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News Release

DENISCHUK EARNS SECOND AMERICA EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK; O’HARA TABBED CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

3/28/2006

Courtney O'Hara was named America East Co-Rookie of the Week.

Melanie Denischuk was named America East Player of the Week.

Boston-Junior first baseman Melanie Denischuk (Poway, Calif./Hugh Sutherland (Carstairs, Alberta)/Indian River CC/Auburn) was named America East Player of the Week for the week ending March 26, and freshman outfielder Courtney O’Hara (Pasadena, Md./Institute of Notre Dame) was tabbed conference Co-Rookie of the Week, the league announced Monday.

Denischuk earns Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after hitting .474 (9-for-19) with four home runs, seven runs scored and nine RBI in six games last week. She collected 21 total bases for a 1.105 slugging percentage, and with four walks, she reached base at a .565 clip.

Denischuk went 2-for-2 with three runs scored, two walks and a solo home run against George Mason, and then went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run against Sacred Heart. The homer against the Pioneers put the Retrievers ahead, 8-0, in the fourth and proved to be the game-winner. Against St. Francis (N.Y.), she went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run and four RBI. She hit her fourth home run of the week in UMBC’s 9-1 win over Brown.

Denischuk has 11 homers on the season, the fourth-highest single season total in UMBC history. She needs just four more to tie Lauren Hebb for most ever in one season. Denischuk also leads the team with 45 RBI, 79 total bases and 41 hits.

O’Hara earns her first Rookie of the Week honor after hitting .818 (9-for-11) with six runs scored and six RBI in six games on the week. Six of her nine hits went for extra bases, including four doubles, a triple and a home run. She collected 18 total bases for a 1.636 slugging percentage on the week, and with three walks, she reached base at an .857 clip.

O’Hara went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and three RBI in the Retrievers’ 17-1 victory over St. Francis (N.Y.) on March 24, hitting a double and her second-career home run in the game, a three-run shot to straightaway center. She went 2-for-3 with a run and a triple in UMBC’s 4-2 loss to Niagara on March 25, and she was 2-for-2 with two doubles, two runs scored, two RBI, a walk and a stolen base in the Retrievers’ 9-1 win over Brown that same day. She also went 2-for-2 with an RBI, a double and two walks in UMBC’s 6-4 loss to Brown on March 26. O’Hara was selected to the UMBC Spring Classic all-tournament team after her red-hot weekend.

O’Hara shares the Rookie of the Week honors with Boston University’s Cassidi Hardy, who was also named conference Co-Pitcher of the Week, along with Stony Brook’s Sarah Hoffman.

The Retrievers host Howard in a doubleheader beginning at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 28.