May 10, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Sophomore Christina Ross has been named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday night. Erin Floros was honored as the MWC Freshman of the Year, while head coach Kathy Van Wyk earned MWC Coach of the Year accolades for the second time in her 10 years at SDSU. Seniors Meagan Hartung and Celena Velasquez, and freshman Monica Alnes joined Ross and Floros as all-MWC selections.
Ross, a transfer from University of Kansas, became the fifth Aztec to win the award in the league's seven-year history. A Santa Clarita, Calif., native, Ross went 8-2 in league action with a MWC-low 1.55 ERA. In 67 2/3 innings, she struck out a league-high 60 batters and issued just 10 walks.
Floros, a San Diego native (Mt. Carmel HS) finished second in the MWC with a .491 batting average in league competition. She was also ranked second with a .578 on base percentage and six doubles. In 41 overall games this season, Floros is ranked first on the SDSU single-season list in batting average (.397), slugging percentage (.570) and on base percentage (.486). She became the third Aztec to win Freshman of the Year honors, joining Velasquez (2003) and Bre DeSanta (2002).
After finishing with a 4-16 record in 2005, Van Wyk guided SDSU to a 15-3 record in the MWC this season, its best conference record in the school's 30-year history, and its third regular season title in five years. Despite starting eight underclassmen for the majority of the season, Van Wyk helped the Aztecs to a 13-game winning streak to start league play and a national ranking for the first time in school history. Through 41 games, SDSU has already broken its home run record with 23 this season and are on the verge of breaking other team records including batting average (.301 this season, .289 in 1996), slugging percentage (.423 this season, .345 in 2002 and 1996) and on base percentage (.394 this season, .344 in 1996).
Hartung (San Diego, Calif./Granite Hills HS) earned her second career all-MWC award (2004) after batting .333 with a .437 on base percentage in league games. On the season, she leads the team in at-bats (128), runs (30) and stolen bases (11). Hartung is the only Aztec to play all 41 games so far this year.
Velasquez (Tucson, Ariz./University HS), a two-time MWC Pitcher of the Year, became the first SDSU student-athlete to earn all-MWC honors all four seasons. An 11-time MWC Pitcher of the Week, Velasquez is 4-1 in league play with a 3.75 ERA, fourth-lowest in the conference. In 37 1/3 innings, she has struck out 38 batters and has given up just six walks.
A native of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. (Palos Verdes Peninsula HS), Alnes batted .453 (fifth in MWC) with 16 RBI in the MWC. She also tied for second in the league with six doubles and her on base percentage of .538 was the third-highest. In 40 games this season, Alnes is ranked among the Aztec single-season leaders in slugging percentage (second, .551), batting average (third, .381) and on base percentage (fourth, .483).
SDSU, which is receiving votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate poll and is ranked No. 21 of 275 schools in the RPI, has a bye in the MWC Championships after earning the No. 1 seed. The Aztecs will have a bye in the double-elimination tournament, which will be played at Eller Media Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., from Thursday through Saturday, and will play the winner of fourth-seeded UNLV and fifth-seeded Colorado State at 7 p.m. Thursday.