Softball’s Allyson Fournier named Honda DIII Athlete of the Year for record second time
Allyson Fournier, E15, a standout softball pitcher, was named the 2015 Honda DIII Athlete of the Year, the second time she has received the award.
“I’m incredibly honored to be selected as Honda’s DIII Woman Athlete of the Year again considering all of the other great candidates in other sports who were up for the award,” Fournier says. “This past month has been like a dream. From winning our third NCAA championship, to pitching professionally, and now being able to join the best collegiate female athletes in the country in L.A. in a few weeks, is just amazing.”
She will receive the 2015 honor at the live telecast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Show on June 29 at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on the CBS Sports Network at the USC Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Some 1,000 NCAA member schools take part in the CWSA program, now in its 39th year. Finalists for the award included Angela Bosco, Lynchburg (soccer); Eudice Chong, Wesleyan (tennis); Carly Fehler, UW-Eau Claire (track and field); Nathalie Gruet, Wellesley (field hockey); Emma Hayes-Hurley, SUNY Cortland (lacrosse); Maggie Kamp, Calvin (volleyball); Sydney Maluenda, George Fox (golf); Sydney Moss, Thomas More (basketball); Amy Regan, Stevens Institute of Technology (cross country); and Sarah Thompson, Williams (swimming and diving).
Over her career, Fournier has led Tufts to three-straight national titles, a 111-5 record and two NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player awards. The senior from South Windsor, Connecticut, is a four-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association first-team All-American and a four-time NESCAC Pitcher of the Year.
This season she led the nation in earned run average (0.20), shutouts (22), strikeouts (422), strikeouts per seven innings (14.0) and victories, with a 35-0 mark. She threw five no-hitters including two perfect games this spring and had a scoreless innings streak of 105.1 that is the longest ever in Division III history. She is the first student-athlete in the history of the award to earn the honor twice.
“Tufts and Tufts softball are truly grateful to Honda and the College Women Sports Awards for recognizing Allyson with the Honda DIII Athlete of the Year award again,” said Tufts softball coach Cheryl Milligan. “It was a great year for women’s athletics. For Allyson and our team to be able to celebrate all of the accomplishments in L.A. will be a perfect way to cap the year. Allyson is very deserving of her part in this.”
Paul Sweeney, Tufts’ sports information director, can be reached at paul.sweeney@tufts.edu.
