Athletic Report
July 12, 2001

EASTERN NEW MEXICO SOFTBALL TEAM SIGNS THREE PLAYERS FOR 2001-02
PORTALES, NM — Kathleen Rodriguez and James Rodriguez, co-head softball coaches at Eastern New Mexico University, have announced the signing of three junior college outfielders to National Letters of Intent. The transfer student-athletes are Jessica Cook (San Antonio, TX/ Lon Morris C.C.), Vicki Davis (Phoenix, AZ/Glendale C.C.), and Amanda Langford (Mesquite, TX/Lon Morris C.C.). All three players will join the Zias for the 2001-02 academic year.

SOFTBALL SIGNINGS
Jessica Cook
Outfielder, 5’5”, San Antonio, TX (Lon Morris College)
Lon Morris College is a junior college in Jacksonville, Texas.
Cook will be a junior at ENMU during the 2002 season. “She’s going to come in and play a really important role where Kim (Paschall) left off (in center field),” Kathleen Rodriguez said.

Vicki Davis
Outfielder, 5’6”, Phoenix, AZ (Glendale C.C.)
Glendale Community College is located in Glendale, Arizona.
Davis will be a junior at ENMU during the 2002 season. “She will fight for time in the outfield,” Kathleen said. “She’s just a real hard-nosed kid.”

Amanda Langford
Outfielder, 5’4”, San Antonio, TX (Lon Morris College)
Lon Morris College is a junior college in Jacksonville, Texas.
Langford will be a junior at ENMU during the 2002 season.
“I see her coming in and playing right field,” Kathleen commented. “She will be a valuable player at the plate as well as on defense.” Langford and Cook both played two seasons at Lon Morris College.

The Zias took on Lon Morris twice at regular season tournaments during the 2001 season. ENMU won both games in extra innings, but the results did not count on the Zias’ official record. The NCAA does not count games against junior colleges in statistics or win-loss records.

“Both Amanda (Langford) and Jessica (Cook) cover a lot of ground,” Kathleen said. “They’re really quick-footed. They’re going to come in and be able to help us with the short game and also be base-stealing threats.”

The ENMU softball team, in just its fifth season of existence, qualified for the 2001 NCAA Division II National Tournament and won the South Central Regional to advance to the National Finals in Salem, Va. The Zias tied for 5th place in the nation. ENMU’s losses at the National Finals were to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, which won the national title, and to Lewis University, the national runner-up.

The Zias concluded the year with a 38-14-1 overall record. ENMU also won its first ever Lone Star Conference South Division title and placed second at the LSC Tournament. Kathleen and James Rodriguez were named LSC South Co-Coaches-of-the-Year. They also were selected NCAA Division II South Central Region Coaching Staff-of-the-Year (along with graduate assistant coach Dana Lambert) in voting by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).