Health & Fitness
Seraphs Softball Team Soars to Undefeated Season, Division and County Championships
The Mater Dei Prep Softball team finished their regular season undefeated and won both their division and county championships.
In Jeanne Dickinson’s 33 years coaching the Mater Dei Prep softball team, she’s compiled an amazing record, winning the “B” Division 14 times. But this year her team managed to win it in a way she didn’t think possible – going undefeated all year. “The girls have far exceeded any expectations this season,” said Coach Dickinson.
After winning their division, the Seraphs moved on to both the Monmouth County Tournament and the Shore Conference Tournament. The Monmouth County Tournament “White Division” finished Saturday, May 18, with the #9 seeded Seraphs beating #7 seed Freehold Township 3-1 to take the county championship. Seeded #15 in the Shore Tournament, the team defeated #18 seed Jackson Liberty 6-2. They face #2 seed Wall High School on Friday, May 24th in the Round of 16.
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The State Tournament begins this week as well. The Seraphs, seeded #2, received a bye in the first round and will meet the winner of the St. Rose/Doane Academy game on Tuesday, May 28th.
Recently Coach Dickinson remarked, “When the season started, I knew we'd be okay defensively and solid on the mound, but I was a bit apprehensive about our offensive production.” She needn’t have worried. Over the course of the season, the Seraphs turned in a team batting average of .454, the best offensive numbers in Jeanne Dickinson’s 33 years of coaching. “How we'll finish the [tournament] season…remains to be seen. We'll get a good idea of how good we really are when we start playing teams outside our conference,” Coach Dickinson explained.
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The 2013 Mater Dei Prep Softball Team consists of seniors Larisa Chiesa, Jordan Donohue, Jacquelyn Nash, Kaitlyn Nash and Alexis Travers; juniors Erin Bara, Emile Boman, Ashley Glynn, Madeline Hourican, Audriana Miller and Tara Schneider; sophomores Jamie Luninoso and Brooke Trotta; and freshmen Kate Aumack, Christina Buzzanco, Samantha Cavalli and Maggie Klatt. They ended their regular season with a 3-2 victory against Red Bank Catholic yesterday, a final meeting before both teams head off to the state tournament.
Said senior Larisa Chiesa about her time as a Seraph softball player, “I have been part of the team for the past four years and for our team to be playing at this level during my senior year has been an incredible experience. This certainly is a great ending to my high school softball career.” Senior Alexis Travers chalks up a lot of the team’s success to Coach Dickinson. “Without her belief in us and the hard work and dedication, we wouldn't be where we are today.” She also adds, “We all mesh so well with one another on the field and want to play our best, not only for ourselves, but also for Coach Jeanne. We can only hope to keep moving forward with our winning streak. With a busy, tough schedule ahead of us, we hope and pray all of our hard work continues to pay off.”
