Williams earns preseason All-MEAC Honors

Norfolk State senior third baseman Whitney Williams was named to the preseason All-MEAC team. Photo from NSUSpartans.com.

NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State senior third baseman Whitney Williams was named to the preseason All-MEAC team, while the Spartan softball program was picked to finish third in the Northern Division as the preseason honors and predicted order of finish were released by the conference office on Friday.

Williams was the lone representative for NSU on the preseason team, earning a second-team nod at third base. It came after a junior campaign in 2015 in which Williams hit .362 with 22 runs, six doubles, seven home runs and 26 RBI.

NSU, meanwhile, garnered four first-place votes and finished with 137 points to rank third in the Northern Division poll. Delaware State, last year’s regular season winner, had 18 first place votes and 170 points, while Hampton had 147 points and three first place votes. NSU finished second in the division last year ahead of Hampton.

Williams earned preseason all-conference honors last year and was a two-time first-team honoree after her freshman and sophomore years. She ranked seventh in the MEAC last year in home runs and slugging (.649).

Torrian Wright of Savannah State was named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year, while Bethune-Cookman’s Sabrina Anguiano was voted the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

In tight voting in the South, Bethune-Cookman ranked first with 135 points despite garnering just six first-place votes. Savannah State (128 points, 10 first place votes) and Florida A&M (127 points, nine first-place votes) stood second and third, respectively, despite receiving more first place votes than B-CU.

NSU returns 10 letterwinners from last year’s team that finished 14-27 and 13-5 in the MEAC and welcomes five newcomers to the 2016 squad.

2016 Predicted Order of Finish
(First-Place Votes In Parenthesis)

Northern Division		Southern Division
School	Points	School	Points
Delaware State (18)	170	Bethune-Cookman (6)	135
Hampton (3)	147	Savannah State (10)	128
Norfolk State (4)	137	Florida A&M (9)	127
Howard (1)	114	North Carolina A&T	73
Morgan State	70	North Carolina Central (1)	69
UMES	60	South Carolina State	35
Coppin State	58

First Team
Position	Name	School	Class	Height	Hometown
P	Sabrina Anguiano	Bethune-Cookman	Jr.	5-7	Haciendo Heights, Calif.
P	Allyson Babinsack	Hampton	So.	5-11	Hampton, Va.
C	Sandy Hawthorne	Delaware State	Sr.	5-7	Smithtown, N.Y.
1B	Torrian Wright	Savannah State	Sr.	5-6	McDonough, Ga.
2B	Jessica Nathan	Florida A&M	Sr.	5-4	Archer, Fla.
3B	Jordan Stamps	Delaware State	Sr.	5-6	Torrance, Calif.
SS	Chloe Oro	Delaware State	Sr.	5-4	San Pedro, Calif.
OF	Vanessa Gomez	UMES	Sr.	5-4	Belleville, N.J.
OF	Nicole Gazzola	Delaware State	Sr.	5-6	Coram, N.Y.
OF	Marian Davis	Bethune-Cookman	So.	5-0	Haciendo Heights, Calif.
UTL	Amanda Hallman	Savannah State	Jr.	5-7	Kennesaw, Ga.

Second Team
Position	Name	School	Class	Height	Hometown
P	Tara Turselino	Delaware State	Jr.	5-6	Moreno Valley, Calif.
P	Kenya Pereira	Florida A&M	Jr.	5-3	Kissimmee, Fla.
C	Casey Hargett	North Carolina Central	Sr.	5-8	Greenville, N.C.
1B	Vanessa Washington	Delaware State	So.	5-6	Elk Grove, Calif.
2B	Danielle Velez	Delaware State	Jr.	5-4	Chino Hills, Calif.
3B	Whitney Williams	Norfolk State	Sr.	5-8	Four Oaks, N.C.
SS	Danielle Smith	Coppin State	Sr.	5-2	Rising Sun, Md.
OF	Alexis Singleton	Savannah State	So.	5-8	Sarasota, Fla.
OF	Al’Asia Davis	Howard	R-Sr.	5-5	Seattle, Wash.
OF	Raven Gray	North Carolina A&T	So.	5-4	Forest City, N.C.
UTL	Dominique Wilson	North Carolina Central	Jr.	6-2	Mooresville, N.C.