A pair of Richmond university athletes have earned top rookie conference awards in their respective sports.
UBC Thunderbirds softball player Katie Sherlock has been named Freshmen of the Year by the Association of Independent Institutions. The product of the Richmond Girls Softball Association batted .342 this season and struck out just five times in 73 at-bats.
The AR MacNeill graduate was also one of four UBC players to earn all-conference honours. Two other Richmond players — Yasmin Bains and Shalya Kaplen were first team selections. Sherlock was named to the second team, along with Lindsay Ogilvie.
Bains led the T-Birds in hitting with a .386 average, while Kaplen had a team best in home runs (eight), runs batted in (33) and stolen bases (nine).
UBC is participating in the AII Tournament this weekend where the winner will advance to the NAIA National Championships.
Meanwhile, Simon Fraser University golfer Chris Crisologo has been named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year as a key member of the Clan’s impressive season to date.
The Vancouver College graduate was also a first-team all-conference selection where he was joined by teammates Kevin Vigna, Bret Thompson and John Mlikotic. The four SFU golfers had four of the five lowest-round averages in the GNAC this season, combining for 12 top-five finishes and one win individually. As a team, this foursome led the Clan to three tournament victories and two runner-up finishes in nine invitationals.
John Buchanan, earned his first Coach of the Year honor, leading SFU to its first-ever GNAC Championship title and to a three-seed in the NCAA regional.
SFU continues its season May 4-6 when it head to the NCAA Regional at the Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo, Calif. The tournament will be hosted by Cal State East Bay.
