Canisius College senior outfielders Lauren Falzone and Lizzy Gatto were named First-Team All-MAAC at the conference's
annual awards banquet Thursday night in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The first-team
accolades mark the first conference postseason honors for Falzone, while Gatto
earns postseason recognition for the third time in her career.
Falzone,
who played in and started 46 games this season for the Golden Griffins in right
field, is hitting .315 with a team-high 51 hits, while scoring 37 runs to go
with eight stolen bases. She has five doubles and is tied for the team's lead
with three triples while also drove nine runs. Defensively, the Williamsville,
N.Y., native has 52 putouts and is tied among the team's regular outfielders
with three defensive assists.
Gatto, who
started the year being named a Preseason All-MAAC honoree, is on the All-MAAC
First Team for the second time in her career, as she was also honored to the
league's top all-star unit as a sophomore in 2010. This year, the Hollister,
Calif., is hitting .298 with 42 hits, 36 runs scored and 24 RBIs. She has nine
doubles, a triple and a team-high six homers, which stands as the most home
runs in a season by a Canisius outfielder since 2005. She also leads the Griffs
with 17 steals on the year, which ranks third in the MAAC.
The
conference also announced that seven Canisius student-athletes were named to
the 2012 MAAC All-Academic Team. Falzone and Gatto were each honored, as were
fellow seniors Lauryn Chris, Katie Lancellotti and Caroline Main. Sophomores Jen Consaul and Valorie Nappo were also named to the MAAC All-Academic Team, which honors
student-athletes who boast a grade points average of 3.20 or better on a 4.0
scale.
Canisius
will return to action Friday, May 11, when the team plays Marist in the first
elimination game of the 2012 MAAC Softball Tournament at 1 p.m., in
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The third-seeded Griffs lost to No. 2 seed Fairfield by a
score of 4-3 on Thursday. Canisius is playing in the MAAC Softball Championship
for the 21st time in the last 23 years.
