UTICA, NY- Seniors Alysa Russell (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville) and Abby Monroe (Watertown, NY/General Brown) of the Utica College softball team were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Northeast All-Region team on Monday.  Russell earned first team honors, while Monroe was a third team selection.  All-Region players are nominated and selected by NFCA member coaches in each of the eight Division III regions. First team All-Region choices are eligible for selection to the NFCA All-America team, which will be announced the evening of May 25.
 
Russell, who is making her second appearance on the first team, was an All-Region selection in each of her four years as a Pioneer.  The shortstop led the team with a .406 batting average and she finished third in the conference with a .466 average in Empire 8 play.  Russell led the E8 with 41 runs scored and her single-season program record of 26 stolen bases this year rank 28th in the country.  She wrapped up her career as the College's all-time leader in slugging percentage (.682), runs scored (152), triples (nine), and stolen bases (52).  She is also second all-time in batting average (.425), hits (211), and home runs (24).
 
Monroe is making her second All-Region appearance after she led the team and finished fourth in the E8 with a 2.14 ERA.  She wrapped up her senior campaign with a career-high 118 strikeouts, becoming just the fourth player in program history to record over 100 strikeouts in a single season.  She also owns the career records for wins (51), strikeouts (378), and shutouts (10) and she is tied with Pioneer Hall of Famer Bobbi (McMail) Simon for the single-season wins record (19).  Monroe is also second in program history with a 2.63 career ERA, just .01 away from first all-time.
 
Utica wrapped up the season with a 22-18 overall record, marking the sixth straight year UC has finished above .500.  The Pioneers also made their third Empire 8 Conference Tournament appearance in the last four years.