Jaguars softball players and coaches receive more postseason honors
Shortstop Stephanie Lavey, designated player Kristen Lindley, outfielder Cirby Ryan and pitcher Lauren Garza, an at-large selection, were all placed on the NFCA National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Southwest All-Region First Team.
In order to be eligible for the award, players must have received postseason honors in their respective NAIA regions. Eligible players are nominated by their coaches and then voted on by other coaches in the region. Garza and Lindley were selected in May for the All-Region VI first team, while Ryan and Lavey were selected for second team.
Head coach Keri Lambeth and her staff tied for the NFCA NAIA Southwest Regional Coaching Staff of the Year. Lambeth, assistant coach Ryan Lambeth and volunteer assistant coach Jon Bystrek tied with the staff from Dickinson State University in Dickinson, N.D.
Coaching staffs are nominated and voted on by their peers in the region. Lambeth and her staff are in the running for the NFCA NAIA National Coaching Staff of the Year, voted on by coaches from across the country.
"Keri and her players have done an amazing job this season through endless hard work," UHV Athletic Director Ashley Walyuchow said. "They have earned these awards."
Lambeth said she was pleased with the honors.
"The hard work we put in has continued to pay off well past when we thought the inaugural season was over," Lambeth said. "I am very proud of everyone and very thankful they'll be playing for us again next year."
The Southwest Region includes 29 schools in some 10 states, NFCA officials said. The Mississippi-based NFCA is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches from all competitive levels of play.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
