Northwestern University Athletics
Volunteer Coach Amanda Rivera Named Assistant at N.C. State
7/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
July 25, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern volunteer assistant coach Amanda Rivera has been named an assistant coach at N.C. State after spending two years helping transform the Wildcats' offense into a national power amid consecutive runs to the Women's College World Series semifinals.
Rivera, a 2004 graduate of Illinois-Chicago, will work with the N.C. State outfielders and assist head coach Lisa Navas with the hitters.
Following one year as a volunteer at her alma mater, Rivera joined Northwestern in 2006, and not coincidentally the Wildcats' offensive numbers skyrocketed in the next two seasons. Individually, she helped coach Garland Cooper and Tammy Williams to back-to-back NFCA All-America accolades, with Cooper ending up the Big Ten's single-season (23) and career (55) home run champion after 2007. Both players earned USA Softball National Team selection camp invitations under Rivera's tutelage.
Northwestern's coaching staff earned the 2006 NFCA/Speedline Coaching Staff of the Year honor after finishing as the runner-up at the WCWS while shattering numerous school offensive records. Those marks all fell again in 2007 when Rivera helped the Wildcats to 35 single-season and career offensive standards. As a team, Northwestern topped its program-best marks for hits, runs, home runs, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, walks and on-base percentage in 2007.
Particularly adept at teaching young hitters, Rivera helped mentor Northwestern batters to the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award in both of her seasons in Purple (Williams in 2006 and Nicole Pauly in 2007).
In her two years at Northwestern, the program became the first private school in NCAA history to reach back-to-back Women's College World Series semifinals.
