May 9, 2006

CHAPEL HILL --- Three members of the No. 22 North Carolina softball team were named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team, the league announced at its year-end banquet Wednesday night. Senior Crystal Cox and freshman Breanna Brown were named to the first team, while sophomore Cassie Palmer was named to the second team.

Cox won a career-best and league-leading 25 games in 2006, including 10 in league play. She finished the regular season with an ERA of 0.74, tops in the ACC and became the first Tar Heel ever to reach 1,000 career strikeouts with 1,159 through the end of the regular season.

Brown started 58 games in center field as a true freshman. The Durham, N.C., product led the Tar Heels in batting with a .314 average, including a .386 mark in league play, good for fifth overall in the ACC. Brown finished the regular season with six outfield assists, more than every other Tar Heel outfielder combined.

Palmer started all 61 games at second base in 2006 and batted leadoff in each contest. She led the Tar Heels in slugging percentage with a .493 mark, including seven home runs and 15 doubles, and made just five errors in 215 chances at second base.

Second-seeded Carolina opens the ACC Tournament Thursday at 12:30 p.m. against seventh-seeded Maryland.