Tufts' Allyson Fournier Named D3 Athlete Of Year
BOSTON (CBS) - The Tufts University softball team already brought home a national championship this season, and one of their star players will soon have some more hardware after an amazing season.
The Collegiate Women Sports Awards will present Allyson Fournier, a sophomore pitcher from South Windsor, Connecticut who led the Jumbos to their first national championship title, with the Honda Sports Award as NCAA Division III Athlete of the Year later this month.
"It is an honor to be receiving the Honda Award, and I am humbled to have been selected from among the other talented athletes in Division III athletics," Fournier said in a release. "I am grateful for the support of my teammates, coaches, family, and the Tufts community throughout this journey. I feel privileged to have made many unforgettable friends and memories, and I am excited to participate in two more years of DIII athletics."
"Allyson is a fierce competitor on the mound, a humble teammate in the locker room, and a workaholic on the practice field," Tufts head coach Cheryl Milligan said. "It is no coincidence that these attributes have led to such a prestigious award. She is a huge part of our team and has fit into our culture seamlessly by being the kind of kid who makes a coach proud and fellow teammates better, all the while maintaining an unassuming air. We could not have achieved our team success without her."
Fournier led the Jumbos to a 6-5, come-from-behind victory over SUNY Cortland in the National Championship game in May, striking out seven of the last eight batters. She was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, allowing just one run and 12 hits in the first three games of the finals.
The 7th ranked Jumbos ended the season with a 46-3 record, with Fournier finishing the year with a 25-1 record and lead the nation with a 0.59 ERA -- allowing just 13 runs while striking out an astounding 272 batters in 154 innings.
