Four Lady Mocs Honored For Academics

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Four members of Chattanooga's softball team, which
won two games in the 2002 NCAA Regional Tournament, have been named
National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America Scholar-Athletes.
Pitchers Beth Alexander and Awbrey Winckler, second baseman Dana Reed and
outfielder Teri Herbert were honored recently for their outstanding
classroom work at UTC.

All four players had instrumental parts in UTC winning its sixth Southern
Conference Tournament Championship in seven years this past season. They
helped the Lady Mocs to their third consecutive NCAA Regional appearance,
and UTC went 2-2 with a pair of victories over top-seeded and #12-ranked
Florida Atlantic.

Alexander, who prepped at East Ridge High School, finished her career as
Chattanooga's all-time strikeout leader with 785 Ks, and she was a two-time
Southern Conference pitcher of the year. In 2002, Alexander posted a 25-7
record with a 1.07 ERA, which included a complete-game shutout of Florida
Atlantic in the NCAA Regional. She was also named Verizon Academic
All-America in 2002 and is majoring in Secondary English Education.

Winckler, a rising senior from Mukilteo, Wash., had an 18-8 mark with a
1.65 ERA and she registered 178 strikeouts with just 48 walks. She was the
SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player after tossing 19 innings with 10
hits and just one earned run (0.37 ERA). She is majoring in Sociology.

Reed also prepped at East Ridge High School and was a four-year starter at
second base. In 2002, she hit .288 with eight doubles and 15 RBIs. She had
a .342 on-base average and started 213 consecutive games. Reed was also
named Second Team Academic All-District IV and is majoring in K-12 Exercise
Science Education.

Herbert has been UTC's regular right-fielder for most of her previous two
seasons, and she had 53 outfield starts for the Lady Mocs in 2002. Herbert
hit .215 with nine RBIs and a .285 on-base average. She is majoring in
Criminal Justice.

"All four of those ladies epitomize what being a student-athlete is all
about," said UTC softball coach Frank Reed. "We want to win on the field,
but they are students first and this kind of honor shows how hard they work
when they are not playing ball.

NFCA Scholar-Athletes must have a 3.50 grade point average and be starters
or key reserves on their team.