Hempstead, NY - Senior outfielder Kris Root (Waynesboro, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim HS) was named the Colonial Athletic Association Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year in a vote of the league's sports information directors, it was announced today by the conference office.
Root led Hofstra to a 45-12 final record, a CAA championship, and an appearance in the NCAA Regional finals this spring. She batted a team-best .366 on the year, including .491 in conference games, tops in the CAA, while finishing a perfect 16-16 stealing bases. She also tallied a 19-game hitting streak at the end of the 2010 campaign, including the final 15 games of the regular season, all three games of the CAA Tournament, and a 3-for-5 performance in the first game of Oklahoma State. She was a first-team All-CAA selection, earned second-team All-Northeast Region honors from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), and was a first-team Academic All-District I selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
For her career, Root stole 54 bases, just one shy of setting the Hofstra school record, while breaking the single-season record with 26 steals in the 2008 campaign. She was part of a senior class that won four regular season CAA titles, three CAA Tournament titles, and reached the NCAA Regional finals twice. This year, she helped the Pride defeat No. 14 Oklahoma State twice in the NCAA Tournament (8-6 and 5-2) and then take No. 3 Arizona, the eventual national runner-up to UCLA, to 12 innings before a 10-6 loss in the final game of the Tucson regional.
Root was also a part of a senior class that never lost a conference series in four years. In that span, Hofstra won its CAA series 27 times and tied once, when it split a doubleheader with Towson in 2007 after a rainout shortened the series to two games. The Class of 2010 also helped break the school record for wins in a season with 45 in 2008, and then match it again this spring.
In the classroom, Root graduated this spring with a 3.83 GPA as an exercise science major. She earned a 3.9 GPA during this past academic year, including a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester.
Hofstra finished just outside the top 25 in the final two national polls taken after the conclusion of the Women's College World Series. The Pride was second in the also receiving votes category in the NFCA poll, effectively ranking it 27th in the nation, and was fourth in the receiving votes category in the ESPN.com/USA Softball top 25 poll, ranking it 29th nationally. Hofstra was also 29th in the final ratings percentage index (RPI) put out by the NCAA.
Root will now be eligible for the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for all sports, which will be announced later this summer.
