DWU Athletic Department

Tiger softball picked to finish 11th in GPAC Preseason Poll

MITCHELL, S.D. – Last season, the Dakota Wesleyan University softball team finished 11th in the Great Plains Athletic Conference standings and, when it comes to the Tigers, the league coaches are picking history to repeat itself in 2010.

Tuesday, DWU finished 11th in the 2010 GPAC Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll with a total of 36 points. The Tigers were 10-24 overall and 6-18 in league play in 2009 to finish ahead of in-state rivals the University of Sioux Falls and Mount Marty College in the conference standings. Those same two teams were picked to finish behind DWU in 2010.

Morningside College was the coaches’ pick to repeat as conference champ after winning the league title with an 18-6 record (34-21 overall) in 2009. The Mustangs received eight first-place votes and a total of 132 points. However, Dakota Wesleyan handed Morningside one of its six GPAC losses last season, and with most of its key players back and a few additions, the Tigers will head into the new season confident that they can compete with the league’s best.

Tiffani Bonifacio

Brandi Nekrassoff

DWU’s returners are headlined by All-GPAC second team selection Tiffani Bonifacio. Now a sophomore, Bonifacio hit .372 with 16 RBI last season and she had an .892 fielding percentage, mostly at third base. All-GPAC Honorable Mention selections Brandi Nekrassoff, Nicole Haley and Jackie Pugilese all return as well along with Lauren Lynds, who threw a no-hitter early in the season but missed some time on the mound due to injury.

Those five give the Tigers an excellent core to start with, and if some of the newcomers can contribute for third-year head coach Marie McCarthy-Foster, DWU could definitely outperform its 11th-place prediction.

Midland Lutheran College received three first-place votes and 132 points to finish second in the poll and Hastings College got the final two first-place votes and 126 points to finish third. Points were assigned on a 1-12 basis and coaches couldn’t vote for their own team.

The Tigers open the 2010 season on Saturday, Feb. 27, with a nonconference doubleheader at Sterling College (Kan.). DWU will host Dordt College at Cadwell Park on March 24 in the team’s first home and GPAC doubleheader of the season.