Northwestern University Athletics
Adrienne Monka Named Big Ten Player of the Week
4/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 20, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Freshman Adrienne Monka (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week for the second time this season after putting together a record-breaking effort at the plate last week.
Monka hit .765 (13-for-17) in five games, driving in 13 runs and slugging 1.706 with a .778 on-base percentage. At one point during the week, she had base hits in eight-consecutive at-bats spanning three different games, a streak that is tied for ninth longest in NCAA Division I history.
Monka began the week with a three-run homer Wednesday in an extra-inning win over No. 23 Iowa during the first game of a doubleheader. She then was a perfect 4-for-4 with a grand slam and seven RBIs in the second game versus the Hawkeyes, giving her 10 RBIs over the ranked league foe in a single day.
Monka continued her streak with a perfect 3-for-3 effort with a double and a home run in a non-conference win Thursday at Loyola (Chicago). Then, after going 2-for-3 in the first game of a double-dip at Purdue Saturday, she hit home runs in her first two at-bats in the second game against the Boilermakers en route to a 3-for-4 performance.
Monka now has a team-best 15 home runs, breaking the NU freshman record of 14 set in 2006 by Tammy Williams (Roscoe, Mo./Osceola) and matched by Nicole Pauly (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) in 2007. Monka also raised her season batting average from .329 to .404 over the course of the week.
Five different Wildcats have earned six Big Ten weekly accolades this year, with Monka being the first to repeat the feat in 2009.
Monka and the Wildcats return to action with a pair of non-conference games this week, beginning at 5 p.m. CT Tuesday, April 21, at Notre Dame. Radio and streaming video will be available at www.und.com. Northwestern then hosts Northern Illinois at 4 p.m. CT Wednesday, April 22, at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. Student radio WNUR 89.3 FM will broadcast the game live.
