RIPON, Wis. – St. Norbert and Lawrence earned honors as part of the2013 Midwest Conference All-North Division team for the 2013 season. St. Norbert shortstop Steph Brunette was named North Division Player of the Year while Lawrence pitcher Shannon Murray earned North Division Pitcher of the Year. JoAnn Krueger (St. Norbert) and Kim Tatro (Lawrence) shared the 2013 North Division Coach of the Year honors. 

Brunette won the North Division Player of the Year for the third consecutive season after finishing third in the league with a .443 average and a 1.100 OPS. She led the team in extra base hits with nine doubles, two triples, and three home runs while scoring 38 runs and collecting 54 hits. This is the fifth straight season where the Green Knights have had at least a share of the North Division Player of the Year.

Murray became the first Viking to win the North Division Pitcher of the Year since 2006 when Catherine Marinac shared the honor. This season Murray finished by throwing the second most innings in the league (148), posted a 2.32 ERA (seventh in MWC), and held hitters to a .248 average (fourth in MWC). She made 32 appearances which included 21 starts and struck out 93 hitters, also picking up six saves and 15 complete games.

Krueger and Tatro become the first North Division coaches to share the Coach of the Year honor since the 2006 season as both led their teams to MWC Championship Tournament berths. The award is the fourth for Krueger and seventh for Tatro. Krueger led St. Norbert to a 20-15 record that included a 10-4 conference record while Tatro guided Lawrence to a 21 win season with seven coming in league play.

Rounding out the MWC All-North Division First Team is two players from each North Division team. Jen Zucker and Emily Dorjath were the Beloit representatives as Zucker led the league with 167 strikeouts and added seven wins while Dorjath hit .264 with 11 doubles and four home runs. Hannah Sanidas and Stephanie Speel led Carroll this season with Sanidas finishing second in the league with a .462 average and a .505 on base percentage and Speel hit .291 with 30 hits and 22 runs scored. Anna Wawiorka and Cathy Kate join Murray on the First Team list after Wawiorka hit .319 with ten doubles and Kaye led the team with three home runs and 11 doubles. Stephanie Rieuwpassa topped the league with a .775 slugging percentage with 15 doubles and five home runs while also posting a 1.83 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 103.1 innings pitched. Rieuwpassa’s teammate Ashley Gnacinski also helped Ripon through the season with three wins and a 4.90 ERA and hit .325 with nine doubles and a triple. Morgan Buboltz and Jessica DeMeuse finish out the list as Buboltz hit .303 with six home runs and DeMeuse hit .282 with three home runs and 24 runs batted in for the Green Knights.

Cornell and Lake Forest took home league honors as part of the 2013 Midwest Conference All-South Division Softball team. Lake Forest outfielder Whitney Leiderman was named South Division Player of the Year while both Jackie Sernek (Cornell) and Jessi Werner (Lake Forest) were named South Division Co-Pitcher of the Year. Shanda Ness was tabbed South Division Coach of the Year after her Rams brought home a MWC Championship.

This is the 12th season that Lake Forest has had at least a share of the Player of the Year honor as Leiderman hit .339 with eight home runs (tops in MWC) and seven doubles while scoring 29 runs to claim it this season. She had 11 multi-hit games and finished the year with 39 hits (tied seventh in MWC), 29 runs scored (fourth in MWC), was a perfect 15-for-15 in stolen base chances which led the league.

Sernek is the first Rams player to win the South Division Pitcher of the Year award while Werner is the first Forester to win it since 2010. Sernek finished second in the league in both ERA (1.69) and opponent batting average (.215) while striking out 123 batters in 115.2 innings. She tossed 13 complete games and posted a 13-3 record in 22 appearances. Werner threw 99.2 innings for the Foresters and earned nine wins to go along with a 2.88 ERA. Opposing hitters hit only .271 off her and she tossed nine complete games in her 16 starts. 

Ness earned her first South Division Coach of the Year award after leading the Rams to the MWC Championship for the first in school history. Cornell won a league-best 23 games this season and went 9-6 in league play. Under her watch the Rams led the MWC in average (.320), slugging percentage (.459), on base percentage (.378), runs (217), hits (332), doubles (66), ERA (2.31), and batters struck out (209).

Kari Martin and Abby Haubold join Sernek on the First Team after their championship season. Martin was fifth in the league with a .431 average with a .472 on base percentage and a .672 slugging percentage while Haubold hit .404 with four doubles and 23 hits. Illinois Col. was honored with four All-Conference award winners including Paige Cullison, Brittany Fanella, Amanda Price, and Courtney Kwasnitza. Cullison led the league in both average (.491), runs scored (38), and on base percentage (.545) with Kwasnitza finishing seventh with a .392 average. Fanella hit .347 with eight doubles and seven home runs while Price earned six wins and posted a 2.85 ERA in 71.1 innings of work. Amber Eisha threw 103 innings and had ten complete games for Knox. Werner’s teammate Kayla Borgra finished sixth in the league with a .417 average including eight doubles and two home runs with Monmouth’s Emily Watkins rounding out the All-South Division team after hitting .353 including seven home runs, six doubles, and a triple.

2013 North Division Award Winners

Player of the Year	Steph Brunette	St. Norbert College
Pitcher of the Year	Shannon Murray	Lawrence University
Coach of the Year	JoAnn Krueger	St. Norbert College
	Kim Tatro	Lawrence University

2013 All-Midwest Conference North Division Team

Position	Athlete	Year	School
Catcher	Emily Dorjath	Sophomore	Beloit College
Catcher	Hannah Sanidas	Junior	Carroll University
Shortstop	Steph Brunette	Senior	St. Norbert College
Shortstop	Stephanie Speel	Junior	Carroll University
Third Base	Anna Wawiorka	Freshman	Lawrence University
Outfield	Morgan Buboltz	Senior	St. Norbert College
Outfield	Cathy Kaye	Senior	Lawrence University
Outfield	Jessica DeMeuse	Sophomore	St. Norbert College
PItcher	Jen Zucker	Freshman	Beloit College
Pitcher	Steph Rieuwpassa	Senior	Ripon College
Pitcher	Shannon Murray	Senior	Lawrence University
Pitcher	Ashley Gnacinski	Sophomore	Ripon College

2013 South Division Award Winners

Player of the Year	Whitney Leiderman	Lake Forest College
Pitcher of the Year	Jackie Sernek	Cornell College
	Jessi Werner	Lake Forest College
Coach of the Year	Shanda Ness	Cornell College

2013 All-Midwest Conference South Division Team

Position	Athlete	Year	School
Catcher	Abby Haubold	Junior	Cornell College
Catcher	Courtney Kwasnitza	Sophomore	Illinois College
First Base	Kari Martin	Sophomore	Cornell College
Outfiled	Whitney Leiderman	Sophomore	Lake Forest College
Outfield	Paige Cullison	Junior	Illinois College
Outfield	Brittany Fanella	Sophomore	Illinois College
Outfield	Emily Watson	Freshman	Monmouth College
Outfield	Kayla Borgra	Sophomore	Lake Forest College
Pitcher	Amber Eisha	Junior	Knox College
Pitcher	Jessi Werner	Freshman	Lake Forest College
Pitcher	Jackie Sernek	Junior	Cornell Colllege
Pitcher	Amanda Price	Freshman	Illinois College