Doane College senior Andrea Gonzales was named today as the 2012 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Player-of-the-Year. Gonzales was one of six Tiger players named to the all-conference First and Second Teams. Gonzales is the first Doane player to earn player-of-the-year honors in softball.

Doane finished the 2012 season with a 25-22 overall record and placed second in the GPAC standings. Doane was one of the final three teams left in last week's conference tournament that was won by Morningside.

Gonzales, from Redding, California, led the Tigers this past season with a .493 batting average and 16 doubles. She added 31 runs scored and seven stolen bases. Joining Gonzales on the First Team were shortstop Shelby Mendlik and utility player Samantha Arlt. Mendlik, a sophomore from Omaha, set a school record with 57 runs batted in and hit .329 with a team-high eight home runs. Arlt, a sophomore from Norfolk, spent time at catcher and third base, batting .306 with four home runs and 12 RBIs.

On the second team were pitcher Kylie Garrett and outfielders Brooke Sampson and Nichole Diaz. Garrett, a sophomore from Lincoln, went 7-1 in conference play and 11-10 overall with a 2.92 earned run average. Sampson, a junior from Bakersfield, California, batted .368 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs, third most in school history. She added a team-high eight stolen bases. Diaz, a freshman from Las Vegas, Nevada, hit seven home runs with 29 RBIs and a .401 batting average.