Syracuse, NY — The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) announced its annual All-SUNYAC Softball team with SUNY New Paltz garnering a record setting seven all conference selections, along with picking up Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, and Coaching Staff of the Year honors. The Hawks sweep across all three of the significant SUNYAC softball awards is the first in program history.

Coach Krysti Maronski and her assistants Rick Spriggs and Taylor LaFrance earned the program's first Coaching Staff of the Year honor. They were joined by SUNYAC Player of the Year selection Jackie Rometo, becoming the first sophomore to earn the mark since 2012 and second ever selection for the team with junior Lindsay Roman being named SUNYAC Pitcher of the Year — a program first. They were joined by All-SUNYAC picks, Sydney Bonewit, Juliet Bernstein, Jaycee Filancia, Jillian Shelbourne and Sydney Waldon.
The accolades came with the best season to date for SUNY New Paltz, as it finished 2023 with a record of 31-13, the best in program history, while also becoming regular season conference champions taking the top seed in the postseason tournament for the first time as well, setting a new team record for conference wins with 16 and ended the year ranked third in Region III.

"I am so proud of the team we had this year, and I am thrilled for these seven kids whose hard work and success on the field has been recognized by our conference," Maronski said. "To have the first ever Pitcher and Player of the Year in program history is an amazing accomplishment.  Jackie and Lindsay both compete with so much heart and put so much time and commitment into what they do, and I am so happy for them to receive these awards."

To view the complete 2023 All SUNYAC softball team, click here.

Continue reading about the Hawks 2023 All SUNYAC selections below:

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First Team/Player of the Year

Jackie Rometo (sophomore, outfield)
Montgomery, NY/Valley Central HS

In only her second season of collegiate softball, Rometo already established herself as one of the finest players ever to don the Orange and Blue. Rometo is only the second Hawk to earn SUNYAC player of the year honors, joining 2022 SUNYAC Player of the Year Katie Quagliana.

After a record setting first year where she led the Hawks in five offensive categories, Rometo upped her game to lead the 2023 Hawks in every offensive statistical category — batting average: .427; OPS: 1.061; at bats: 143; runs scored: 42; hits: 61; doubles: 13; triples: 3; RBIs: 38; total bases: 83; slugging percentage: .580; on base percentage: .481; stolen bases: 18-20. She started and played in all 41 regular season games. Defensively, Rometo had a .983 fielding percentage on 54 chances, 53 put outs and four assists, establishing herself as one of the best defensive outfielders in the league as well.

"I am thrilled for Jackie to receive this honor, and she is more than deserving of it," Maronski said. "Often times sophomore players can face the dreaded sophomore slump, but even after an excellent sophomore season she continued to elevate her level this year which is really impressive."

In SUNYAC regular season play, Rometo started all 17 games, hitting .381 with an OPS of .918. She had 24 hits in 63 at bats with seven doubles and had 16 RBI. She had 31 total bases and was a perfect seven for seven in stolen bases. She had a .492 slugging percentage and a .462 on base percentage. She was honored twice by being named SUNYAC Player of the Week and was a SUNYAC All-Tournament team selection as well.

"Jackie is a really special player," Maronski added. "To receive this honor as just a sophomore says a lot about the player she is and not only the talent that she has, but the mindset and mental toughness to continue to do so well every game.  She has definitely stepped up more vocally and you can hear her cheering all the way from left field in our dugout.  She is a true competitor who dominates all facets of the game having speed, power, discipline, and a great defensive game to back the offense up."

First Team/Julie Lenhart Pitcher of the Year

Lindsay Roman (junior, pitcher)
Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun HS

After a sophomore season which saw her named to the All SUNYAC First Team and to the NFCA All Northeast Second Team, Roman went in 2023 to further refine her performance and thus became the first SUNY New Paltz pitcher to earn SUNYAC/Julie Lenhart Pitcher of the Year honors, also earning her second All SUNYAC first team selection. Named once as SUNYAC Pitcher of the week, she lowered her overall ERA to 1.47 in 139.2 innings pitched, with a WHIP of .890; she had an overall record of 17-2 in 21 games played with 11 complete games with three shutouts. She had 106 strikeouts.

"Lindsay has such a strong mound presence which is so important to being a top pitcher," Maronski said. "She wants the ball in her hands all the time and has tremendous confidence in herself and her team backing her up. Lindsay has always worked hard on her own in the off season, comes back in great shape, and is ready to hit the ground running, and that is so important at our level to be successful."

In regular season SUNYAC play, Roman was a perfect 7-0 with three complete games for a 1.07 ERA in 59 innings pitched, striking out 38. Her dominance was headlined by her 6-0 perfect game over SUNY Brockport on April 8, the first in over 30 years by a Hawks pitcher. She additionally earned SUNYAC All-Tournament team honors after going 2-0 in three games played, 19 innings pitched, giving up just 14 hits and three earned runs with seven strikeouts and a shutout.

"This year she really cemented herself as one of the most efficient workers on the mound, which I contribute a lot of her success to in the fact that she keeps her walks really low and consistently works ahead in counts," Maronski said. "I am so happy for Lindsay to receive Pitcher of the Year as I know it was one of her goals, she set for herself this year, and I can't wait to see her continue to grow in her craft next season."
 

First Team:

Sydney Bonewit (senior, outfield)
Kingston, NY/Kingston HS

Bonewit earned her second All-SUNYAC First Team selection, her first coming in 2021. She bounced back with a career year in 2023 as she established herself as one of the best outfielders in the conference, alongside teammate Rometo. Her prowess in center remained as one of the best in the league, but her numbers in the box set career marks for the senior.
 
After a junior year slump in 2022, she returned to all-star status, batting .397 with 46 hits in 116 at bats. With an OPS of .995, she started all 41 regular season games, scoring 25 runs and had 30 RBI with a slugging percentage of .500, an on base percentage of .455 with 63 total bases, while hitting eight doubles and two triples and stole 8-of-9 bases.
 
"Sydney came back this season with a clear mind and really got back into the rhythm of enjoying the game and not worrying about results right away and I think that was key to her success offensively," Maronski said. "She is consistently one of the hardest workers on her own, is in the cage every day, and is so deserving of this honor. Defensively she is a stud in the outfield, and she has the total complete game package."
 
Bonewit was even more impressive in SUNYAC play, batting .462 with an OPS of 1.123. She started all 17 conference games with 52 at bats and 24 hits, scoring 13 runs with 32 total bases and 16 RBI. She had a slugging percentage of .615, an on base percentage of .508 and was a perfect four for four stealing bases. Defensively, Bonewit had a 1.000 fielding percentage with 23 chances and 24 putouts, with three assists. The Kingston, NY native was also named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament team after going 4-for-14, including two doubles with two runs and two RBI.
 

Second Team:

Juliet Bernstein (senior, utility)
Baldwin, NY/Baldwin HS

Bernstein concluded her SUNY New Paltz career by earning her first SUNYAC Second Team selection. Starting in 23 games in 2023, she hit .314 in 118 at bats with an OPS .798. She had 37 hits, with 23 runs scored and 21 RBI. Bernstein had 53 total bases with a slugging percentage of .449 and an on base percentage of .349. She was a perfect 10 for 10 in stolen bases. Defensively, she had 117 chances, with 110 putouts with six assists and a fielding average of .991, splitting time between catcher before establishing her spot as the Hawks starting right fielder.

"Early on, Juliet played both outfield and was excellent behind the plate, yet when we really needed her to consistently be our everyday right fielder she stepped up, was confident, and made some big time plays for us out there," Maronski said. "At the plate I believe Juliet stuck with the work and made some little adjustments in her swing for it to be more consistent and produce for us more regularly.  She came up big time for us in conference and she was a key player to our success this year and I am so happy for her to receive this honor."

Bernstein hit .392 in SUNYAC play, starting and playing in all 17 games. She had 51 at bats with 20 hits and nine runs scored and nine RBI. Her 28 total bases were with a .549 slugging percentage and a .421 on base percentage. She was six for six in stolen bases. She had a perfect 1.000 fielding average on 42 chances and 42 putouts with three assists.


Jaycee Filancia (first year, infield)
East Fishkill NY/John Jay-East Fishkill HS

Jaycee Filancia looks to have moved from a stellar high school career for the John Jay Patriots to the start of an equally successful tenure as part of the Hawks softball program, earning her first All SUNYAC selection to the second team.
 
Starting in 35 regular games, she batted .298 with 31 hits in 104 at bats, scoring 16 runs. With 35 total bases, Filancia drove in 16 RBI and was 5-for-6 on stolen base attempts. She was inserted into the starting lineup, moving over to third base and was one of the keys in the Hawks' 16-game winning streak. In the field, she finished with a fielding average of a .917 with 84 chances, with 43 put outs and 34 assists.

"Jay is a special player in the fact that she came in as a true shortstop and having never played third base in her life, stepped up and played the position tremendously for us," Maronski said. "She is a physically athletically gifted player who is a natural in the field and has a great presence out there.  I am very excited she received this award in her freshman season and looking forward to seeing her growth in the coming years."

In SUNYAC play, Filancia earned her postseason honor by batting .395 with a .912 OPS, staring 15 of 17 games. She recorded 17 hits with six RBI, 10 runs scored with 20 total baes. She had a .405 slugging percentage and .447 on base percentage, while going 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts. Defensively, she had a .9124 fielding average with 35 chances, 15 putouts and 17 assists.



Jillian Shelbourne (junior, infield)
Patchogue, NY/Patchogue-Medford HS

Shelbourne earned her second consecutive All-SUNYAC selection, following up her 2022 pick with an All SUNYAC Second Team honor for 2023. The Hawks junior captain started 43 of 44 regular season games, hitting for a .396 average and an OPS of .960. She had 53 hits in 134 at bats, scoring 12 runs with 25 RBI. She had 69 total bases with a .515 slugging average and a.445 on base percentage, while totaling 10 doubles and two home runs on the season. In the field, she had 251 chances with 235 putouts with nine assists for a .972 fielding average.

"Jill had another stellar year at the plate for us," Maronski said. "She provides a great look from the left side and is a really tough batter to throw to as she covers the plate well, has excellent bat speed, and can hit all fields.  Defensively we saw a tremendous improvement in Jill at first base, and she really stepped up in that role both physically and vocally.  I am very happy for Jill to be recognized for this award as she is always positive, has a great demeanor, and is a player who will always believe in her ability to get the job done."

Starting all 17 regular season SUNYAC games at first base, she batted .321 with an OPS of .915. She had 18 hits in 56 at bats with 18 RBI, six run scored and 29 total bases. The Patchogue, NY native hit five doubles and two home runs in SUNYAC play with a .518 slugging percentage and an on base percentage of .397. Defensively, she had 114 chances with 111 putouts with one assist for a fielding percentage of .982.



Sydney Waldon (sophomore, pitcher)
Maplewood, NJ/Columbia HS

Waldon matured as a pitcher after a tough first year season, finishing the 2023 year with a 10-1 overall record to earn her first All SUNYAC selection. She lowered her ERA to 2.11 with a .123 WHIP in 76.1 innings pitches. She had four complete games, had one save and had 55 strikeouts.

In SUNYAC play she was a perfect 6-0 with one shutout, a 1.63 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in 38.2 innings pitched. She had 27 strikeouts. Her improvement on the mound allowed the Hawks to take the next step to claim the top of the conference. In the SUNYAC Tournament, Waldon pitched eight innings, earning a start in game two, yielding just five hits and two earned runs with eight strikeouts and just two walks.

"Sydney stepped up big time for us this year and she was a key component to us finishing the regular season with the record that we did," Maronski said. "Sydney has some great movement on her ball, and definitely adds a few MPH on her pitches when she gets on the mound.  She has really come into her own and grown, and I still see so much growth for her in the next two seasons.  She has shown she can be dominant, and I am really looking forward to her continuing to just get better and better each season. It was really great to get two pitchers on the all-conference teams this year."  

Sandra Hollander SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year

In another history-making selection, head coach Krysti Maronski and assistant coaches Rick Spriggs and Taylor LaFrance became the first SUNY New Paltz coach/coaching staff to earn the Sandra Hollander SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year award.
Maronski, in her fifth year at the helm of the Hawks, has lived up to her reputation as a winner, moving the program into the top echelon of SUNYAC softball and creating new team records each season.

The former Rowan University and NJAC all-star led SUNY New Paltz to a 27-win (2019), 29-win (2022) and 31-win (2023) seasons in her five-year tenure — the three best seasons in Hawks history. She has taken SUNY New Paltz to the SUNYAC Tournament semifinals for two consecutive seasons, for three tourney appearances in five years. The 2023 Hawks were ranked fourth in the SUNYAC pre-season poll; Maronski, Spriggs and LaFrance guided SUNY New Paltz to a best ever 16-2 conference record and a first place seed in the 2023 SUNYAC Tournament, another Hawks first.

Her team of Rick Spriggs and Taylor LaFrance have equally impressive pre-New Paltz qualifications. Springs of Kingston, NY, whose daughter played for the Hawks earned his coaching stripes leading the Ulster County Fillies U18 to two National Open U18 championship runner up finishes. Taylor LaFrance brought her Newburgh Free Academy all-star skills to SUNY New Paltz in 2016 and started 123 games for the Hawks, leading SUNY New Paltz in several defensive categories during her career.

Not only did the Hawks finish with the winningest season in program history, reaching the 30-win mark for the first time, but also earned the highest regional ranking in program history at No. 3 in Region III.  

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