FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Albertus Magnus' Fortier, JWU's
Corona earn Player, Pitcher of Year awards
WINTHROP, Mass. – Albertus Magnus junior third baseman Gillian Fortier has been selected as the 2017 GNAC Softball Player of the Year and Johnson & Wales University junior righthander Jennifer Corona has been chosen as the GNAC Softball Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's head coaches.
For Fortier, who was named the 2015 GNAC Player and Rookie of the Year, she hit .441 with 11 home runs, 52 RBI, 58 runs and 15 doubles for the Falcons this spring.
As the Wildcats enter the NCAA Tournament as the GNAC champion, Corona ranks first or second among conference leaders in the major pitching categories, as she is 19-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 143 innings.
Corona was one of four JWU student-athletes named to the First Team and eight All-Conference selections overall. She joined senior Emily Gorecki, junior Katie Rufo and freshman Kristin Frost, who was also named the GNAC Rookie of the Year.
Gorecki had a monster junior campaign, as she sports a .486 average and is slugging .933 to go along with 11 homers and 52 RBI entering the NCAA Tournament. Frost is hitting .394 with 41 RBI and 15 stolen bases, while Rufo is hitting .352 with 27 driven in.
JWU head coach Kim Camara-Harvey was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year, having led the Wildcats to their third straight GNAC crown and NCAA Tournament appearance.
GNAC Tournament runner-up Suffolk University also had four selected to the First Team in junior catcher Delaney Sylvester, junior second baseman Madison Eucalitto, junior outfielder Devlin Frost and sophomore Jill Pulek.
Sylvester hit .421 and slugged .703 this season with 10 homers and 39 RBI, while Pulek hit .382 with a .715 slugging percentage, 11 home runs and 44 RBI. Frost scored 43 runs and hit .335, while Eucalitto hit .307 with a .409 OBP.
Also garnering First Team honors were Saint Joseph's College of Maine sophomore shortstop Meghan Elliott and SJC senior outfielder Carla Tripp, along with Norwich University sophomore pitcher Rachel Johnson. Elliott hit .349 with 21 RBI and Tripp hit .414 with 36 runs scored. Johnson led the GNAC with 184 strikeouts in 134.2 innings to go with a 2.96 ERA.
For the complete list of All-Conference winners and All-Sportsmanship Team selections, please
First Team
C – Delaney Sylvester, Suffolk (Jr., Worcester, Mass.)
1B – Emily Gorecki, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., Bremerton, Wash.)
2B – Madison Eucalitto, Suffolk Jr., Old Saybrook, Conn.)
3B – Gillian Fortier, Albertus Magnus (Jr., Naugatuck, Conn.)
SS – Meghan Elliott, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Blackstone, Mass.)
OF – Kristin Frost, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., Pearl City, Hawaii)
OF – Carla Tripp, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Lovell, Maine)
OF – Devlin Frost, Suffolk (Jr., Tewksbury, Mass.)
DP – Jill Pulek, Suffolk (So., Cheshire, Conn.)
UTIL – Katie Rufo, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Natick, Mass.)
P – Jennifer Corona, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Middle Island, N.Y.)
P – Rachel Johnson, Norwich (So., Stockbridge, Vt.)
Second Team
C – Madison Miller, Norwich (So., Long Lake, N.Y.)
1B – Melissa Castillo, Albertus Magnus (Jr., Taftville, Conn.)
2B – Lucianna Medici, Mount Ida (Sr., Riverside, R.I.)
3B – Meghan Gavin, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Wallingford, Conn.)
SS – Brenna Duperry, Johnson & Wales (RI) (So., Cranston, R.I.)
OF – Diana Amendolara, Johnson & Wales (RI) Sr., Newtown, Pa.)
OF – Alex Fantasia, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., Framingham, Mass.)
OF – Morgan Skoly, St. Joseph (Conn.) (So., Vernon, Conn.)
DP – Jessica Cote, Rivier (Sr., Nashua, N.H.)
UTIL – Kristal Smith, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Pittston, Maine)
P – Jill Kilcoyne, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr., Worcester, Mass.)
P – Amaria Sharon, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Tolland, Conn.)
Third Team
C – Casey Sheehan, Emmanuel (Mass.) (So., Medway, Mass.)
1B – Susie Kieselback, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr., Wethersfield, Conn.)
2B – Lauren Del Vacchio, Simmons (Fr., Murrieta, Calif.)
3B – Mariah Harrison, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Buxton, Maine)
SS – Brianna Whitfield, Albertus Magnus (Jr., West Islip, N.Y.)
OF – Megan Kelly, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Bronx, N.Y.)
OF – Naomi Rinaldo, Norwich (So., Middlefield, Conn.)
OF – Ashley Zulla, Suffolk (Fr., Columbus, N.J.)
DP – Ashley Skey, Emmanuel (Mass.) (So., Brookline, N.H.)
UTIL – Jaclyn Flint, Suffolk (So., Medfield, Mass.)
P – Nicole Handzel, Mount Ida (Sr., Palmer, Mass.)
P – Kylie McFadden, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Dover, N.H.)
Player of the Year – Gillian Fortier, Albertus Magnus
Pitcher of the Year – Jennifer Corona, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Rookie of the Year – Kristin Frost, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Coach of the Year – Kim Camara-Harvey, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Saint Joseph's College of Maine
All-Sportsmanship Team
Marissa Guglielmi, Albertus Magnus (So., Branford, Conn.)
Jacqueline Lapierre (So., Worcester, Mass.)
Jill Kilcoyne, Emmanuel (Sr., Worcester, Mass.)
Katie Rufo, Johnson & Wales (Jr., Natick, Mass.)
Arianna Genovese, Lasell (Fr., Rocky Hill, Conn.)
Michele MacDonald, Mount Ida (Sr., Dighton, Mass.)
Olivia Bussiere, Norwich (Jr., Northfield, Vt.)
Jessica Cote, Rivier (Sr., Nashua, N.H.)
Michella Van Asperen, Saint Joseph (CT) (So., Duiven, Netherlands)
Casidee Couture, Saint Joseph's (ME) (Sr., Jay , Maine)
Alison Gauvin, Simmons (Sr., Whitefield, Maine)
Morgan Parmeter, Suffolk (Sr., Maynard, Mass.)
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
– #TheGNAC –