Three Lesley University players honored with NFCA regional accolades

 STARKVILLE, Miss. – After the most successful season in school history, three Lesley University softball players have been honored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association in being named to the NFCA's All-New England teams.

Freshman pitcher Jennifer Dorval (Franklin, NH/Franklin) and sophomore designated player Emily Mangiaratti (Amherst, MA/Amherst) were named to the NFCA's All-New England Second Team, and senior center fielder Alyson Durben (Stow, MA/Nashoba Regional) was named All-New England Third Team.

Head coach Jen Benway's club sent a program-high three players to NFCA All-New England teams, joining regional powers Eastern Connecticut State, Western Connecticut State and Wesleyan University as the only programs in the region with three or more players honored by the NFCA.

The 2011 New England Collegiate Conference Player of the Year, Dorval makes her first NFCA All-New England appearance, while Mangiaratti improves on her Third Team honor from a season ago, and Durben makes her first appearance since 2008, when she was a Second Team selection.

In addition to being named NECC Player of the Year, Dorval earned NECC Rookie of the Year and First Team honors in a season in which she established herself as one of the region's top freshmen. She led the conference in batting average (.538), on-base percentage (.576), RBI's (37), hits (49) and doubles (10). She currently leads all freshmen in the nation in batting and on-base percentage.

Equally as dominant in the circle, she went 15-3 with a 1.87 earned run average as a pitcher, leading the league in wins and strikeouts (135).

Mangiaratti, also named to the All-NECC First Team, makes her second NFCA All-New England appearance in two years and first on the Second Team. The Lynx leadoff hitter led the NECC in walks (22) and runs (47), finishing third with 41 hits and sixth with a .441 batting average.

Hobbled by a bad ankle during the Lynx NCAA Tournament appearance, she doubled and scored in her only Tournament at-bat.

Durben's outstanding career at Lesley was bookended by NCAA Tournament appearances in her freshman and senior seasons, and now also with NFCA All-New England Appearances in 2008 and 2011. The Lynx captain tied for the team lead with two home runs, tied for second in the NECC with nine doubles and tied for third in the league with 34 RBI's, finishing fifth in total bases, with 54.

Like Dorval and Mangiaratti, Durben was also among the five Lynx players named to the All-NECC First Team.

Benway's Lynx completed the program's second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, falling to No. 6-ranked Coast Guard 7-4 and Endicot College 4-2. Finishing 29-8, the Lynx became the first team in the league's three-year history to finish NECC play undefeated at 16-0 and won a fourth straight league championship.

Courtesy of Lesley Sports Information