May 8, 2000

The University of North Carolina softball team claimed several Atlantic Coast Conference honors Monday when junior Michelle Semmes was announced as the ACC Player of the Year and Donna Papa was named the ACC Coach of the Year. Along with Semmes, sophomore Natalie Anter, junior Radara McHugh and senior Crystal Henderson were named to the All-ACC team. The conference's coaches voted on the awards.

"I'm very excited for all our players and especially for Michelle," Papa said. "She has done great things for us this year and is very deserving of the award."

Semmes, a shortstop, is the third Tar Heel to claim the honor, following Beverly Smith in 1994 and Brandy Arthur in 1998. Semmes led UNC and ranked second in the ACC this season with a .394 batting average, the highest of her career. She led the ACC in doubles with 17 and ranked fifth in the conference with 40 RBI. This spring, she set a team single-season record with 52 runs scored, and she holds the UNC career record for doubles with a total of 36. Semmes was an All-ACC selection in 1999 as well.

Anter and Henderson also are making their second consecutive appearances on the All-ACC list. Anter, a catcher, led UNC in home runs this season with nine. Her batting average of .354 ranked third on the team and seventh in the conference. Henderson, who moved from center field to second base for her senior season, batted .351 and led the team in stolen bases with 17. She also was named to the 2000 All-ACC Tournament team. McHugh, a pitcher and the 1998 ACC Rookie of the Year, ranked first in the ACC this season with an ERA of 1.07 and a winning percentage of .793.

Papa's honor is her third in 15 season at Carolina. (She also won the award in 1996 and '98.) Under her direction, the 2000 Tar Heels have won a program-record 47 games and set team single-season records for hits, runs, doubles, RBI, home runs and total bases. "I feel very honored to be selected for this award by my peers," Papa said. "It is certainly something I'll cherish."

The Tar Heels, which finished the regular season on May 3 with a doubleheader sweep of East Carolina, are awaiting word as to whether they've earned one of 24 at-large bids into the NCAA tournament field, which will be announced this Sunday evening.

2000 Atlantic Coast Conference Honors:
Player of the Year: Michelle Semmes, UNC
Coach of the Year: Donna Papa, UNC
Rookie of the Year: Ruby Rojas, Virginia
All-ACC Team: Staci Brandon, FSU, Serita Brooks, FSU, Leslie Malerich, FSU, Brandi Stuart, FSU, Anne Knobbe, Georgia Tech, Jennifer Potzman, Maryland, Beth Radford, Maryland, Natalie Anter, UNC, Crystal Henderson, UNC, Radara McHugh, UNC, Michelle Semmes, UNC, Kristen Dennis, Virginia