May 9, 2012

Cambridge, Mass. - Freshman Allison Cukrov (Irvine, Calif.) of the Stony Brook softball team headlined five Seawolves to receive America East All-Conference honors, the conference announced Wednesday. Cukrov was named Pitcher of the Year, while head coach Megan Bryant was named Co-Coach of the Year.

Cukrov and senior Suzanne Karath (Fishkill, N.Y.) were named to the All-Conference first team, while senior Lauren Maloney (Las Vegas, Nev.), sophomore Jessica Combs (Hammonton, N.J.) and freshman Shayla Giosia (Runnemede, N.J.) were named second-team All-Conference. Cukrov and Giosia were also named to the America East All-Rookie Team.

In her first season in a Stony Brook uniform, Cukrov owns a 24-8 record with 220 strikeouts and a 1.60 ERA. Cukrov leads the America East in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched (218.1) and appearances (38), and has been named the America East Pitcher of the Week four times. The Irvine, Calif. native has also thrown two no-hitters, including a perfect game at Manhattan on Apr. 5, and set a new single-season program record with 13 shutouts this year.

Cukrov has been particularly dominant against conference opponents, posting a 12-2 record and a 1.26 ERA against America East competition. Cukrov struck out 90 America East batters in 100 innings during the regular season and has limited conference opponents to a miniscule .159 batting average.  

Cukrov is the second Seawolf in program history to win the America East Pitcher of the Year honor; Alyssa Struzenberg also received the accolade in 2008.

Karath has enjoyed a standout senior campaign as her 63 hits are tops in the America East. A .356 hitter, the Fishkill, N.Y. native leads the team with four triples and is tied for the team lead with 18 stolen bases. Like Cukrov, Karath excelled in conference play, batting .397, while registering a .424 on-base percentage in 18 regular season contests.

Stony Brook's middle-infield duo, Maloney and Combs have each had stellar seasons both defensively and at the plate. Maloney is hitting .313 with five homers and 29 RBI, while Combs is batting .336 with a pair of home runs and 28 RBI. Combs and Maloney were both named to the second team in 2011 as well.

A three-time America East Rookie of the Week, Giosia leads the Seawolves in several offensive categories, including home runs (7), RBI (42), runs scored (34) and slugging percentage (.547). Her 42 runs-batted-in are tied for the fourth most in a single season in program history.

The Seawolves will take on Albany on Friday on the opening day of the 2012 America East Championship at 1:30 p.m. in Boston, Mass. Stony Brook won 35 games (35-15-1) during the regular season under the direction of head coach Megan Bryant. The all-time program record for wins in a season is 36, set in 2009 when Bryant was also named America East Coach of the Year. 

2012 America East Softball All-Conference Teams

First Team

Second Team

All-Rookie Team

Player of the Year: Charlise Castro, Albany

Pitcher of the Year: Allison Cukrov, Stony Brook

Co-Rookies of the Year: Vicky McFarland, Albany; Taylor Hall, UMBC

Co-Coaches of the Year: Megan Bryant, Stony Brook; Shawn Rychcik, Boston University