Newton and Lawson Garner VaSID College Softball All-State Honors

June 21, 2007

Emory, VA – Shelley Newton and Britney Lawson put the final stamp on the UVA-Wise 2007 softball campaign by garnering Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) College Division All-State honors. Both Lady Cavaliers were selected to the second team.

The duo took the UVa-Wise softball team to a surprising run to the NAIA National Championships, the second trip in three years. The Lady Cavs (32-27) won their fourth straight Appalachian Athletic Conference title and fifth in six years before taking the NAIA Region XII championship for the second time in three seasons.

The top state honors by the VaSID were selected as Caroline Cubbage of Lynchburg College for the Player of the Year and Kelsey Ruitenberg from Roanoke College for the Rookie of the Year. Bridgewater’s Donnie Fulk gained Coach of the Year acclaim.

Newton paced the Lady Cavs offense for the third-straight year. The catcher makes her first appearance on the all-state team while being a three-time All-AAC and All-NAIA Region XII first team selection. The Chesapeake, Va. product led the team with a .372 average while hitting 16 doubles, 10 homers and 61 runs batted in, all school records.

Lawson added to her list of awards in her second year. The outfielder was also named to both the All-AAC and All-NAIA Region XII teams. The Duffield, Va. native had a top notch sophomore season by leading the team in runs scored (51), triples (5), stolen bases (23) and walks (25) while tying Newton with 10 home runs.

All-State teams are selected by active members of the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association.

All-State First Team
P- Janet Fairchild, Christopher Newport
P- Lisa Rhodes, Bridgewater
C- Laura Berry, Bridgewater
1B- Krystal Ellis, Sweet Briar
2B- Kate Reitz, Bridgewater
3B- Lindsay Ware, Bridgewater
SS- Loren Messick, Roanoke
OF- Caroline Cubbage, Lynchburg
OF- Jennifer Hall, Bridgewater
OF- Hillary Hudgins, Roanoke
UT- Elizabeth Perkins, Lynchburg
DP- Caity Butler, Bridgewater

Player of the Year:  Caroline Cubbage, Lynchburg
Rookie of the Year: Kelsey Ruitenberg, Roanoke
Coach of the Year:  Donnie Fulk, Bridgewater

All-State Second Team
P- Shannon Harris, Emory & Henry
P- Kirsten Rowell, Mary Washington
P- Natasha Viafora, Eastern Mennonite
C- Shelley Newton, Virginia-Wise
C- Margit Severin, Christopher Newport
1B- Dana Dettmar, Emory & Henry
2B- Katie Moyers, Christopher Newport
3B- Morgan Austin, Lynchburg
SS- Hayley Shepard, Eastern Mennonite
OF- Brittany Allsop, Lynchburg
OF- Kaitlyn Bowman, Bridgewater
OF- Britney Lawson, Virginia-Wise
UT- Cathy Hull, Mary Washington
DP- Lauren Pleveich, Christopher Newport