STANDISH, ME – The GNAC Softball postseason awards have been announced and seven members of the Saint Joseph's College program have been recognized, with three earning major yearly accolades.

Head Coach Jamie Smyth '92, now in his 17th year at the helm for the Monks, has been selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year for the third time in the last five seasons while senior ace Rae-Marie Copan (Newton, Mass.) is the GNAC Pitcher of the Year and freshman shortstop Danica Gleason (South Portland, Maine) has claimed the 2014 GNAC Rookie of the Year honor.

Copan, senior outfielder Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) and senior Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.) have earned First Team All-GNAC mention, Gleason and junior third baseman Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine) are Second Team All-Conference honorees, and senior second baseman Connie Grovo (Limington, Maine) has collected Third Team accolades.

Smyth, a four-year member of the Monks' baseball program and 1992 Saint Joseph's College graduate, earns the eighth Coach of the Year honor of his career after leading St. Joe's to the program's fourth-consecutive GNAC Championship with a 33-4 overall record and a 20-2 mark in league play this season. The winningest skipper in team history, Coach Smyth picked up the 400th victory of his career with a victory over Suffolk University on March 29th.

Copan becomes the first Saint Joseph's softball player to earn GNAC Pitcher of the Year accolades after going 16-2 with a 1.64 ERA and 66 strikeouts – against just four walks – over 115 innings this season. The 2014 GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player has issued just 17 walks with 244 strikeouts along with a 1.68 ERA and a 45-11 record during her collegiate career and ranks as the Monks' all-time shutouts leader with 15 goose-egg efforts over four years.

Also the first SJC softball player to earn Rookie of the Year acclaim, Gleason has been a steady force in the middle of the Monks' lineup and a spectacular defender as a freshman. She is currently hitting .459 (50-109) with 24 runs, seven doubles, six triples, a homer and 22 RBI and leads the team in batting average and hits as a rookie. She also ranks second on the team in slugging (.661), OBP (.479) and triples this spring.

Hendrix collects First Team honors for the second time and All-Conference accolades for the third time overall after hitting .398 (45-113) with 31 runs, eight doubles, seven triples, four home runs and 31 RBI as a senior. She currently ranks as the Monks' leader in runs, triples, home runs, RBI and slugging (.699) and is second on the squad in batting average and hits.

Moore joins former teammate Emily Leverone '12 as one of just two SJC players to earn First Team All-GNAC honors in each of their four collegiate campaigns after hitting .362 (42-116) with 18 runs, nine doubles, a home run and 22 RBI over 36 games this spring. A three-year starting shortstop relegated to designated player duty after suffering an injury prior to the season, Moore leads the team in doubles and ranks third in batting average and slugging (.483) as a senior. She became the third player in team history to reach the 200-hit milestone earlier this spring and is listed among the top five in essentially every career offensive category, including RBI (136, 2nd), extra base hits (72, 2nd), runs (143, 3rd), hits (211, 3rd), doubles (51, 3rd), home runs (14, 3rd) and slugging (.606, 4th).

Jordan, a Third Team selection as a sophomore, earns Second Team honors after hitting .319 (37-116) with six doubles, two homers, 17 RBI and six stolen bases as one of two players to start all 37 games for the Monks this spring. An elite defender, Jordan made just three errors in 125 chances for a .976 fielding percentage while manning the hot corner for Saint Joseph's this season.

Grovo collects Third Team All-GNAC honors for the third time in four years after hitting .308 (36-117) with 22 runs, six doubles and 20 RBI as a senior. Perhaps one of the most underrated players in the conference, Grovo has played a major role as a four-year starting second baseman and #2 hitter for the Royal Blue. A career .319 (175-549) hitter, she has tallied an incredible 52 sacrifice bunts over four seasons and has committed just one error in 121 fielding chances during the 2014 campaign.

Saint Joseph's defeated Simmons College, 4-1, in the GNAC Championship yesterday. The Monks have now won four-consecutive GNAC titles and earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament – which begins on May 7th - for the fourth year in a row.

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.