FRESNO, Calif. – The Western Athletic Conference awarded its 2009 All-WAC honors as selected by the league's head coaches. UH's
Stephanie Ricketts earned Freshman of the Year honors.
Tanisha Milca and #Amanda Tauali`i
were selected first team All-WAC and Makani Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu#, #Kanani Pu`u-Warren#,
Stephanie Ricketts, and
Clare Warwick earned second team honors.
Ricketts, a righthanded pitcher from San Jose, Calif. (Archbishop Mitty HS), led the conference in wins (13) and innings pitched (118.1) in WAC play. She also tossed a pair of no-hitters against Louisiana Tech and Boise State while starting 15 games with 69 strikeouts. She is the fourth Rainbow Wahine to earn Freshman of the year honors, former UH standouts Stacey Porter and
Kaulana Gould and current 'Bow,
Katie Grimes preceeded Ricketts for the prestigious honor.
It was Milca's fourth All-WAC honor in as many seasons, but first as a first-teamer. Milca, a senior rightfielder from Kailua, O`ahu (Kailua HS) hit .312 in conference action, tallying team-highs in hits (24), doubles (6), RBI (14), and runs scored (tied at 14 with
Dara Pagaduan and Kanani Pu`u-Warren).
Tauali`i, a junior first-baseman from Torrance, Calif. (North Torrance HS), was voted to the All-WAC first team after hitting .297 in WAC action. She led UH with six home runs, two triples, and a .662 slugging percentage. She had the second most hits (22), runs (12), and doubles (12) on the squad.
Freshman designated player, Duhaylonsod-Kaleimamahu, hit .309 (21-for-68) in conference games with seven runs scored, one double and five home runs. The Mililani, O`ahu (Mililani HS) native drove in 12 runs and had a slugging percentage of .544.
Junior centerfielder, Pu`u-Warren, who hails from West Covina, Calif. (Walnut HS), had a strong conference season, leading UH with a .340 average (14-for-24). She put up solid numbers across the board, scoring 14 runs with three doubles, four home runs and a .640 slugging percentage.
Warwick, a senior from Canberra, Australia (Copland HS), collected her third all-WAC honor today. In her outstanding career she was named to the first team in 2007 and has been selected to the second team the last two seasons. Warwick, who was one of just two players to start all 51 games, hit .258 with 10 runs scored, a double, two home runs, and nine RBI. But it was her stellar defensive play at the "hot corner" that really separated her from the rest.
Hawai'i and regular season co-champion, Nevada, led the way with six total players on the all-WAC teams, while Louisiana Tech had five and Fresno State and New Mexico State had four a piece.
The complete teams are listed below.
