Jan. 24, 2007
ATLANTA – The Amateur Softball Association (ASA), the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, has selected its initial “Watch List” for the Sixth Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. After finishing as a finalist last year, Georgia Tech’s Whitney Haller was one of these initial 50 student-athletes selected for this award.
“This is a tremendous honor for Whitney to be named to this list, especially as a sophomore,” said Tech coach Sharon Perkins. “She should be proud to see her name amongst these other great players. Whitney is unique in the fact that she is clutch on the softball diamond as well as in the classroom.
“We are impressed that as a freshman she had 24 home runs and 72 RBIs while being a Presidential Scholar, named to the Faculty Honor Roll and the Dean’s List majoring in industrial engineering. She is one of the bright, young players in the game today and continues to work to improve every day. She is a great representation of Georgia Tech.”
Haller, a sophomore from Marietta, Ga., broke seven ACC single-season records last year, including home runs (24), RBI (72), total bases (171), slugging percentage (.799) and saves (6). She finished second in the nation in saves, third in home runs, fourth in RBI, eighth in runs scored (63) and 10th in slugging percentage.
“This is a great honor,” said Haller. “To see my name in there with some of the best players in the country, is a tremendous feeling. I hope that I am able to repeat some of the feats I accomplished last year and become a finalist again for this award.”
This award, which is considered one of the most prestigious honors in women’s collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. Past winners of this award include UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman, Florida State’s Jessica Van der Linden and three-time winner, Texas pitcher Cat Osterman.
The Yellow Jackets will open the 2007 season at home as they host Georgia Southern in a non-conference doubleheader. The games are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at Glenn Field.
For a complete list of players, go to USA Softball.
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