May 9, 2007

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IRVING, Texas - Conference USA announced its 2007 All-Conference first, second and all-freshman teams, along with individual postseason award winners for softball today, as selected by the conference's head coaches. The awards were announced at the pre-tournament banquet one day before the start of the 2007 C-USA Softball Championship presented by Coca-Cola. The event is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, May 10-12, at the UCF Softball Complex on the campus of UCF.

Houston sophomore Jessica Valis earned C-USA Player of the Year and All-Conference USA first-team recognition after helping lead the Cougars to the 2007 regular season championship. Valis ranks in C-USA's Top 10 in six offensive categories and improved those marks in league play to help Houston finish 20-4. Teammate Angel Shamblin garnered Pitcher of the Year accolades for the second consecutive year after winning 15 games in league play, which ties the conference record. Both were also first-team selections.

Cougar head coach Kyla Holas was named Coach of the Year after leading her team to its first regular season conference championship in program history. Led by Holas, the Cougars became the first team since DePaul in 2003 to win all of their regular season league series. With its 20-4 mark, UH joined DePaul and Louisville as the only league schools to reach the 20-win plateau in conference play.

Toni Paisley from second-seeded East Carolina claimed Freshman of the Year Honors. Paisley ranks in the top-six among C-USA pitchers in ERA, wins, opposing batting average and strikeouts and is 19-3 on the season. The rookie also leads all freshman conference pitchers in virtually every pitching category except for opposing batting average in which she ranks second.

Southern Miss freshman Megan Hill was named Newcomer of the Year. Hill is one of two players to start every game for Southern Miss this season. She leads the Golden Eagles in runs, hits, triples, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage and total bases and is tied for the lead in doubles. Hill hit a home run in her first career at-bat.

Houston and East Carolina both had seven All-Conference selections, with the Cougars placing three on the first team. Tournament host UCF also had three first-team selections and four honorees overall. Fifth-seeded Marshall and Southern Miss both had four total selections, while Memphis, Tulsa and UTEP had three selections. UAB rounded out the awards with two honors.

The 2007 C-USA Softball Championship presented by Coca-Cola gets underway on Thursday, May 10, with four games at the UCF Softball Complex in Orlando, Fla. beginning at 10 a.m. EST. There will be four more games on Friday, May 11, while the championship game will take place at 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, May 12 and will be televised live on CSTV. For live audio of each game, click on the softball championship logo on the right side of the softball page at the league's official website www.ConferenceUSA.com.