Coopman leads softball all-conference selections
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Carissa Coopman's first team nod led a group of four Simpson softball players named to the 2012 All-Iowa Conference Softball Team, as announced by the conference office.
Coopman took home first team honors as a first baseman while pitcher Kacee Arey and outfielders Veronica Roshek and Chelsea Winegard were named to the second team.
A senior from Davenport, Iowa, Coopman hit .371 with team-highs in triples (5), home runs (7), slugging (.669), stolen bases (7) and RBIs (38) in making her first appearance on an all-conference team. She ranked third in the league in RBIs and carried a .975 fielding percentage at first base. She garnered Iowa Conference Player of the Week honors for the week ending Feb. 26 after hitting .471 with two home runs and six RBIs in six games at the Finlandia Dome Tournament.
A junior from Lucas, Iowa, Arey closed the season ranked second in Division III with 26 wins, going 26-15 with a 2.25 ERA in a school-record 43 appearances. Her 26 wins are tied for third-most by a Simpson pitcher in a single season and are the most since Laurie Dowd won the same number of games in 1989. Only Kelly Schade has won more games in a season.
A senior from Urbandale, Iowa, Roshek closed her career as Simpson's career hits leader with 180. Her third selection to the second team, Roshek hit .369 with six doubles and 13 RBIs despite missing four games due to a concussion. Her career .355 batting average is 10th in Simpson history.
A junior from Muscatine, Iowa, Winegard led the Iowa Conference with a .452 batting average in her first season as a full-time starter. She led the team with a .489 on-base percentage and tied Coopman with a team-high five triples. She drove in 23 runs, hit one homer and didn't commit an error in 37 chances in right field. After the first 20 games of the season, Winegard led the nation with a .552 batting average.
The Storm went 29-15 in 2012, finishing third in the Iowa Conference with a 10-6 record. Simpson reached as high as No. 4 in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Rankings. Simpson went 2-2 at the Iowa Conference Tournament and narrowly missed an at-large bid to the 61-team field making up the NCAA Championship.
