hawai`i earned an at-large bid to its seventh NCAA Regionals and advanced to the school's first ever Super Regional in Knoxville, Tenn.
It is the first time since 1998 that three Hawai`i players have been named to the Easton All-America team in the same season. In 1998, Tia Morenz earned first team honors; Joyce Lum was named to the second team, and Kelly Gentle made the honorable mention list. Robinson and Warwick's first team honors is the first for UH since Stacey Porter received the honor in 2003. This is Tausaga's second time being honored by Easton, last season she was selected as a third team member.
Robinson, a junior from Honolulu, O`ahu (Kamehameha Schools), had a phenomenal year, both on the mound and at the plate. Robinson was 17-1 this season, throwing 136.0 innings with 16 complete games, and eight shut-outs. She had a 2.01 ERA with only 23 walks to 101 strike outs this season while holding opponents to a .225 batting average. This season, she notched several wins over Top 25 opponents including current No. 12 DePaul, No. 25 California, No. 14 Baylor, No. 25 Fresno State, No. 13 UCLA, and No. 1 Tennessee. DePaul, Baylor, and Tennesse all advanced to this week's Women's College World Series. Robinson was named the WAC Pitcher of the Year and was first-team all-WAC as a utility player.
On offense, Robinson had career highs in every offensive category, finishing the season with a .358 average (67-for-187). She broke the school's single season records in home runs with 19 and RBI with 72. Robinson also had team highs in doubles (13) and slugging percentage (.733).
Warwick, UH's third baseman who hails from Melba, Australia, was the model of consistency all season long at the plate. She led the team this year with 81 hits and 55 runs scored, both were also career-highs. She was second on the team with a .375 batting average (81-for-216) and in doubles (10). Warwick also had a triple, five home runs and 22 RBI.
The 2007 WAC Player of the Year and four-time all-Western Athletic Conference selection, Tausaga, earned a place on the second-team by hitting career highs in average at .402 (74-for-184), runs scored (37), hits (74), home runs (15), and RBI (52). She became UH's all-time record leader in RBI with 156 and walks (76).
This is the first honor for Willis and this is the second Easton All-American Team Mackin has made in two seasons at Fresno State. Mackin was named Third Team Easton All-American last season.
Mackin set numerous school records this season. She made a single-season school record 55 appearances and tied Fresno State's single-season win mark (36) by a pitcher.
Mackin led Fresno State and the WAC in every pitching mark, notching her first 30-win season of career, and became the sixth Bulldog hurler to post a 30-win season. In the 2007 NCAA Regional action, she made her 100th career appearance in the circle and notched a 2-0 win over host No. 16 Stanford in the opening game for Fresno State. She was named to the 2007 Stanford All-Regional Team, went 1-2 (losses were 1-0 in 9 inn. to No. 3 LSU and 1-0 to No. 16 Stanford) and posted a shutout and had 19 strikeouts in 18.1 innings for a 0.76 ERA.
Willis earned First Team All-WAC Honors, Firs Team All-West Region Honors and was named to the WAC Tournament Team. Willis threw out a career-high 20 would-be base stealers this year - third-best mark in single-season school history and against the Top 15, boasted a .991 fielding percentage (1 error in 107 chances) and threw out five runners in 10 attempts.
2007 Easton Schools of the Year
Alabama
Florida
Hawai'i
LSU
2007 Easton Cover Teams of the Year
Illinois State
Creighton
LSU
University of San Diego
Tulsa University
2007 Easton All-American 1st Team
Stacey Nelson, Florida
Kate Robinson, Hawai'i
Chrissy Owens, Alabama
Killian Roessner, LSU
Nichole Willis, Fresno State
Amber Jackson, Maryland
Clare Warwick, Hawai'i
Lauren Parker, Alabama
Kara Nelson, Illinois State
Caitlin Lever, Georgia Tech
Krista Coburn, UCLA
Brittany Rogers, Alabama
Lisa Modglin, Cal Poly SLO
Robin Mackin, Fresno State
Lisa Dodd, UCLA
2007 Easton All-American 2nd Team
Brandice Balschmiter, Massachusetts
Laurel Sagartz, Washington University, St. Louis
Annie Kinsey, Pennsylvania
Leslie Klein, LSU
Jodi Norton, BYU
Jessica Moore, Liberty
Randi Gillespie, Long Island University
Kellie Middleton, Georgia
Tara Oltman, Creighton
Aileen Morales, Georgia Tech
Kim Waleszonia, Florida
Shannon Nicholson, Illinois State
Cambria Miranda, Oregon State
Tyleen Tausaga, Hawai'i
Veronica Wootson, Florida State
2007 Easton All-American 3rd Team
Vanessa Rodrigue, San Francisco State
Amy Thomas, Cal Baptist
Sharon Bell, St. Gregory's University
Candice Molinari, Massachusetts
Sara Dyer, Tulsa
Chantal Millard, Cal Baptist
Micah Truax, Connecticut
Stephanie Bour, Cameron University
Jennifer Whiteley, BYU
Lauren Clark, Eastern Michigan
Lauren Murphy, Harvard
Katie Jones, UT Arlington
Ashley Hall, Purdue
Candace Thomas, Cal Baptist
Kelly Waskeiwicz, Salisbury University