Hannah Shalett of Ithaca Named Empire 8 Woman of the Year
June 18, 2007
ROCHESTER, NY – Hannah Shalett, a recent graduate of Ithaca College and a member of the softball team, has been named the 2007 Empire 8 Woman of the Year. Shalett will represent the conference in national balloting for the NCAA Woman of the Year. The honor is given to a student-athlete who excels in academics, athletics, leadership, and service.
“Hannah represents all that we want to see in our student-athletes,” said Ithaca Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation Ken Kutler. “Over the past four years, she has an exemplary academic record and has produced outstanding results in softball, leading the Bombers to repeated national success.”
Shalett earned first-team all-conference honors in each of her four years and was named this year’s Empire 8 Softball Player of the Year. The catcher was named to the All-America Team and the Academic All-America Team, and was awarded the Iris Carnell Award as the top female athlete at Ithaca.
A four-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) all-region selection, Shalett led this year’s conference champion Bombers with a career-best .417 batting average. She recorded 55 hits (the program’s fourth-highest single-season total), 12 doubles, 31 runs batted in, and 28 runs scored.
“Not only has she excelled on the diamond for the Bombers, but her performance in the classroom is even more impressive,” said Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “To play at the highly competitive level on one of the nation’s premier softball teams is a great achievement, but to do so and attain such exceptional results where it matters most – in the classroom – is truly a great accomplishment. Hannah is an extraordinary woman and most deserving of this distinguished honor.”
Shalett served as a Teaching Assistant and spent two years as a camp instructor. She was active in the campus Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) organization for three years.
Shalett is a six-time Empire 8 Player of the Week, earning the award at least once each season. She was named to the regional all-tournament team for four consecutive years and was chosen as part of the all-tournament team at last spring’s College World Series.
She owns the program’s sixth-highest career batting average (.350), is fourth in career hits (172), sixth in career runs (107), and eighth in career RBI (102). A sociology major, Shalett has earned Empire 8 Presidents’ List honors six times. The list honors student-athletes who maintain at least a 3.75 grade point average.