FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Softball Standout Becomes Second-Straight Merrimack Student-Athlete to be Recognized with this Prestigious Award
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – For the second consecutive academic year, the Northeast-10 Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year hails from North Andover; senior Alyssa Williamson of the Merrimack softball program was named the NE10's top female scholar-athlete at the league's year-end awards ceremony. Williamson concluded her career with a 3.905 GPA as a psychology major, and she graduated as Merrimack's Rafferty Award winner – given annually at Commencement to the top female scholar-athlete on campus – as well as the psychology department's Buehler Award recipient as the department's top graduating senior.
A two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-American, Williamson is still in line for a second CoSIDA Academic All-American distinction, which will be unveiled later this week. She is vying to becoming just the third player in the softball program's history to earn multiple Academic All-American honors.
On the diamond, Williamson delivered another superb season as the Warriors' starting first baseman. She was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA), and earned All-East Region First Team accolades from the D2CCA as well as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). Additionally, Williamson was named a NE10 All-Conference First Team selection for the second consecutive year.
Williamson led the NE10 in batting average (.441), which ranked 28th nationwide, while her 71 hits marked a new career high and finished as the second most in the league. She also became just the seventh player in school history to amass a 70-hit campaign. Williamson notched additional career highs in runs scored (25), slugging percentage (.540), on-base percentage (.460) and OPS (1.000). Defensively, Williamson led the team with a career-high 364 putouts and committed just one error in 381 chances for a .997 fielding percentage.
The 2018 softball team captain followed up the selection received by Carly Muscaro '17 of the women's track and field program to give Merrimack back-to-back NE10 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipients. Prior to last year, Merrimack has not seen a student-athlete honored at the NE10's year-end banquet since the end of the 2008-09 campaign.
Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staff at Merrimack
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 15 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 student-athletes compete in conference championships, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.