Softball Staff Honored by NFCA

7/2/07 -- Long Island University softball head coach Roy Kortmann and assistant coaches Bill Gehrke and Margie Masters were named the 2007 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic Co-Coaching Staff of the Year by the organization on Monday.

The award marks the second time both Kortmann and Gehrke have garnered NFCA All-Region accolades as they earned Mid-Atlantic Coaching Staff honors in 1998 after a 33-win season and a berth into the East Coast Athletic Conference tournament.

Kortmann and his staff guided the Blackbirds to a second straight 34-win season as LIU finished the year 34-22 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years. Long Island also won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2001 with a 5-1 victory over Colgate.

Also included in LIU’s 34-victory campaign was a 5-4, extra inning victory over Cal State Fullerton, who advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals and finished the year ranked 16th in the nation in the final USA Today/NFCA Poll. The youthful Blackbirds, who started only one senior and return 13 letterwinners in 2008, tied a school record with 18 consecutive victories and finished the season with a 16-2 record in Northeast Conference competition en route to their seventh regular season crown.