web Charlotte

May 14, 2009

STARKVILLE, MISS. - Juniors Serena Smith and Emily Jeffery were joined by sophomore Tenaya Tucker on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Mid-Atlantic Region First-Team list in voting conducted by the region's coaches.

For Jeffery and Smith, the hardware comes after the tandem earned first-team All-Conference honors a week ago.

Charlotte's three All-Region selections are the most in team history.

Jeffery picks up her first All-Region honor on the heels of a record-setting season in the circle and a first-team All-Conference selection.

The Matthews, N.C. product set the Charlotte single-season record in strikeouts with her 294 punchouts on the year and also tallied the third highest wins total with 23 victories. Jeffery matched the single-season shutouts record with nine and turned in the sixth-best single-season ERA with a 1.39 tally.

Jeffery's record setting season also places her in second on the all-time strikeouts list with 440.

Smith rounded out an exceptional second season with the Niners as the team leader in multiple offensive categories.

For the second season in a row, Smith led the Niner squad in hits, this time with 62 hits on the year. Smith also led the team in batting average, hitting at a .363 clip, while also tallying a team-high 37 RBI.

Smith joined Jeffery as a first-team All-Conference selection and also earned Academic All-Conference accolades.

Tucker turned in a breakout sophomore season with the 49ers. She was second on the team in hits (53), batting average (.327), doubles (11) and RBI (29), trailing Smith in every category but doubles where she wound up behind fellow catcher Jaime West.

An Antelope, Calif. native, Tucker teamed up with Jeffery to throw out 21 base runners on the year while aiding the Niner ace to multiple school records.

A total of 264 players from 121 different teams comprised the 10 regional teams.

Charlotte ended the season with a 33-16 mark and finished third in the Atlantic 10 tournament.