Huntley grad Senese earns Elite 89 academic honor
Huntley graduate Giovanna Senese recently earned a prestigious academic honor.
Senese, now a junior forward on the Plattsburgh State women's hockey team, was named an NCAA Elite 89 recipient for the 2015 NCAA Division III women's ice hockey championship. Senese helped Plattsburgh State win its second NCAA Division III national title in a row.
The Elite 89 recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers.
The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.
Senese, a mathematics and physics major, captured the award with a cumulative 3.97 grade-point average. She scored 17 goals to go with 15 assists this season for the Cardinals. She has 33 goals and 39 assists in her career.
Senese had a goal and an assist in Plattsburgh's 3-2 win over Elmira in the NCAA championship game.
Hannah Perryman honored again: Elgin High graduate Hannah Perryman's standout pitching has earned her recognition on the national stage.
After throwing recent consecutive perfect games last week, Perryman was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II national pitcher of the week.
In a game against Lake Superior State, Perryman pitched a 5-inning perfect game and struck out all 15 batters she faced. She did that after not pitching for 17 days due to weather cancellations.
"Being named national player of the week really means a lot to me because our team has been working really hard this year," Perryman told the school's website. "It is great to be recognized for this honor."
After the 15-strikeout gem, Perryman retired all 21 batters she faced (13 by strikeout) in a 1-0 win over conference opponent McKendree.
"I had a lot of confidence in the circle last week," she said. "It's really nice to be able to pitch without pressure. Our offense is pretty strong so it makes it 'easier' to throw because I know we are going to score. Not only is our offense incredible, so is our defense. It allows me to throw all my pitches with complete confidence because I know someone is going to make a play behind me. Coach (Brian Levin) has us doing a lot of mental training this year and I think it has played a huge role in the games this week because I was able to focus and stay calm every pitch."
In the two games, Perryman, who also earned Great Lakes Valley Conference pitcher of the week honors, fanned 28 and had only 4 balls leave the infield. The 2 perfect games brought her total to 3 in her career, which ties for the second-most in NCAA Division II history. Her career no-hitter total climbed to 6.
"Hannah has been incredible the past couple weeks," Levin said. "When she is throwing the ball like she has been recently, it is something special to witness. She has been so good for the past couple years one can only wonder how she can get any better - then she does something like this. I told the team that I certainly hope they are aware of what they have been a part of, because it's something they will probably never see again."
Through late week, Perryman was 13-2 with a 1.86 ERA. She had 11 complete games, 7 shutouts and 1 combined shutout to go with a pair of saves. In 94 ⅓ innings of work, Perryman has allowed 60 hits (19 extra-base hits) and has 177 strikeouts against only 14 walks. In 344 at-bats, opponents are hitting a paltry .174 against her.
Perryman's younger sister, Jennah, is a freshman third baseman-pitcher on the team who has had some success of her own in her debut college season. Jennah Perryman was hitting .300 through Thursday in 30 starts. She had 24 hits in 80 at-bats and had scored 22 runs. She is tied for second on the team in home runs with 11 and had 24 RBI. She also has a .750 slugging percentage and a .404 on-base percentage (14 walks).
UMSL was 27-3 overall and 12-2 in conference play through Thursday.
Vietinghoff at Iowa Wesleyan: Karla Vietinghoff, a 2011 Hampshire graduate, recently wrapped up her basketball career at Iowa Wesleyan College in grand fashion. Vietinghoff was named the SLIAC conference player of the year for a second year in a row and also earned United States Small College Athletic Association All-America first-team honors for a second year in a row.
Vietinghoff led the Tigers in scoring this past season at 16.0 points per game. She played in only 19 games due to a knee injury. She ranked fourth in the conference in points per game, fourth in 3-point field-goal percentage (41.5) and second in free-throw percentage (86.0).
In a mid-January game, Vietinghoff set a school record by connecting on 10 3-pointers.
Efflandt at Yale: Cary-Grove product Lindsay Efflandt is a sophomore pitcher-first baseman on the Yale University softball team. Through late week, Efflandt was 1-7 in the pitching circle and had 12 strikeouts in 28⅔ innings of work for a Yale team that was 4-9 overall.
Romano at Miami: Dundee-Crown product Jake Romano has played in 23 games this season for the Miami-Ohio baseball team. Romano, a junior outfielder, has 18 hits (3 doubles and 1 triple) and 6 RBI to go with 10 walks. In the field, Romano has been flawless with no errors in 48 chances (47 putouts). Miami was 4-21 overall through Thursday.
Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at mjm890@gmail.com.