2013 Team Recognitions
Most Improved Player: Jenna Maury, freshman from Lawton (Lawton HS)
Heart of the Team: Molly Collins, senior from Houghton Lake (Houghton Lake HS)
Most Valuable Player: Laura Tjepkema, senior from Dorr (South Christian HS)

Jen Buckingham, Autumn Anderson

Flying Dutch Among NCAA Leaders in Stolen Bases
The 2013 Flying Dutch ranked third among all NCAA Division III teams in stolen bases per game. Coach Mary Vanderhoef's Flying Dutch stole 97 bases in 111 attempts for an average of 2.69 steals per game. The leader among the 402 Division III softball-playing teams was Trinity Washington, D.C. with an average of 3.09 steals per game (68 in 22 games) while Wittenberg, Ohio ranked second at 2.78 steals oper game (100 in 36 games). Hope's 97 steals was a single season school record. Freshman teammates Jen Buckingham (Dorr/Wayland HS) and Autumn Anderson (Novi/Northville HS) were among the nation's leaders in stolen bases. Buckingham ranked 21st among all players with 27 steals while Anderson was 34th with 20. Anderson was a perfect 20-for-20 on theft attempts.

Laura Tjepkema is an Academic All-American
Hope's All-time Academic All-Americans
For the second time in her career, senior Laura Tjepkema of Dorr (South Christian HS) has been named a Capital One Softball Academic All-American. An education major with a special education emphasis she is a first team honoree after having been named to the third team as a junior. Tjepkema maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average over her collegiate career. She was a two-time all-conference (MIAA) first team honoree and received All-Region honors as a senior.continue

Senior Laura Tjepkema Receives All-Region Honors
An outstanding senior season and collegiate career by Hope outfielder Laura Tjepkema is being recognized with her selection to the Great Lakes All-Region second team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Associaiton (NFCA).

The all-region honorees come from NCAA Division III teams in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania,

The rightfielder was outstanding in the field and at the plate. Starting in all 36 of the team's games, she was errorless and was credited with nine putout assists. She batted a team-leading .380 and was the leader in RBIs, extra base hits and total bases. She was a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen bases.

Tjepkema went into the Hope recordbook ranked in the top ten in several categories. She batted .358 over her career and finished third alltime in RBIs (109), fifth in total hits (162), and sixth in runs scored (87). She had the second best stolen base success rate (.951) over her four years. She earlier was named to the Co-SIDA Capital One academic all-district team. She was a special educaiton major who maintained a 4.0 grade point average. She was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American as a junior and is a candidate for the honor this year, She was an All-MIAA first team honoree in both 2012 and 2013.

Laura Tjepkema, Autumn Anderson, Kelsey Cooper, Natalie Hiser

All-MIAA Honors Presented to Hope Players
Four players received all-conference honors from the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). Senior rightfielder Laura Tjepkema of Dorr (South Christian HS) was joined by freshman leftfielder Autumn Anderson of Dorr (Wayland HS) on the first team. Tjepkema was honored for a second year. Named to the All-MIAA second team were sophomore third baseman Kelsey Cooper of Romeo (Romeo HS) and sophomore pitcher Natalie Hiser of Westland (Livonia Churchill HS).