Suess Named Titans'
New Head Women's Softball Coach

Cindy Suess, who guided Verona High School to five state tournament appearances the past six seasons, has been named the new head women's softball coach at UW-Oshkosh. Suess becomes the 11th head coach in the 32-year history of the UW-Oshkosh women's softball program, replacing interim tutor Amy Smith.

Suess has served as head girls' softball coach and physical education teacher at Verona High School since 1993. Over the past 12 seasons, she has directed the Wildcats to a 228-49 record, five WIAA Division 1 State Tournaments and eight Badger Conference championships. Verona advanced to the WIAA Division 1 State Tournament in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, posting second-place finishes in 2001 and 2002. The Wildcats have won the Badger Conference title every year since 1997.

"Cindy's credentials and accomplishments reflect great success as a coach," said UW-Oshkosh Director of Athletics Allen Ackerman. "She will ignite our women's softball program with a level of energy, intensity and commitment that will take it in an exciting new direction."

This past year, with four sophomores and a freshman in her starting lineup, Suess led Verona to an 18-5 record and a semifinal round appearance in the WIAA Division 1 State Tournament. In 2003, Suess coached the Wildcats to a 22-3 record and another visit to the semifinal round of the WIAA Division 1 State Tournament.

"I'm excited about becoming a member of the UW-Oshkosh coaching staff," said Suess. "Several of the UW-Oshkosh athletics programs have been very successful at the conference and national level and my goals are for the softball program to do the same. UW-Oshkosh is a great university and the upcoming renovations to the softball facility will help make the school one of the finest places to play."

During her tenure at Verona, Suess coached 12 all-state first team selections and seven scholarship performers, including a pair of all-state first team picks this past season. The Luxemburg-Casco High School graduate also directed numerous camps, clinics and fundraisers to enhance and promote the Verona softball program. Suess has been a member of the Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association since 1993, serving as president since 2003. She also is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

"My 12 years of coaching softball at Verona were very enjoyable," said Suess. "I had the opportunity to coach some outstanding softball players and develop great relationships in the community. Winning eight straight conference titles and making five trips to the state tournament were direct results of the hard work, great attitudes and team chemistry of the softball program at Verona."

Prior to her appointment at Verona, Suess coached girls' basketball and taught physical education classes at McFarland High School from 1989 to 1992. She also taught physical education classes and coached at Avondale High School in Auckland, New Zealand, from 1987 to 1988 and Marian Central High School in Woodstock, Ill., from 1985 to 1987. While in Auckland, Suess was a member of the Metro Softball Club that captured the 1987 New Zealand national championship.

Suess was a standout softball player at Wartburg College (Iowa), receiving NCAA Division III All-America first team honors for the Knights in 1985. She also gained All-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) first team honors in 1984 and 1985 and all-league second team mention in 1983. Suess compiled a .350 batting average during her three years at Wartburg College, the second-highest career mark in school history. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from the school in 1985.

Assisting Suess at UW-Oshkosh will be her husband, Graeme Robertson. Robertson, a former player on New Zealand's National Fastpitch Softball Team, will coach the pitchers and the catchers. In addition to her coaching duties, Suess will also work in the UW-Oshkosh athletics department as a member of the strength and conditioning staff.

UW-Oshkosh concluded the 2004 season with a 20-19 record, including a fifth-place mark of 9-7 in the WIAC.

Barth, Laha Receive
All-WIAC First Team Honors

Two members of the UW-Oshkosh women's softball team received All-WIAC first team accolades after leading the Titans to a fifth-place finish in the league standings.

Selected to the All-WIAC first team from UW-Oshkosh were outfielders Julie Barth (Sr. • Neillsville) and Jessie Laha (Sr. • Kimberly). It was the third straight year that Barth was named to the All-WIAC first team. Laha also was chosen to the All-WIAC first team in 2001.

Barth hit .380 (19-50) in WIAC action this past year with three doubles, one triple, eight runs scored and seven runs batted in. Overall, Barth hit a team-best .353 (42-119) with eight doubles, three triples, 19 runs scored and 16 runs batted in. She started all 38 games that she played in.

Laha hit .405 (15-37) in WIAC play this past season to lead the Titans and rank ninth in the league. She also recorded two doubles, six runs batted in and four runs scored. Overall, Laha hit .333 (31-93) with three doubles, 13 runs scored and 12 runs batted in. She started all 32 games that she played in.

Both players concluded their UW-Oshkosh careers with impressive numbers. Barth started 133 of the 134 games that she played in, hitting .354 (146-412) with 35 doubles, six triples, four home runs, 70 runs scored and 64 runs batted in. Laha started all 130 games that she appeared in, hitting .301 (119-396) with 13 doubles, six triples, 81 runs scored and 36 runs batted in.

Joining Barth and Laha on the 20-member first team were Mallory McKinney, Emilee Planert and Beth Steward of UW-Eau Claire, Alli Romoren of UW-La Crosse, Wendi Siedschlag of UW-Platteville, Anna Poulter of UW-River Falls, Rebekah Bauer and Mandy Jellish of UW-Stevens Point, Kim Caswell, Megan Donley, Erin O'Connell and Kaela Wold of UW-Stout, Jamie Bang, Abby Glawe and Erin Kegley of UW-Superior and Colleen Boilini, Erin Bravo and Dana Jakoubek of UW-Whitewater. Bravo was named WIAC Position Player of the Year, while McKinney was voted WIAC Pitcher of the Year.

Among the 16 players receiving All-WIAC honorable mention recognition were pitcher Cassie Goodweiler (So. • Stoughton) and third baseman Anne Stanislawski (Jr. • Amherst) of UW-Oshkosh.

Goodweiler had a 6-3 WIAC record for the Titans this past year, appearing in 12 games and hurling 55 and two-thirds innings. She struck out 31 batters and posted a 3.52 earned run average. Goodweiler ranked fourth in the WIAC in victories and innings pitched and ninth in strikeouts. Overall, Goodweiler compiled an 11-7 record with a 2.77 earned run average. She played in 23 games, including 17 starts, and struck out 73 batters.

Stanislawski hit .234 (11-47) for UW-Oshkosh in WIAC play this past season with two doubles, one home run, seven runs batted in and two runs scored. Overall, Stanislawski made 38 starts for the Titans, hitting .306 (33-108) with five doubles, one home run, 15 runs batted in and 12 runs scored.

Leslie Huntington of UW-Eau Claire was named WIAC Coach of the Year, while Anna Poulter of UW-River Falls was named the WIAC's Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Titans Ousted From WIAC Tournament

Held to just one run and eight hits in two games, the UW-Oshkosh women's softball team was eliminated from the WIAC Tournament after suffering a pair of losses on Friday (April 30) in River Falls. The nine-team, double-elimination WIAC Tournament concludes on Saturday (May 1) in River Falls with UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-River Falls, UW-Superior, UW-Stout and UW-Whitewater still alive for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. UW-Oshkosh, performing this year under interim head coach Amy Smith, had its 2004 season end in the WIAC Tournament following losses of 2-1 to UW-Whitewater (29-12) and 3-0 to UW-Eau Claire (25-16). UW-Oshkosh concluded the year with a 20-19 record, the Titans' first winning season since 1999. UW-Oshkosh opened WIAC Tournament play with its setback to UW-Whitewater. The Warhawks took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, scoring both runs on two-out, bases-loaded walks. UW-Whitewater had four batters receive walks from UW-Oshkosh pitcher Cassie Goodweiler (So. • Stoughton) in the inning, with Colleen Boilini walking with the bases loaded to make the score 1-0 and Debbie Meltz duplicating the feat to make the count 2-0. UW-Oshkosh cut its deficit in half in the fifth inning by scoring on a squeeze bunt by Tracy Natz (Sr. • Appleton), Natz singled for the Titans' lone hit in the inning, but stole second base and advanced to third base on a passed ball. The Titans were retired in order in the sixth and seventh innings. The Titans had just four hits in the contest, with Natz, Lisa Torn (Jr. • Hubertus), Julie Barth (Sr. • Neillsville) and Stephanie Johnson (Fr. • Stevens Point) all recording singles. UW-Whitewater had six hits in the game as Kyley Shramek and Amy Ferry totaled two each. Goodweiler (11-7) took the pitching loss for the Titans, allowing all of UW-Whitewater's run and hit counts in seven innings of work. Dana Jakoubek (8-7) was the winning pitcher for UW-Whitewater, yielding just four hits and one run while striking out seven batters in seven innings. UW-Oshkosh managed just four hits in its loss to UW-Eau Claire, two singles by Natz and one single each by Barth and Anne Stanislawski (Jr. • Amherst). UW-Eau Claire banged out 11 hits in the contest, including three by Shannon Wing and two each by Molly Blakewell and Rachel Paulus. UW-Eau Claire counted its three runs with one score in each of the fourth, sixth and seventh innings. The Blugolds grabbed a 1-0 lead on a run-scoring single by Steph Farenbaugh, a 2-0 advantage on a run-scoring single by Wing and a 3-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Mallory McKinney. Both pitchers went all seven innings, with UW-Oshkosh's Natalie Mlinar (Jr. • Whitewater) taking the loss after yielding three earned runs and 11 hits. Mlinar's season record falls to 7-10 with the loss. McKinney (13-7) gained the pitching win for the Blugolds after allowing just four hits while striking out seven batters.