Quinnipiac Bobcats softball

Last updated
Quinnipiac Bobcats softball
QU wordmark.png
University Quinnipiac University
Head coachHillary Smith (6th season)
Conference MAAC
Location Hamden, CT
Home stadiumQuinnipiac Softball Field
Nickname Bobcats
ColorsNavy and gold
   
Regular-season conference championships
1996*
*at Division II level

The Quinnipiac Bobcats softball team represents Quinnipiac University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), having joined in 2014. From 1988 until 1998, Quinnipiac was a member of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) at the Division II level. [1] The program transitioned to Division I in 1999, joining the Northeast Conference (NEC) where they were a member until 2013. The Bobcats are currently led by head coach Hillary Smith. The team plays its home games at Quinnipiac Softball Field, which is located on the college's campus. [2]

Contents

History

The Bobcats had some success as an NCAA Division II program, winning the Northeast-10 Conference regular season title in 1996. The team won two individual awards in the NE-10, with coach Frank Kafka winning NE-10 Coach of the Year in 1994 and Alicia Longobardi winning Freshman of the Year in 1996. [1] After the 1998 season, the athletic program transitioned to NCAA Division I. [3] [4]

Since transitioning to Division I in 1999, Quinnipiac has failed to win either a conference regular season title or a conference tournament championship. In doing so, the Bobcats have also failed to reach the NCAA Division I softball tournament. Quinnipiac has finished as high as second in the Northeast Conference standings twice, doing so under coach Germaine Fairchild in the 2004 and 2012 seasons. [5]

Fairchild was replaced by Jill Karwoski on August 26, 2013. [6] [7] Fairchild's firing became the subject of a lawsuit carried out by the former coach against the university, citing a violation of Title IX. [8] A previous lawsuit had been filed in 2009 against the university after the school had announced the elimination of several sports, notably women's volleyball, and the addition of a Division I cheerleading team. [9] Fairchild's lawsuit claimed that she was fired after testifying at the preliminary injunction hearing related to the 2009 lawsuit, which she was subpoenaed to testify as a witness. The hearing took place three weeks before Fairchild was fired on July 11, 2013. [10] A federal judge ruled against Quinnipiac's motion to dismiss Fairchild's claim on June 13, 2014. [11]

After spending the first 15 years of their time in Division I in the NEC, it was announced in 2012 that the Bobcats would be leaving to join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference starting in the 2013–14 academic year. [12] [13]

Coaching history

YearsCoachRecord%
1988–1998Frank Kafka258–197–3.567 [1]
1999–2000Maribeth Clifford40–42.488 [14]
2001–2013Germaine Fairchild276–322–1.462
2013–2018Jill Karwoski117–188.384 [15]
2019–presentHillary Smith56–124.361

Roster

2024 Quinnipiac Bobcats roster
 

Pitchers

  • 54 – Jaclyn Gonzalez – Junior
  • 12 – Lauren Hilliard – Freshman
  • 1 – Sydney Horan – Junior
  • 20 – Tori McGraw – Junior
  • 17 – Taylor Walton – Junior
  • 22 – Julia Woeste – Senior

Catchers

  • 11 – Mac Davis – Sophomore
  • 9 – Hannah Davis – Graduate Student
  • 42 – Kennedy Demott – Sophomore
  • 10 – Amanda Engel – Junior
  • 38 – Abby LaClair – Freshman
  • 20 – Riley Potter – Freshman
  • 26 – Sydney Rosenkranz – Freshman
 

Infielders

  • 27 – Natalia Apatiga – Sophomore
  • 14 – Ashley Garcia – Freshman
  • 44 – Brooke Hilliard – Junior
  • 5 – Ella McGalliard –Junior
  • 2 – Sofia Vega – Sophomore

Outfielders

  • 4 – Mary Fogg – Sophomore
  • 23 – Ally Hochstadter – Sophomore
  • 16 – Gianna Palmisano – Senior
  • 3 – Noelle Reid – Sophomore
  • 34 – Karolyn Walker – Senior

Utility

  • 12 – Bridget Nasir – Graduate Student
  • 24 – Jaelyn Gonzalez – Freshman
 
Reference: [16]

Season by season results

Statistics overview
SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Quinnipiac Bobcats (Northeast-10 Conference)(1988–1998)
1988Frank Kafka 23–2310–64th
1989Frank Kafka 17–218–8T–5th
1990Frank Kafka 25–1810–84th
1991Frank Kafka 19–2210–85th
1992Frank Kafka 18–169–95th
1993Frank Kafka 18–1912–63rd
1994Frank Kafka 30–2011–74th
1995Frank Kafka 33–11–115–33rd
1996Frank Kafka 30–1513–31st
1997Frank Kafka 24–1312–6T–4th
1998Frank Kafka 21–19–213–6–14th
Quinnipiac Bobcats (Northeast Conference)(1999–2013)
1999Maribeth Clifford 23–219–96th
2000Maribeth Clifford 17–2110–10T–6th
2001Germaine Fairchild 17–2610–128th
2002Germaine Fairchild 16–229–117th
2003Germaine Fairchild 34–1913–83rd
2004Germaine Fairchild 23–2816–42nd
2005Germaine Fairchild 19–29–112–84th
2006Germaine Fairchild 19–3711–85th
2007Germaine Fairchild 18–2712–64th
2008Germaine Fairchild 20–365–138th
2009Germaine Fairchild 18–308–106th
2010Germaine Fairchild 28–2415–53rd
2011Germaine Fairchild 32–2613–74th
2012Germaine Fairchild 32–1813–7T–2nd
2013Jill Karwoski 16–349–118th
Quinnipiac Bobcats (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)(2014–present)
2014Jill Karwoski 11–366–149th
2015Jill Karwoski 17–338–128th
2016Jill Karwoski 28–2911–96th
2017Jill Karwoski 23–279–119th
2018Jill Karwoski 22–299–11T–6th
2019Hillary Smith 17–338–128th
2020Hillary Smith 2–90–0N/A

Season cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic

2021Hillary Smith 8–288–2810th
2022Hillary Smith 12–295–1511th
2023Hillary Smith 17–255–1510th
2024Hillary Smith 0–00–0
Total:747–873–1 (.461)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

[17] [18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Northeast 10 Athletics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  2. ↑ "Facilities". Quinnipiac University Athletics.
  3. ↑ Fornabaio, Michael. "How Quinnipiac hockey went from Division II to a national title". Ct Insider.
  4. ↑ "PLUS: COLLEGES -- QUINNIPIAC COLLEGE; School Enters Division I Ranks". The New York Times. 3 September 1998.
  5. ↑ "2012 Quinnipiac Softball Schedule - Northeast Conference". northeastconference.org.
  6. ↑ "New softball coach announced; Fairchild out". August 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Quinnipiac Softball's Jill Karwoski Promoted to Head Coach". gobobcats.com.
  8. ↑ "Fairchild v. Quinnipiac University". Connecticut Law Tribune.
  9. ↑ "BIEDIGER V. QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY | Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse". clearinghouse.net.
  10. ↑ "Quinnipiac Comes up Empty Again in Title IX Litigation | Sports Litigation Alert".
  11. ↑ "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT". ecf.ctd.uscourts.gov.
  12. ↑ "Quinnipiac moves to MAAC". December 14, 2012.
  13. ↑ Chip Malafronte (December 14, 2012). "Quinnipiac accepts invitation to join MAAC". New Haven Register.
  14. ↑ "Quinnipiac Softball's Jill Karwoski Promoted to Head Coach". Quinnipiac University Athletics.
  15. ↑ "Jill Karwoski - Softball Coach". Providence College Athletics. Archived from the original on 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  16. ↑ "2024 Softball Roster". Quinnipiac University Athletics.
  17. ↑ "NEC Softball Standings (1998-2022)". northeastconference.org.
  18. ↑ "Softball Standings 1986-2022". maacsports.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.