Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA)

Caira is Player of the Week
5/8/2012

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today that Syracuse pitcher Jenna Caira (Toronto, Ontario) was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week for the week of April 30 - May 6. Caira recorded two shutouts including a no-hitter versus then-No. 18 South Florida (45-10, 17-5 Big East).

"I would first and foremost like to thank my coaches and teammates for making this moment possible,” said Caira. “The way we have grown as one unit throughout the season made this past weekend an incredible final homestand at Syracuse University for me. USF is a very well respected team with a great coaching staff and facing them enabled us to play some great softball.”

In the opening game of the series, Caira led Syracuse to a 2-0 victory, recording double-digit strikeouts for the eighth time this season with 10. On senior day, she threw a gem with the no-hitter. Caira allowed one base runner the entire game and finished the afternoon with eight strikeouts. The senior struck out 19 batters in three appearances allowing just two hits and issuing one walk over the course of the week. The wins gave Syracuse its second-consecutive 40-win season and propelled the Orange into the Top 25 of this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll.

"This is a well deserved honor for Jenna,” said Syracuse Head Coach Leigh Ross. “The confidence she has on the mound is contagious to the team and it showed this weekend. I am excited to watch Jenna finish out her career for Syracuse University in the upcoming month as she leads us through post-season play."

Caira is the first Syracuse player to garner the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week award. This marks the third time a Big East player has earned the award this season with South Florida’s Sara Nevins taking the honor in Week 5 and Depaul’s Kirsten Verdun receiving the award in Week 8.

2012 USA Softball Collegiate Players of the Week
Week 1 (Feb. 9-12): Valerie Arioto - California - Redshirt senior - Utility – Pleasanton, Calif.
Week 2 (Feb. 13-19): Christi Orgeron – ULL – Senior – Utility – New Orleans, La.
Week 3 (Feb. 20-26):Teagan Gerhart – Stanford – Junior – Pitcher – Norco, Calif.
Week 4 (Feb. 27-March 4): Jessica Cooley – Mississippi State – Junior – Outfielder – Birmingham, Ala.
Week 5 (March 5-11): Sara Nevins – South Florida – Sophomore – Pitcher - Pinellas Park, Fla.
Week 6 (March 12-18): Kaitlin Inglesby – Washington – Sophomore – Pitcher/Designated player – Portland, Ore.
Week 7 (March 19-25): Michelle Moultrie – Florida – Senior – Outfielder – Jacksonville, Fla.
Week 8 (March 26- April 1): Kirsten Verdun – DePaul – Sophomore – Pitcher/1B – Coal City, Ill.
Week 9 (April 2-8, 2012): Ashley Fleming – Missouri – Senior – Outfielder – Silex, Mo.
Week 10 (April 9-15, 2012): Stephany LaRosa – UCLA – Freshman – Third Base – Diamond Bar, Calif.
Week 11 (April 16-22, 2012): Hayley Miles – San Diego State – Sophomore – Shortstop – Antelope, Calif.
Week 12 (April 23-29, 2012): Raven Chavanne – Tennessee – Junior – Third Base – Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Week 13 (April 30-May 6, 2012): Jenna Caira – Syracuse – Senior – Pitcher - Toronto, Ontario

About ASA

The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 200,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.

About USA Softball

USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles including the last seven consecutive as well as claimed five World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.

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