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WIAC Softball & Scholar-Athlete Announced

05/08/2019, 1:00pm CDT
By WIAC

--From the WIAC--

MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s Lauren Luedtke and UW-Whitewater’s Bella Matthias were tabbed the Position Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, to lead the individuals chosen to the 2019 All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Softball Team by the league coaches. In addition, UW-La Crosse was recognized as the Coaching Staff of the Year.

Luedtke becomes the third player in program history to secure the player of the year honor, joining Kelly Rutta (2000 and 2001) and Jill Van Wychen (2003). She leads the WIAC with a .429 batting average, 54 hits and 35 RBI, while ranking third with 12 doubles, fourth with a .456 on-base percentage, sixth with nine stolen bases, eighth with a .579 slugging percentage and ninth with 25 runs scored. She produced 15 multi-hit performances and posted a pair of 11-game hitting streaks.

Matthias also secured the pitching honor in 2017 and earned first team recognition for the third straight season. She tops the conference with 145 strikeouts, a .160 opponent batting average, while placing second with a 1.42 earned run average and 13 wins and fourth with 108.2 innings pitched. Matthias struck out at least 10 batters in six appearances, including a season-best 13 strikeouts against UW-Eau Claire on April 28.

Repeat selections on the first team from a season ago included: UW-Eau Claire’s Mikayla McEnery and Sarah Peka; UW-La Crosse’s Mia Schmidtke; UW-Oshkosh’s Bailey Smaney and Acacia Tupa; UW-Platteville’s Ashton Hoeppner; UW-Stout’s Mary Iliopoulos; and UW-Whitewater’s Julia Camardo (Pitcher of the Year). Camardo was also a first team pick in 2016.

In 2017, UW-La Crosse’s Caitlyn Hughes and UW-Whitewater’s Meg Cohrs were first team honorees, with Hughes adding first team and Pitcher of the Year recognition in 2016.

UW-La Crosse head coach Chris Helixon, along with assistant coaches Jennifer Gallagher and Caitlin Wnek, have directed the squad to the WIAC Championship (presented by Culver’s) and an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship. The Eagles own a 25-17 mark heading into regional action.

An All-Sportsmanship Team was chosen for individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. It included one member from each school.

2019 All-WIAC Softball Team

Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)

Julia Camardo, Whitewater, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Arlington Heights, Ill. (Buffalo Grove)
Meg Cohrs, Whitewater, Junior, Thirdbase, Elburn, Ill. (Kaneland)
Kyncaide Diedrich, Stout, Senior, Shortstop, Athens, Wis.
Caitlyn Hughes, La Crosse, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Stewartville, Minn.
Ashton Hoeppner, Platteville, Sophomore, Right-handed Pitcher, Winona, Minn. (Senior)
Mary Iliopoulos, Stout, Junior, Centerfield, Morton Grove, Ill. (Maine East)
Cheyenne Johnson, Eau Claire, Junior, Right-handed Pitcher, Poplar, Wis. (Northwestern)
Kendra Leis, La Crosse, Freshman, First base, Holmen, Wis.
Lauren Luedtke, Stevens Point, Sophomore, Shortstop, Lomira, Wis.
Rachel Martin, Platteville, Senior, First base, Naperville, Ill. (North)
Bella Matthias, Whitewater, Junior, Right-handed Pitcher, Greenfield, Wis.
Mikayla McEnery, Eau Claire, Sophomore, Centerfield, Savage, Minn. (Prior Lake)
Sarah Peka, Eau Claire, Junior, Right-handed Pitcher, Chanhassen, Minn. (Minnetonka)
Claire Petrus, Oshkosh, Junior, Designated Player, Hawthorn Woods, Ill. (Carmel Catholic)
Abbey Place, Eau Claire, Sophomore, Catcher, Naperville, Ill. (Central)
Mia Schmidtke, La Crosse, Sophomore, Leftfield, Stacy, Minn. (Forest Lake)
Kayla Seymour, Whitewater, Senior, Leftfield/Designated Player, New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln-Way West)
Sydne Shattuck, La Crosse, Sophomore, Designated Player, Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton Warrenville South)
Bailey Smaney, Oshkosh, Senior, Right-handed Pitcher, Howard, Wis. (Bay Port)
Acacia Tupa, Oshkosh, Junior, Outfield, Jacksonport, Wis. (Southern Door)

Honorable Mention

Sammy Buerger, Stevens Point, Freshman, Catcher, Oshkosh, Wis. (North)
Abby Burns, Platteville, Sophomore, Right-handed Pitcher, Morris, Ill.
Maddie Candre, Stevens Point, Freshman, Centerfield, St. Charles, Ill. (East)
Caitlin Catino, Whitewater, Senior, Centerfield, Arlington Heights, Ill. (Buffalo Grove)
Tessa Dachel, Eau Claire, Junior, Firstbase, Chippewa Falls, Wis. (Chi-Hi)
Jessica Daley, Stout, Junior, Secondbase, Streamwood, Ill.
Kaia Dorn, River Falls, Senior, Infield, Waterloo, Wis.
Natalie Dudek, Oshkosh, Junior, Shortstop, Burbank, Ill. (Reavis)
Lexi Dupee, River Falls, Junior, Thirdbase, Marshfield, Wis.
Meghan Kelly, Stout, Sophomore, Firstbase, Lockport, Ill. (Township)
Emma Lehman, Eau Claire, Senior, Thirdbase, Brooklyn Park, Minn. (Champlin Park)
Amanda McIlhany, Oshkosh, Junior, Secondbase, Alsip, Ill. (Marist)
Abby Menting, Oshkosh, Senior, Catcher, Kimberly, Wis.
Rachel Plautz, Platteville, Freshman, Catcher, Wausau, Wis. (D.C. Everest)
Emily Rux, Whitewater, Senior, Shortstop, Chicago, Ill. (Mother McAuley)
Sabrina Scardamaglia, La Crosse, Sophomore, Catcher/Designated Player, Naperville, Ill. (Waubonsie Valley)
Hannah Theobald, River Falls, Freshman, Firstbase, Elburn, Ill. (Kaneland)

All-Sportsmanship Team

Abby Burns, Platteville, Sophomore, Right-handed Pitcher, Morris, Ill.
Brianna Calder, Eau Claire, Senior, Infield/Outfield, Corcoran, Minn. (Rockford)
Jordan Manthei, Oshkosh, Senior, Catcher/Firstbase, Green Bay, Wis. (Notre Dame Academy)
Erin Schmitt, Stevens Point, Freshman, Firstbase, Waupun, Wis.
Katelyn Schobert, Stout, Senior, Outfield/Catcher, Belmont, Wis.
Kayla Seymour, Whitewater, Senior, Leftfield/Designated Player, New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln-Way West)
Payton Speckel, River Falls, Senior, Righthanded Pitcher, Buffalo, Minn.
Kathryn Vander Schaaf, La Crosse, Senior, Catcher, Baraboo, Wis.

Position Player of the Year:  Lauren Luedtke of Stevens Point
Pitcher of the Year:  Bella Matthias of Whitewater
Coaching Staff of the Year:  La Crosse
Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete:  Julia Camardo of Whitewater

UW-Whitewater’s Camardo Selected Judy Kruckman Softball Scholar-Athlete

MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Julia Camardo has been selected recipient of the 2019 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Judy Kruckman Softball Scholar-Athlete Award.

A senior from Arlington Heights, Ill. (Buffalo Grove), Camardo is majoring in psychology with a minor in biology and owns a 3.71 grade point average. She was named to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District® NCAA Division III Softball First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America and is a three-time Easton/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Scholar-Athlete. Camardo has earned a spot on the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll three years and been recognized on UW-Whitewater’s Dean’s List numerous semesters.

Camardo is a three-time All-WIAC first team selection and was selected the conference’s Pitcher of the Year in 2018. She added NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team honors last season and was selected the Most Outstanding Player for the NCAA Division III Whitewater Regional. Camardo was a third team all-region selection in 2016. She helped UW-Whitewater win three WIAC regular-season championships and two tournament titles. Camardo ranks in the top 10 on the school’s single-season list for wins, strikeouts and innings pitched.

She is a two-year member of the Warhawk Leadership Academy and has volunteered at a senior services organization, pediatric emergency room and neuropsychiatry research lab. Camardo has been accepted into the master’s program in nursing at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Nursing.

Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were: UW-Oshkosh’s Abby Menting (Sr., Kimberly, Wis.); UW-River Falls’ Alison Krohn (Sr., Elk River, Minn.); and UW-Stout’s Alicia Meyer (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center).

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Judy Kruckman who served as Assistant Commissioner for the WIAC from 1996-98. Prior to this appointment, she was Commissioner of the Wisconsin Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WWIAC) from October, 1984 - September, 1996. Kruckman was the women's athletics director at UW-Eau Claire from 1974-84, and one of the original representatives to the WWIAC when it formed in 1971. She was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.

In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, she must be in her last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.

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