May 9, 2007

FRESNO, Calif. - Utah State senior DP/1B Jamie Fife was named to the Western Athletic Conference softball first-team all-conference list, announced Wednesday afternoon prior to the start of the conference tournament.

Fife, a 5-10 senior from Harrisville, Utah (Fremont HS/Salt Lake CC), is missing the WAC Tournament with a season-ending hand injury. However she led USU and ranks 14th in the WAC with a .339 average, and leads USU and knocked in a team-leading 27 RBI. With six home runs, Fife was also second on the team and is fifth on USU's single-season HR list.

Fife is the first Aggie first-team all-conference honoree since Sandy Taylor was first-team all-Big West in 2000, and the 27th first-team accolade recipient in USU's 32-year softball history. She is the third USU player to receive all-WAC honors, after Sara Fleming and Quela Leonhardt were both tabbed to the second-team last year in USU's first season in the WAC. Overall, Fife's award is the 62nd all-conference honor for an Aggie.

Sixth-seeded USU (17-34) opens WAC Tournament action Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. (MT) against seventh-seeded Louisiana Tech (21-36) at Fresno State's Bulldog Diamond.

Fans can follow all of the WAC Tournament games via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics during the game,through the USU website at www.UtahStateAggies.com, or through host Fresno State's website at www.gobulldogs.com.

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Hawai`i junior Kate Robinson was named WAC Pitcher of the Year honor. She was the first Rainbow Wahine to earn the honor since Melissa Coogan in 2003. Hawai`i senior Tyleen Tausaga won the WAC Player of the Year honor, while WAC Freshman of the Year honors went to Hawai`i catcher Katie Grimes. Hawai`i head coach Bob Coolen earned his second WAC Coach of the Year honor, also winning the award in 2003. This is the first time since Fresno State in 1999 season where one team has swept all the major honors.

Robinson, a junior from Honolulu, was 8-0 in conference games this season. In a breakout season, Robinson ended WAC play with a 1.15 ERA to lead the conference. She struck out 46 batters, while allowing only nine earned runs. She allowed only 38 hits in 54.2 innings and added a save. Robinson is the third Hawai`i pitcher to earn Pitcher of the Year honors. Melissa Coogan earned the award in 2003, while Desiree Duran was honored in 2001.

Tausaga is also the third Rainbow Wahine player to win the Player of the Year honors. Hawai`i earned Player of the Year honors four-straight years from 2000 to 2003. Dana Degen earned the award in 2000. Kate Judd was honored in 2001 and 2002, while All-American Stacey Porter was Player of the Year in 2003. Tausaga ended conference play hitting .446 with six RBI. The senior was second in the WAC with 23 RBI.

Coolen earned his second WAC Coach of the Year honor after leading Hawai`i to a 16-2 WAC record. The Rainbow Wahine won their second WAC regular season title. Hawai`i is 45-9 overall and ranked No. 13 in the country.

Hawai`i led the way with nine total players on the all-WAC team. Fresno State had a total of six on the all-WAC team. Both Hawai`i and Fresno State placed a WAC-high four players on the first team. There were five players on the first team that were either first or second team honorees in 2006. All seven teams had at least one player on the all-WAC team.