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Kayla Kibling of Rochester Earns First Team All-Region Honors from NFCA

Kayla Kibling of Rochester Earns First Team All-Region Honors from NFCA
Posted: May 17, 2016

From University of Rochester Athletics

In two years that went by in a blur, Rochester's Kayla Kibling made significant contributions to two sports. The most recent of those contributions has now been recognized by a major coaching body.
 
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has named Kibling a First Team All-Northeast Region honoree at shortstop. It's her first All-Region honor and it comes after she earned All-Liberty League and All-University Athletic Association acclaim earlier in this spring. She is a native of LaFayette, NY and an alumnus of Bishop Ludden High School. She transferred to the University before the 2014-15 academic year. She played two seasons at Onondaga Community College.
 
Kibling hit a team-high .426 over 36 games for the Yellowjackets (49-115) in 2016. She led the team in numerous offensive categories, including average, base hits (49), runs scored (28), and slugging percentage (.522).
 
She had hitting streaks of 18 games (March 26 – April 19) and nine games (April 24-May 13). She hit safely in 29 of 36 games.
 
Kibling joined the softball team once Rochester returned from Florida. Over the winter, she started in the backcourt for the women's basketball team and helped Rochester reach the Elite 8 Round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. She averaged just over nine points a game on the hardwood. She was accorded Honorable Mention status by the UAA, and named to the All-Rochester area team by the members of the U.S. Basketball Writers' Association.
 
In Florida, Rochester was 4-10.  In the early part of the norther schedule, the Yellowjackets won six and lost seven. After dropping the first game of a DH vs. Nazareth, the Rochester record was 10-17. From that point, Rochester finished the year on a 17-6 tear to wind up with a 27-23 record.
 
During that surge, the Yellowjackets won the regular season Liberty League title with a 10-2 record (8-0 in league games in the 17-6 run) and secured the top seed for the post-season tournament. Rochester won the Liberty League crown, sweeping Skidmore College on the last day to secure the LL's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. It was Rochester's third straight trip to the NCAA tournament and its fourth in the last five years.
 
Kibling hit .449 over the final 23 games (31-69) with 21 runs scored, five doubles, one HR, and a team-best 10 RBIs. She led the team in slugging (.565) and in on-base percentage (.541). She handled 95 of 98 fielding chances cleanly (35 PO, 60 A, 3 E) for a .969 mark.