May 11, 2011

By Brian Davis, Assistant Media Relations Director

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - With the annual Southeastern Conference Tournament slated to begin on Thursday at the Ole Miss Softball Stadium in Oxford, Miss., the league office released its annual All-SEC teams for softball with five Lady Vols included among the players honored.

Tennessee sophomore outfielder Raven Chavanne and sophomore second baseman Lauren Gibson each reaped first team All-SEC honors, while freshman pitcher Ellen Renfroe and senior outfielder Kelly Grieve were chosen second team All-SEC. Renfroe also picked up SEC Freshman of the Year accolades, marking the second straight season a Lady Vol received that award (Kat Dotson/SEC Co-Freshman of the Year in 2010) while joining UT rookie shortstop Madison Shipman on the SEC All-Freshman squad. Grieve and Gibson also earned a mention on the SEC All-Defensive Team in center field and at second base, respectively.

Third-seeded and No. 7-ranked Tennessee (44-10, 20-8 SEC) opens the annual SEC Tournament on Thurs., May 12, at noon ET in a match-up against sixth-seeded and No. 20-ranked Kentucky (36-13, 14-9 SEC). The contest will be broadcast live on ESPNU with Cara Capuano and Jessica Mendoza on the call.

Renfroe has registered a tremendous rookie campaign in the circle at Rocky Top, posting a 23-5 overall record, a 1.33 ERA, 17 complete games, seven solo shutouts and 233 strikeouts in 173.1 innings of work. The Jackson, Tenn., native owns wins this season over ranked teams such as #1 Alabama, defending national champion #2 UCLA, #2 Georgia, #19 LSU, #22 Auburn and #25 BYU. She rated second in the SEC in both overall wins and strikeouts, was third in ERA and fourth in batting average against (.188) while tallying six games with 10 or more strikeouts. The 6-0 right hander was 10-4 in SEC contests with a 1.42 ERA and 125 K's in 103.2 IP, allowing just 21 earned runs along the way. Renfroe's 1.33 ERA currently rates sixth in Lady Vol single-season history behind only the yearly marks put up by Abbott from 2004-07 and Buffy Walker (0.71, 1997).

A top 10 national finalist for the 2011 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year and a 2010 second team All-SEC selection, Chavanne owns UT-best 26 multi-hit games in 2011, 11 of those with three or more hits. The Thousand Oaks, Calif., native has hit safely in 43 of her 54 contests and reached by hit or walk in 48 of 54 games. She posted a career-long 15-game hitting streak from April 8 - May 6, during which she hit at a .577 (30-of-52) clip. She led the SEC in overall batting average at .455 and total hits (80), was second in steals (29), tied for third in runs scored (59) and was fourth in on-base percentage (.525). Chavanne posted two or more hits in a game in seven straight games from April 19-May 1 and led off Tennessee's first at-bat of the game by reaching safely 25 times in 2011. She finished the conference season ranked third in the SEC in batting average counting league games only at .421.

Grieve, a preseason inclusion on the "Watch List" for the 2011 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award, hit safely during 40 of her 54 games this season while hitting .365 with nine doubles, four triples, five HR's, 19 steals and 35 RBIs. As Tennessee's everyday center fielder, she did not make a single error in 41 total chances and tallied five outfield assists. The Asheville, N.C., native recorded 17 multi-hit and eight multi-RBI games, totaling three hits during four of those match-ups and a pair of four-hit contests. Grieve registered an eight-game hitting streak from Feb. 12-19, during which she had a pair of four-RBI efforts (ETSU, Cal Poly) to go along with two total triples and two HR's, including her first career grand slam. She also blasted the decisive walk-off solo HR in the 10th inning to beat #22 Auburn, 2-1, on April 1.

A 2010 SEC All-Freshman honoree, Gibson stepped up her efforts in a big way as a sophomore at Rocky Top, leading the SEC in batting average (counting league games only) by hitting .451 with six doubles, five HR's and 28 RBIs in league play. Overall, Gibson guided Tennessee in doubles with 13 (tied for fourth in SEC), while rating third in the conference in overall hitting at .431 with six HR's and a career-best 55 RBIs (rated fourth in the SEC). She also hit safely in 41 of her 54 total contests while going a perfect 11-for-11 on stolen bases. The Pasadena. Md., native tallied 18 multi-hit and 14 multi-RBI games in 2011, including a 3-for-4, two-HR, career-best seven-RBI effort in an 11-0 win at #19 LSU on April 16.

Throughout her rookie campaign, Shipman battled a broken hand/wrist and an injury to her non-throwing shoulder, but still managed to start 47 of her 51 contests as Tennessee's everyday shortstop. Amazingly, despite her maladies, the Valencia, Calif., product still recorded a .284 batting average with six doubles, four HR's and 22 RBIs while totaling eight multi-hit and four multi-RBI efforts. Among her season highlights were a 3-for-4, two-run scored performance during a 10-0 victory at #23 Kentucky (March 12) and her first career grand slam, helping set the tone for UT in its opening triumph at #19 LSU on April 15. During that high-profile series versus the Bayou Bengals in Baton Rouge, La., Shipman hit .400 overall with six RBIs.

2011 SEC Softball Awards

Player of the Year

Kelsey Bruder, Florida

Pitcher of the Year

Kelsi Dunne, Alabama

Co-Coaches of the Year

Tim Walton, Florida; Yvette Girouard, LSU

Freshman of the Year

Ellen Renfroe, TENNESSEE

Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Meagan Aull, Kentucky

First Team All-SEC

P - Kelsi Dunne, Alabama

P - Brittany Mack, LSU

IF - Whitney Larsen, Alabama

IF - Megan Bush, Florida

IF - Alisa Goler, Georgia

IF - Lauren Gibson, TENNESSEE

OF - Kayla Braud, Alabama

OF - Kelsey Bruder, Florida

OF - Megan Wiggins, Georgia

OF - Raven Chavanne, TENNESSEE

C - Megan Yocke, Kentucky

DP/U - Brittany Schutte, Florida

Second Team All-SEC

P - Hannah Rogers, Florida

P - Ellen Renfroe, TENNESSEE

IF - Aja Paculba, Florida

IF - Brianna Hesson, Georgia

IF - Kara Dill, Kentucky

IF - Anissa Young, LSU

OF - Michelle Moultrie, Florida

OF - Taylor Schlopy, Georgia

OF - Meagan Aull, Kentucky

OF - Kelly Grieve, TENNESSEE

C - Ashley Razey, Georgia

DP/U - Amanda Locke, Alabama

Freshman All-SEC

P - Hannah Rogers, Florida

P - Ellen Renfroe, TENNESSEE

IF - Kaila Hunt, Alabama

IF - Cheyenne Coyle, Florida

IF - Emily Jolly, Kentucky

IF - Madison Shipman, TENNESSEE

OF - Simone Heyward, LSU

OF - RT Cantillo, Ole Miss

OF - Brianna Bell, Mississippi State

C - Sam Lenahan, Mississippi State

DP/U - Morgan Estell, Auburn

SEC All-Defensive

P - Kelsi Dunne, Alabama;

Hannah Rogers, Florida

C - Kendall Dawson, Alabama

1B - Brianna Hesson, Georgia

2B - Lauren Gibson, TENNESSEE

SS - Whitney Larsen, Alabama

3B - Alisa Goler, Georgia

LF - Megan Wiggins, Georgia

CF - Kelly Grieve, TENNESSEE;

Michelle Moultrie, Florida

RF - Jazlyn Lunceford, Alabama