May 6, 2008

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . Twenty Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) softball players were named to the 2008 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Midwest Region Team announced by the Association on Tuesday. The IIAC honorees include eight First Team selections, five Second Team selections and seven Third Team selections.

Central College senior catcher Kelly Harris (LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley), Coe College junior shortstop Ashley Leonard (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy), Luther College senior catcher Tami Magner (Waukon, Iowa/Waukon), Simpson College senior pitcher Calie Hohneke (Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) and sophomore outfielder Kelsie Host (Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk) and Wartburg College senior first baseman Ashley Rogers (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert), senior third baseman Ashley Steines (Camanche, Iowa/Camanche) and junior pitcher Angela Hartwig (Long Grove, Iowa/North Scott) were named to the First Team. All were chosen at their position except Magner and Leonard, who were at-large selections.

Earning Second Team All-Region honors were Coe College junior pitcher Ellie Schultz (Clayton, Iowa/Clayton Ridge) and junior pitcher/outfielder Sonja Schwenker (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington), Luther College senior third baseman Ashley Hoffman (Centerville, Iowa/Centerville) and sophomore outfielder Tiffany Kruse (Greeley, Iowa/Edgewood-Colesburg), and Simpson College freshman third baseman Julie O'Neal (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley). Hoffman and O'Neal were at-large selections, Schultz and Kruse were selected at their respective positions, and Schwenker was tabbed as a utility player.

All Third-Team selections were chosen at-large and representing the Iowa Conference were: Coe senior outfielder April Kalmes (Springville, Iowa/Springville) and junior outfielder Dani Leavens (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City), Cornell College freshman outfielder Nicole Duncan (Wilton, Iowa/Wilton), Loras College sophomore second baseman Michelle Bahl (Balltown, Iowa/Dubuque Hempstead), Luther junior outfielder Kim Hess (Paynesville, Minn./Paynesville), and Simpson senior outfielder Shyann Warrick (Monroe, Iowa/Prairie City-Monroe) and sophomore pitcher Whitney Oviatt (Carnation, Wash./Cedarcrest).

Nine of the All-Region honorees have previously received similar recognition, including three that have become three-time All-Region selections and one that becomes a four-time All-Region selection. Steines was a Third Team selection in both 2005 and 2006 before moving up the Second Team in 2007 and the First Team this season. Harris, Leonard, and Schultz were NFCA All-Region players in 2006 and 2007. Hartwig, Rogers, Magner, Hoffman, and Warrick earned All-Region honors in 2007.

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