Softball Contact: Kelli Grashel Office: 608-265-3545 Cell: 608-445-4086 E-mail: kg3@athletics.wisc.eduAthletic Communications Office University of Wisconsin Kellner Hall 1440 Monroe Street Madison, WI 53711

QUICK FACTSGENERAL

City/State: Madison, Wis.

Population: 245,691

Founded: 1848

Enrollment: 43,193 (Undergraduates: 29,302)

Nickname:Badgers

Colors: Cardinal (PMS 200) and White

Affiliation: NCAA I

Conference: Big Ten

Chancellor: Rebecca Blank

Athletic Director: Barry Alvarez

Senior Women’s Administrator: Terry Gawlik

Athletic Dept. Phone: 608-262-1866

Website: UWBadgers.com

HEAD COACH YVETTE HEALY

Hometown: Alma Mater: DePaul, 1999Career Record: 296-278-1 (12th year)Record at Wisconsin: 165-106 (Sixth season)

ASSISTANT COACHES Randy Schneider (Sixth season) Kristen Verdun (First season)

SUPPORT STAFF Andie Varsho (Volunteer Assistant Coach) Lori Murphy (Program Specialist) Ashley Parr (Athletic Trainer) Jeff Zuhlke (Strength and Conditioning Coach)

TEAM INFORMATION2015 Overall Record: 21-312015 Big Ten Record (Finish): 5-17 (13th)2015 Final Rank: Not RankedStarters Returning/Lost: 8/4 Pitchers Returning/Lost: 2/1Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 11/8Newcomers: 8

TEAM HISTORYFirst Year of Softball: 1996Record (Years): 535-527-2 (19)Big Ten Record (Years): 151-243 (19)Big Ten Tournament Championships: 1 (2013)NCAA Tournament Record: 5-10Last NCAA Tournament: 2014/ L - Oregon, 6-0First Team All-Big Ten Selections: 10

ARENA INFORMATIONName: Goodman Softball ComplexCapacity: 1,600Record at Goodman: 139-114 (.549)Press Box Phone: 608-265-0750

WISCONSIN SOFTBALL FIVE NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES 10 FIRST-TEAM ALL-BIG TEN SELECTIONS 2013 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS

A NEW ERA BEGINS � The 2015-16 Badgers return 11 letterwinners and eight starters, including the team’s leaders in slugging percentage, on base percentage, RBI, doubles, home runs, total bases and walks.

� Wisconsin returns 53.1 percent of its running, 49.9 percent of its hitting and 61.0 percent of its RBI production from last season.

� The Badgers welcome a new pitching coach in Kirsten Verdun, who played professionally for one year with the Chicago Bandits and was a two-time All-American at DePaul University.

� The Badgers went 3-1 in the fall exhibition season with doubleheader wins over Green Bay and a split with Northern Illinois.

� Eight members of the 2014-15 Wisconsin softball team earned NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2014-15 academic year.

� UW will face four teams ranked in the Preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. Wisconsin also faces six teams that received votes in the preseason rankings.

A LOOK BACK AT 2014-15 � Wisconsin set several all-time UW team records this season, including the highest on base percentage of all-time for the Badgers at .389. UW also earned the most walks, setting a new school season record with 176, and snatched the most stolen bases with 118.

� The Badgers season batting average of .296 was the second best all-time, while their stolen base percentage of .825 ranks second all-time.

� This season saw the fourth most all-time runs and hits, with 245 runs and 403 hits. UW tallied 56 doubles which ranks sixth all-time and 10 triples which comes in at fifth in the UW history books. Wisconsin tallied 200 RBIs, which ranks sixth all-time, and the Badgers’ 512 total bases is seventh best all-time.

� Wisconsin’s senior class - Megan Tancill, Marissa Mersch and Maria Van Abel - finished as the second-winningest class in school history with a win percentage of .619 (135. The trio won 135 games for UW, including 47 Big Ten wins.

� Van Abel’s 30 stolen bases this season gave her a career total of 83 stolen bases. With the 82 swipes, Van Abel finished second all-time at UW for career stolen bases.

� Van Abel also led the Big Ten in stolen bases (30-37). Additionally, she ranks 20th among all NCAA Division I active players with her 82 stolen bases in her career and ranks 28th nation-ally with her 30-of-37 stolen bases this season (.58 percent). In addition, her 30 stolen bases in a single season ranks second in UW’s single season stolen base records.

� Freshman Kelsey Jenkins broke the record for single season walks as a freshman. She recorded 42 and the previous record was 21 set in 2000 by Anna Jones. Her 42 walks also set the single-season records for all players, as she passed Stephanie Peace, who set the record with 35 walks in the 2013 season. She ranks third among all conference players for walks.

� Jenkins finished 18-21 on stolen bases for the year. She was one of six players (and the only freshman) to have started and played in all 52 games.

STARTERS RETURNING (8)Infield (5): Sam Arents, Kelsey Jenkins, Chloe Miller, Sara Novak, Ashley Van Zeeland Outfield (1): Katie ChristnerPitchers (2): Taylor-Paige Stewart, Mariah Watts

STARTERS LOST (4)Infield (2): Stefanni LaJeunesse (Injury), Megan TancillOutfield (2): Marissa Mersch, Maria Van Abel

LETTERWINNERS RETURNING (11)Samantha Arents, Taylor Berry, Katie Christner, Brianna Flugaur, Kelsey Jenkins, Chloe Miller, Sara Novak, MacyOswald, Taylor-Paige Stewart, Ashley Van Zeeland, Mariah Watts

LETTERWINNERS LOST (8)Annie Davis, Sarah Fonk, Marisa Gonzalez, Stefanni LaJeunesse, Marissa Mersch, Nyah Rodman,Megan Tancill, Maria Van Abel

NEWCOMERS (8)Melanie Cross, McKenna Heim, Stephanie Lombardo, Brooke Mann, Angela Morrow, Gabby Scherle,Kirsten Stevens, Kelly Welsh

2015-16 PROSPECTUS

2015-16 SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT) TV

at Kajikawa Classic, Tempe, Arizona Feb. 12 vs. California 10 a.m. Feb. 12 at BYU 12:15 p.m. Feb. 13 at Nevada 12:15 p.m. Feb. 13 vs. Portland State 4:45 p.m. Feb. 14 vs. UC Riverside 10 a.m. at NC State Hyatt Place Challenge, Raleigh, NC Feb. 19 at Louisville 3 p.m. Feb. 20 vs. Louisville 1:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at NC State 6:30 p.m. Feb. 21 vs. NC State 11:30 a.m. at USF Tournament, Tampa, Florida Feb. 26 at Kansas 8:15 a.m. Feb. 26 vs. UNLV 10:30 a.m. Feb. 27 at USF 10:30 a.m. Feb. 27 TBA 1 or 3:15 p.m. Feb. 28 TBA $ 8 or 10:15 a.m. at Judi Garman Classic, Fullerton, California Mar. 4 Cal State Fullerton 7 p.m. Mar. 4 Arizona State 10 p.m. Mar. 5 Oregon State 2 p.m. Mar. 5 Fresno State 9:30 p.m. Mar. 6 Long Beach State 11 a.m. at Rebel Classic, Las Vegas, Nevada Mar. 11 Santa Clara University 5:45 p.m. Mar. 12 Valparaiso 5:45 p.m. Mar. 12 UNLV 8 p.m. Mar. 13 Utah State 11 a.m. Mar. 13 Santa Clara 1:15 p.m. Mar. 22 Detroit 12/2 p.m. Mar. 24 Michigan State 3 p.m. Mar. 25 Michigan State 12 p.m. Mar. 26 Michigan State 12 p.m. Mar. 30 South Dakota 2/4 p.m. April 1 Ohio State 4 p.m. April 2 Ohio State 1 p.m. April 3 Ohio State 1 p.m. April 5 North Dakota State 3/5 p.m. April 8 Purdue 4 p.m. April 9 Purdue 1 p.m. April 10 Purdue 1 p.m. April 12 Minnesota 4/6 p.m. April 15 Iowa 5:30 p.m. April 16 Iowa 2 p.m. April 17 Iowa 1 p.m. April 22 Illinois 4 p.m. April 23 Illinois 1 p.m. April 24 Illinois 1 p.m. April 26 Green Bay 2/4 p.m. April 29 Northwestern 4 p.m. April 30 Northwestern 1 p.m. May 1 Northwestern 1 p.m. May 6 Nebraska 5:30 p.m. May 7 Nebraska 1 p.m. May 8 Nebraska 12 p.m. May 12 at Big Ten Tournament TBD State College, Penn FOLLOW THE BADGERS WEBSITE: UWBadgers.com TWITTER: @BadgerSoftball INSTAGRAM: @BadgerSoftballl FACEBOOK: /WisconsinSoftball SNAPCHAT: officialbadgers

PITCHERS � Senior Taylor-Paige Stewart returns as the Badgers’ ace. Last season, Stewart posted a 10-18 record after starting in 28 games and appearing in 33. Stewart currently ranks 10th in Wisconsin softball history with 291 career strikeouts and fifth in career winning percentage (.537). Stewart recorded a team season-high 124 strikeouts a season-best two saves. She allowed a career-best zero runs and only three hits in 5.2 innings pitched vs. DePaul (3/1). On the other side, Stewart hit the first home run of her career against Iowa (4/12) and also had a career-high three RBI vs. TAMUCC (2/12).

� Sophomore Mariah Watts appeared in 22 games last season and finished with an 8-9 record in the circle. She logged a career-best eight strikeouts at Purdue.

� Junior Kirsten Stevens transferred from Mercer University where she was named the 2015 Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year and a first-team All-Southern Conference selection.

� Freshman Angie Morrow finished her final high school season with a 1.12 ERA and 174 strikeouts. Morrow collected 18 wins out of 22 games with one save as a senior and led her team to a third-place finish in the Illinois state tournament.

INFIELD � Kelsey Jenkins, a sophomore from Tucson, Arizona, was the first freshman in UW history to be named first-team All-Big Ten. Jenkins set the UW single-season record for freshmen and all players with 42 walks. She also set the freshmen record for stolen bases in a single season with 18. Jenkins tied the school record for most home runs by an individual in a single game with three long balls against Rutgers (5/1).

� Sophomore Samantha Arents played in 48 games and started in 29 as UW’s first base-man. She recorded a team season-best 15 putouts vs. Portland State (3/6). Arents also finished third on the team withe eight dou-bles after tallying a career-high two doubles vs. New Mexico State (2/28).

� Senior Ashley Van Zeeland ranked second on last season’s team with two triples. She ranked fourth on the team with 47 total hits, tallying a career-high three hits on two seperate occasions.

� Junior Chloe Miller led the 2014-15 Badgers in doubles (18), runners batted in (45), hit by pitch (10) and sacrifice flies (3). the 2014 NFCA Great Lakes All-Region third team selection tallied a season-high

four RBI vs. Seton Hall (3/7) and led the team with 15 multiple RBI games.

� After missing last season with a knee injury, junior Sara Novak returns to the Badgers in 2015-16. Novak’s 11 HBP is second most by a freshman in Wisconsin history, she had ninth best on base percentage (.364) for a freshman and her four home runs in Big Ten play is tied for third most in school history.

� Senior Macy Oswald played in 18 games last season, including when she stole home vs. Boston College (3/8) to give Wisconsin a 4-3 win in extra innings.

� Three-time first-team all-state shortstop McKenna Heim joins the Badgers after finishing her career at North Scott High School owning three of the top five single season batting averages.

� 2015 Woodland Conference West Player of the Year Stephanie Lombardo makes her debut for the Badgers in 2016. Lombardo holds New Berlin Eisenhower’s school records for home runs and RBI.

OUTFIELD � Senior left fielder Katie Christner scored 22 runs last season, ranking sixth on the team. She played in all 52 games, starting 49 and tallied a season-best two runs four times.

� Junior Taylor Berry started 11 of the 15 games she played in last season behind the plate. She had a career-high three at-bats against Central Michigan (3/7) and Boston College (3/8).

� Sophomore Brianna Flugaur played in 32 games and had six starts as a freshman in 2014-15. She recorded a career-high two runs and two hits vs. UAB on Feb. 14 and went 6-for-10 on stolen bases.

� Freshman Melanie Cross was an Arizona Division II State champion as a senior and was named the team’s offensive MVP. Cross is the career leader in RBIs and doubles at Cienega high school.

� Brooke Mann, a freshman from Monrovia, California, was first-team all-league three consecutive years.

� Freshman Kelly Welsh was tabbed a first-team Northern Indiana Conference selection and was named second-team all-state (Indiana). She set school record for most stolen bases and extra base hits at St. Joseph high school.

� Gabby Scherle, a two-time all-conference pick from Slater, Iowa, set her school record for batting average (.587) and single game stolen base record with eight stolen bases.

WISCONSIN SOFTBALL 2015-16 PROSPECTUS

2

PRACTICE MEDIA AVAILABILITY • For the spring semester, the Wisconsin softball team will practice daily from 2:30-5 p.m. in either the Goodman Diamond facilities or the McClain Center in Camp Randall. Practice times may vary based on travel itineraries. Send interview requests to Kelli Grashel (kg3@athletics.wisc.edu). Please contact the UW Athletic Communications office for exact dates and times of daily practices. • For those media members who wish to cover Wisconsin softball for the 2015-16 season, please send an e-mail request to Kelli Grashel (kg3@athletics.wisc.edu) for the appropriate credentials. Practice times and locations are subject to change.

WISCONSIN SOFTBALL 2015-16 PROSPECTUS

STAFFYvette Healy Head CoachRandy Schneider Assoc. Head CoachKirsten Verdun Assistant CoachAndie Varsho Vol. Assistant Coach

Terry Gawlik Sr. Assoc. AD/SWALori Murphy Program SpecialistAshley Parr Athletic TrainerJeff Zuhlke Strength CoachKelli Grashel CommunicationsMindy Van Dyke MarketingAlan Zussman AcademicsDaniel Rohrer ComplianceBridget Woodruff DevelopmentNancy Bee Event ManagementBianca Miceli Video CoordinatorSam Wrobel Equipment

WISCONSIN ROSTERALPHABETICALNo. Name Pos. B/T Ht. Yr. Hometown 7 Arents, Samantha IF R/R 5-9 SO Corona, Calif.14 Berry, Taylor C R/R 5-10 JR Muscatine, Iowa6 Christner, Katie OF R/R 5-6 SR Tinley Park, Ill.12 Cross, Melanie C L/R 5-6 FR Vail, Ariz.8 Flugaur, Brianna OF L/R 5-8 SO Stevens Point, Wis.10 Heim, McKenna IF L/R 5-8 FR Davenport, Iowa3 Jenkins, Kelsey UT L/R 5-6 SO Tucson, Ariz.18 Lombardo, Stephanie IF L/R 6-2 FR New Berlin, Wis.31 Mann, Brooke C R/R 5-3 FR Monrovia, Calif.28 Miller, Chloe SS/C L/R 5-10 JR Bettendorf, Iowa22 Morrow, Angela P R/R 5-10 FR Elburn, Ill.21 Novak, Sara SS/UT R/R 5-11 JR Shorewood, Ill.11 Oswald, Macy UT R/R 5-4 SR Caseyville, Ill.20 Scherle, Gabby OF L/R 5-5 FR Slater, Iowa.1 Stevens, Kirsten P L/L 5-9 JR Crystal Lake, Ill.24 Stewart, Taylor-Paige P/UT R/R 5-7 SR Calabasas, Calif.32 Van Zeeland, Ashley IF L/R 5-8 SR Kaukauna, Wis.5 Watts, Mariah P/UT R/R 6-0 SO St. Petersburg, Fla.4 Welsh, Kelly OF R/R 5-6 FR Mishawaka, Ind.

NUMERICALNo. Name Pos. B/T Ht. Yr, Hometown 1 Stevens, Kirsten P L/L 5-9 JR Crystal Lake, Ill.3 Jenkins, Kelsey UT L/R 5-6 SO Tucson, Ariz.4 Welsh, Kelly UT/OF R/R 5-6 FR Mishawaka, Ind.5 Watts, Mariah P/UT R/R 6-0 SO St. Petersburg, Fla.6 Christner, Katie OF R/R 5-6 SR Tinley Park, Ill.7 Arents, Samantha IF R/R 5-9 SO Corona, Calif.8 Flugaur, Brianna OF L/R 5-8 SO Stevens Point, Wis.10 Heim, McKenna IF L/R 5-8 FR Davenport, Iowa11 Oswald, Macy UT R/R 5-4 SR Caseyville, Ill.12 Cross, Melanie C L/R 5-6 FR Vail, Ariz.14 Berry, Taylor C R/R 5-10 JR Muscatine, Iowa18 Lombardo, Stephanie IF L/R 6-2 FR New Berlin, Wis.20 Scherle, Gabby OF L/R 5-5 FR Slater, Iowa.21 Novak, Sara SS/P/UT R/R 5-11 JR Shorewood, Ill.22 Morrow, Angela P R/R 5-10 FR Elburn, Ill.24 Stewart, Taylor-Paige P/UT R/R 5-7 SR Calabasas, Calif.28 Miller, Chloe SS/C L/R 5-10 JR Bettendorf, Iowa31 Mann, Brooke C R/R 5-3 FR Monrovia, Calif.32 Van Zeeland, Ashley IF L/R 5-8 SR Kaukauna, Wis.

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE BY ELIGIBILITY #7 Samantha Arents Samantha AIR-ints#8 Brianna Flugaur floo- GAR#10 McKenna Heim Rhymes with dime#22 Angela Morrow more OH

Seniors (4): Christner, Oswald, Stewart, Van ZeelandJuniors (4): Berry, Miller, Novak, StevensSophomores (4): Arents, Flugaur, Jenkins, WattsFreshmen (7): Cross, Heim, Lombardo, Mann, Morrow,Scherle, Welsh

HEAD COACH YVETTE HEALY SIXTH SEASON

Yvette Healy enters her sixth season at the helm of the program with the highest winning per-centage of any UW coach in the program’s 19 year history with a .609 (165-106) winning percent-age.

Healy entered the 2015 season, having just led the team to its second consecutive NCAA Regional Championship. Healy directed the team to the NCAA tournament in back-to-back sea-sons, which had only been done once before by UW in 2001 and 2002 and only a total of three times in the history of the program.

Over the last five years, the team has posted an impressive 165-106 overall record and 58-52 conference record in the Big Ten under Healy. Her .527 winning percentage ranks highest in school history.

In the last five seasons, Wisconsin has had four 30-plus win seasons after only previously hav-ing five 30-plus win campaigns in 15 seasons.

Wisconsin has had a total of 10 first-team All-Big Ten selections in program history with eight of those coming in the Healy era. Kelsey Jenkins, who earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades in 2015, is the first freshman in UW history to collect the honor.

Healy has helped her players seen just as much success off the field as she has on the field. The Badgers have received a total of 18 combined Academic All-Big Ten recognitions in the last five seasons.

The 2015 senior class, led by walk-on Maria Van Abel (2015 All-Big Ten defensive team) along with Marissa Mersch and Megan Tancill, went down as the second-winning class in school his-tory.

In 2015, the Badgers clinched the highest season on-base percentage (.389) in school history and claimed the Wisconsin single-season walks record (176). The season also the season record for stolen bases shattered (118 stolen bases) along with setting the highest single-season batting aver-age (.296).

At the end of the 2014 season, the Badgers finished in two final national polls for just the fourth time in the program’s 19-year history and the second consecutive year. UW came in at No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 and received votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 for the eighth time in the season. Wisconsin finished the 2014 season at No. 32 in the NCAA Softball Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), after facing nine of the 31 teams who posted a higher RPI ranking.

The 2014 season boasted the second-highest win total (36) in school history. The Badgers defeated six ranked opponents and tied with the 1997 team for the most top-25 wins in a sea-son. UW has won four NCAA tournament games over the last two seasons, having won one in the program’s first 19 years of existence. For just the second time in program history, the team achieved a pair of NCAA tournament wins matching their run in 2013.

The conclusion of the 2014 season marked the end of incredible careers for seniors Cassandra Darrah, Mary Massei, Michelle Mueller and Stephanie Peace. Under Healy, the senior class went down in the history books as the most winningest class in UW history at 144-75.

The 2007 Horizon League Coach of the Year, Healy guided the Loyola (Ill.) Ramblers to a top-four conference finish in every season she was at the helm. She has coached four NFCA All-Mideast Region players over the last four seasons, and the team set the single-season school record for batting average (.292) in 2010. Healy’s team also set single-season Loyola records for stolen bases (116) and home runs (37) in 2009.

As Healy was winning coach of the year honors in the Horizon League in 2007, the team was capturing the conference title with a 14-5 record. Pitcher Amy Solava was also named the league’s pitcher of the year, just the third player in school history to earn the award.

Off the field, Healy was instrumental in the team’s community service participation. She was a part of numerous campaigns to give back, including the Strike Out Cancer Fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Healy’s teams have also excelled in the classroom. The 2010 team was the recipient of the 2010 NCAA Academic Performance Program APR Award, while nine players in her time were named Academic All-District by ESPN the Magazine and 25 were chosen as Scholar Athletes by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

She took over as head coach at Loyola in July of 2004 after spending two seasons as an assis-tant at her alma mater, DePaul. While with the Blue Demons, Healy coached five All-Americans as the team won the Conference USA title in 2003 and 2004 to make the NCAA tournament.

A two time All-American and three-time Academic All-American as a player, Healy ranks second on the DePaul single-season chart with a .424 batting average and is the school’s all-time leader with 102 stolen bases. In her senior campaign in 1999, Healy led the Blue Demons to a school-record 54 victories, an NCAA Regional Championship and the College World Series as the team wrapped up the year ranked third in the nation. She earned All-Mideast Region honors on three occasions as well.

Prior to her collegiate coaching career, Healy worked for the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox Academy as Director of Marketing. She also served as head softball coach at her alma mater Providence Catholic High School, where she was the salutatorian at her graduation in 1995.

Healy graduated cum laude and earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing and communica-tions from DePaul in 1999 and her master’s in secondary education and English from DePaul in 2007. She and her husband Shawn will celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary in August. They currently reside in Madison with their two daughters, Grace (6) and Maeve (2).

WISCONSIN SOFTBALL 2015-16 PROSPECTUS HEAD COACH YVETTE HEALY

KirstenStevensP • L/L • Jr. Crystal Lake, Ill.

7 SamanthaArentsIF • R/R • So.Corona, Calif.

1 4

TaylorBerryC • R/R • Jr.Muscatine, Iowa

2 4

Taylor-PaigeStewartP/UT • R/R • Sr.Calabasas, Calif.

Yvette HealyHead Coach6th Season

3 KelseyJenkinsUT • L/R • So.Tucson, Ariz.

8 BriannaFlugaurIF • L/R • So.Stevens Point, Wis.

1 8

StephanieLombardoIF • L/R • Fr.New Berlin, Wis.

2 8

ChloeMillerSS/C • L/R • Jr.Bettendorf, Iowa

Randy SchneiderAssociate Head Coach6th Season

4 KellyWelshUT/OF • R/R • Fr.Mishakawa, Ind.

8 McKennaHeimIF • L/R • Fr.Davenport, Iowa

2 0

GabbyScherleOF • L/R • Fr.Slater, Iowa

3 1

BrookeMannC • R/R • Fr.Monrovia, Calif.

Kirsten VerdunAssistant Coach1st Season

5 MariahWattsP/UT • R/R • So.St. Petersburg, Fla.

1 1

MacyOswaldUT • R/R • Sr.Caseyville, Ill.

2 1

SaraNovakSS/P/UT • R/R • Jr.Shorewood, Ill.

3 2

AshleyVan ZeelandIF • L/R • Sr.Kaukauna, Wis.

6 KatieChristnerIF • R/R • Sr.Tinley Park, Ill.

1 2

MelanieCrossC • L/R • Fr.Vail, Ariz.

2 2

AngelaMorrowP • R/R • Fr.Ellburn, Ill.

1

Andie VarshoVolunteer Coach1st Season

WISCONSIN SOFTBALL 2015-16 PROSPECTUS RADIO/TV ROSTER