The Mount Vernon Nazarene College women's fastpitch softball team finished the 2001 season with a 20-18 overall record. The Lady Cougars also posted a 12-11 American Mideast Conference mark as the team finished eighth in the highly-competitive 14-team conference race.
The season began in Florida for MVNC as the Lady Cougars took part in the annual Orlando Rebel Games in Kissimmee over spring break. Playing against a very tough group of NCAA Division III teams, the team went 2-5. However, the five losses came by a combined total of six runs.
Upon returning to Ohio, MVNC went on a 10-game winning streak to improve to 12-5 overall. The Lady Cougars swept doubleheaders from Geneva (Pa.) College, Seton Hill (Pa.) College, Point Park (Pa.) College, Kenyon College, and Notre Dame College during this span.
The winning streak finally came to an end and MVNC dropped its next three games. After that, the team went 4-6 to move its overall record to 16-14.
For the first time in three years, the Lady Cougars received a berth in the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament. Despite entering the 10-team tournament as the ninth seed, MVNC went 2-2 to finish fifth against very strong competition.
The Lady Cougars then closed out the season by splitting a pair of doubleheaders against Ohio Dominican College and Saint Vincent (Pa.) College. The win over Ohio Dominican forced the Lady Panthers to share the AMC title, while MVNC closed out the season with a win at Saint Vincent in the team's final game.
Individually, several players had outstanding seasons. Senior pitcher Tara Hines was selected as the NCCAA East Region Player of the Year and an NCCAA First Team All-American after posting a 12-11 record with a 1.45 earned run average and six saves. She was also named to the AMC Second Team.
Junior third baseman Amanda Schumm was also named to the NCCAA All-American First Team and the NCCAA East Region Team after batting .357 with 24 runs batted in and 24 runs scored. She was also an Honorable Mention All-AMC pick.
Senior outfielder Natalie Wallace finished an outstanding career with a .352 batting average, 12 doubles, 25 RBI, and 24 runs scored as she was named to the NCCAA East Region Team, the NCCAA Honorable Mention All-American Team, and the AMC Honorable Mention Team.
Senior second baseman Angie Svagerko collected NCCAA East Region Team and AMC Second Team honors after batting .296 with 10 RBI, 24 runs scored, and a team-high 11 stolen bases.
Seniors Shelly Aldrich, Amy Leach, and Lisa Horsley also wrapped up their careers. Meanwhile, juniors Stephanie Keller and Drew Paulo, along with sophomores Heather Krabill and Debbie Dobson, played their final games for the Lady Cougars due to various reasons such as student teaching, going to nursing school, and getting married and moving out of state.
So, with ten of the team's sixteen players not returning next season, Coach Jeana Howald will spend the summer hitting the recruiting trails in full force to fill out the team's roster.
