Tschida spent six years as the Cardinals' head coach, guiding SMU to five consecutive post-season appearances capped by the 2000 NCAA title.

He'll be inducted the weekend of Sept. 10-12 with two other individuals, including his former pitching ace Teisha Smith Devine, who is married to former Tommie basketball co-captain David Devine.

Tschida's Cardinals won MIAC crowns three seasons in a row (1997, 1998, 1999) and finished second at 20-2 in 2000 before it caught fire to win nationals.

Following the 2000 season, Tschida accepted the head coaching position at St. Thomas, where he coached the Tommies to back-to-back national championships in 2004 and 2005 and a national runner-up finish in 2006. With his UST national crown in 2004, Tschida became the first fastpitch coach to win NCAA titles at two different schools.

A two-time NFCA Division III Coach of the Year, Tschida is the winningest Division III coach, active or retired, boasting a career 615-106 record and an .853 winning percentage. Tschida has been named MIAC Coach of the Year in eight of his 15 years at the helm at SMU and UST. His teams have been nationally ranked each year, and in the last 14 seasons have posted a 294-14 record in conference regular-season play.

In 10 seasons at St. Thomas, his teams have swept 101 conference twinbills, split eight and were swept just once, and in all games vs. conference opponents are 234-10 (.959). That includes a 21-0 all-time record in MIAC playoff games.

The 1990 St. Mary's graduate was a four-year letterwinner for the Cardinal baseball team.

Click here to watch the 30-minute show (Wright's segment is the second of the show and starts about six minutes into the webcast):

http://web1.ncaa.org/web_video/OnCampus/2009-10/july/video.html

A three-time softball All-American and a two-time College Division Academic All-American of the Year, Wright battled through a serious back injury to break the MIAC career hits record and finish seventh in Division III history (266 hits in 186 games ).

The July edition of NCAA on Campus show debuted on the CBS College Sports Network July 5. It will be rebroadcast July 12 (7:30 p.m.), July 19 (11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.), July 26 (4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.). CBS College Sports Network is available on DISH and Direct TV as well as most major cable companies.

A two-person crew came to campus in late May to interview Wright and her twin sister, Lauren, as well as Coach John Tschida, and UST business professor Michael DeVaughn. 

Thirty finalists will be selected -- 10 in each of the three NCAA divisions --  from a pool of 130 chosen by their respective conferences.

St. Thomas has had the MIAC nominee in each of the last two seasons, and both made the top 30 -- softball's Maria Bye (2008) and track and field/CC's Katie Theisen (2009).

Click here to view MIAC news release:

http://www.miac-online.org/news/2010/6/10/WHOCKEY_0610101534.aspx

--WRAP-UP: St. Thomas softball continued three long streaks in 2010. Coach John Tschida's team (40-8), which won 20 of its last 22 games, posted its seventh consecutive 40-win season (and 11th consecutive 30-win seasons); won the MIAC playoffs for the seventh year in a row; and made the NCAA playoffs for the seventh year in a row.

--HONORS: St. Thomas had three All-Americans (Alison Wright, Marta Radcliffe, Sydney Marquardt), two first-team CoSIDA College Division Academic All-Americans (Wright and Radcliffe) and the repeat winner of College Division Softball Academic All-American of the Year (Wright)... On the All-Region team, UST had four honorees (Wright, Radcliffe, Marquardt and Erica Wilson)... On the All-MIAC team, the same four players made first-team, while Becky Eischens and freshman Kimmy Hassel made honorable mention.

--TRADITION: UST won the national championship in 2004 and 2005 and took second in 2006. The Tommies reached the NCAA playoffs for the 13th time in the last 14 years. Their 49 NCAA playoff wins in 18 appearances are the seventh most among all Division III teams. UST is tied for fifth in most NCAA softball playoff trips at 18 behind Ithaca (23), Central (22), College of New Jersey (20) and Bridgewater (20).

--POSTSEASON ROLL: In the last seven seasons, St. Thomas has won 12 of 19 postseason tournaments (conference, regional, NCAA finals) and is 48-10 overall in the postseason, includng a 21-0 record in MIAC playoff games. 

--JOHN TSCHIDA: UST head coach John Tschida now has 613 career wins in 10 seasons with the Toms and six with St. Mary's. He's won 85% of his games (613-106) to rank first nationally among all NCAA softball or baseball coaches -- active or retired. He's the only NCAA softball coach to win national titles at two different schools. He led St. Mary's to the 2000 Division III championship, and guided the Tommies to the 2004 and 2005 D-III titles.

--IOWA BATTLES: St. Thomas is 18-4 vs. Iowa Conference teams over the last eight seasons -- with all four losses by one run. The Toms lost 2-1 to Luther in the 2009 regional; and lost 3-2 and 5-4 (eight innings) scores to Central last March in the NFCA Leadoff Classic.

--DID YOU KNOW 1?: St. Thomas is the lone Division III softball or baseball program since 1998 to repeat as NCAA champions (UST, 2004 and 2005).

--DID YOU KNOW 2?: The Tommies graduated eight seniors from a 40-6 team of 2009. They started the season 2-4 in the NFCA Leadoff Classic but went 38-4 after that.

--ALISON WRIGHT: The senior 1B from Pewaukee, Wis., finished her career as a three-time All-American and two-time Academic All-American (3.93 gpa in Business Management). Her 266 hits in 186 games shattered the conference record of 239 set by ex-Tommie Michelle Wong (200-2005)... Wright had 87 multi-hit games on her career, and led her team to a 164-23 record in her era... She had a 34-game hitting streak in 2009, and a 20-game hit streak in 2010... In 186 career games, she batted .469 with 264 hits, 147 runs, 155 RBI, 24 HRs, 53 doubles, three triples, 28 walks, 52 SBs, 373 total bases, .972 field%.

--WATCH WRIGHT STORY: Wright will be profiled in the July 2010 edition of NCAA on Campus, which can be seen on CBS College Sports cable TV and on the internet. (Watch for updates on Tommiesports.com)

--MARTA RADCLIFFE: The senior made All-America and Academic All-America for the first time in her career. Radcliffe, who graduated with a 3.76 gpa in Psychology, surpassed 500 career strikeouts, and received conference Pitcher of the Week honors five times this season and seven times on her career. She finished MIAC regular-season play with a 14-0 record, one save, an 0.46 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 94 innings. In the Tommies'  38-4 stretch to close the season, she was 26-2. She lowered her season ERA to 1.03. Since April 1, she was 20-2 with one save... Radcliffe closed her career with a 68-14 record -– including a 43-2 record against conference opponents. She beat every conference team at least once on her career. In 513 career innings she had 533 strikeouts and just 187 walks.

--SYDNEY MARQUARDT: Sydney Marquardt made second-team All-American. Marquardt played through a foot injury during the last stretch of the season. She finished with 56 hits, 38 RBI and 32 runs in 44 games and batted .440. She led the Toms with 24 extra-base hits (17 doubles, two triples and five homers), and finished with a .702 slugging percentage and 92 total bases. She had 10 walks, four sacrifice files, nine steals, and just one error in 29 defensive chances.

--ERICA WILSON: Senior OF Erica Wilson made first team All-Region. She missed the 2009 season with an injury but came back in 2010 to hit .431 with 66 hits, 41 runs, 20 RBI, 14 extra-base hits, 12 walks and 19 steals.

--MISC.: The Toms were ranked 24th in the final regular-season top-25 poll and closed tied for ninth nationally with their region runner-up finish... Junior OF Becky Eischens had 25 steals, 37 hits, 30 runs and nine walks in 44 games, with no errors in 34 chances... Soph 3B Kayla Boward batted .347 with 35 hits in 41 games... Soph utility player Rachel Tondryk hit .324 with 36 hits and 21 RBI in 43 games... UST pitchers ailowed just 14 home runs in 48 games and held foes to a .212 batting average while posting a 1.55 ERA... sophomore RHP Christy Gries was 9-2 with a 1.43 ERA... UST had 53 errors in 48 games... The Toms were 37-3 when they scored three or more runs and 27-1 when they led after six innings... UST outscored teams 183-47 over the first four innings of games... UST hit .334 as a team... UST went 11-1 at home and has won 53 of its last 55 games on campus... The Toms are 178-5 against MIAC opponents since April 2003.

The College Division includes players from NCAA Division II and III and NAIA.      

UST was the lone institution to have two first-team Academic All-America honorees -- senior pitcher Marta Radcliffe joined Wright on the elite unit.

Wright's AAA of the Year honor is the fifth won by a St. Thomas athlete -- all in the last eight years. Baseball's Matt Schuld was announced Tuesday as the 2010 recipient in his sport. Wright and Maria Bye were honored as Academic All-America® of the Year in College Division softball in 2009 and 2008. Andrew Hilliard also received the honor for track and field as a senior in 2003.  

St. Thomas has received CoSIDA Academic All-America honors five times thus far in 2009-2010, with men's and women's track and field and at-large still to be determined. Fall honorees Ben Wartman (football) and Elliot Amundson (men's soccer) join Schuld, Wright and Radcliffe.

St. Thomas now has received the coveted award 69 times. Its 49 recipients in the last 11 years puts St. Thomas in the top 10 of all colleges and universities for most AAAs in that span.

Wright, the MIAC Player of the Year, and Radcliffe, who repeated as conference Pitcher of Year, led the Tommies to a 21-1 record and the program's sixth MIAC championship in seven seasons. St. Thomas also won the conference playoff then took second out of eight teams in the NCAA regional to complete a 40-8 season.

Wright (SR-Pewaukee, Wis.) graduated with a 3.93 gpa in Business and Financial Management. She was named All-MIAC all four years and was MIAC Rookie of the Year in 2007. She batted ,500 or better in conference games in each of her four varsity seasons. In 2010 she led the MIAC with a .557 batting average in her 22 conference games. Wright was 39-for-70 with 20 RBI, 13 runs, and eight doubles.

Her 266 hits in 186 games shattered the conference record of 239 set by ex-Tommie Michelle Wong (200-2005). Wright finished with 87 multi-hit games on her career, and led her team to a 164-23 record in her era. She had a 34-game hitting streak in 2009, and a 20-game hit streak in 2010. In 186 career games, she batted .469 with 266 hits, 147 runs, 155 RBI, 24 HRs, 53 doubles, three triples, 28 walks, 52 SBs, 373 total bases, .972 field%.

PHOTOS: Top, Alison Wright; below, Marta Radcliffe

Radcliffe (SR-Lakeville) graduated with a 3.76 gpa in Psychology. She was 14-0 in conference play, pitching 93 2/3 innings and allowing only six earned runs. She finished the MIAC season with a 0.45 ERA, 116 strikeouts and only 25 walks. In the Tommies'  38-4 stretch to close the season, she was 26-2. She lowered her season ERA to 1.03. After April 1, she was 20-2 with one save.

Radcliffe closed her career with a 68-14 record -– including a 43-2 record against conference opponents. She beat every conference team at least once on her career. In 513 career innings she had 533 strikeouts and just 187 walks. Radcliffe won conference Pitcher of the Week honors five times this season and seven times on her career.

Click here to view CoSIDA.com news story:

http://www.cosida.com/news/2010/5/26/0526104821_4966.aspx

The Tommies, who finished as NCAA region runner-up with a 40-8 record, were among five teams to have three All-Americans (UST, Luther, Linfield, Ohio Northern, Louisiana College).

It's the third consecutive All-America honor for Wright, a third-team honoree at first base. It's the first All-America honor for Radcliffe (at-large) and Marquardt (outfield), both second-team honorees.

After having no softball All-Americans in the program’s first 20 years, St. Thomas players have won the elite honor 20 times in the last eight seasons under Coach John Tschida's leadership.

Wright, the MIAC Player of the Year, and Radcliffe, who repeated as conference Pitcher of Year, led the Tommies to a 21-1 record and the program's sixth MIAC championship in seven seasons. St. Thomas also won the conference playoff then took second out of eight teams in the NCAA regional to complete a 40-8 season.

Wright (SR-Pewaukee, Wis.) was named All-MIAC all four year and was MIAC Rookie of the Year in 2007. She batted ,500 or better in conference games in each of her four varsity seasons. In 2010 she led the MIAC with a .557 batting average in her 22 conference games. Wright was 39-for-70 with 20 RBI, 13 runs, and eight doubles.

In all 48 games, her 262 hits in 181 games shattered the conference record of 239 set by ex-Tommie Michelle Wong (200-2005). Wright finished with 87 multi-hit games on her career, and led her team to a 164-23 record in her era. She had a 34-game hitting streak in 2009, and a 20-game hit streak in 2010. In 186 career games, she batted .469 with 264 hits, 147 runs, 155 RBI, 24 HRs, 53 doubles, three triples, 28 walks, 52 SBs, 373 total bases, .972 field%.

Radcliffe (SR-Lakeville) was 14-0 in conference play, pitching 93 2/3 innings and allowing only six earned runs. She finished the MIAC season with a 0.45 ERA, 116 strikeouts and only 25 walks. In the Tommies'  38-4 stretch to close the season, she was 26-2. She lowered her season ERA to 1.03. Since April 1, she was 20-2 with one save.

Radcliffe closed her career with a 68-14 record -– including a 43-2 record against conference opponents. She beat every conference team at least once on her career. In 513 career innings she had 533 strikeouts and just 187 walks.

Both Wright and Radcliffe are on national ballot for CoSIDA Academic All-America consideration in 2010. Wright was softball's 2009 Academic All-American of the Year in the College Division with a 3.93 gpa. Radcliffe has a 3.76 in Psychology.

Marquardt played through a foot injury in the last stretch of the season. She finished with 56 hits, 38 RBI and 32 runs in 44 games and batted .440. She led the Toms in extra-base hits with 17 doubles, two triples and five homers, and finoished with a .702 slugging percentage and 92 total bases. She had 10 walks, four sacrifice files, nine steals, and just one error in 29 defensive chances.

Click here to view complete All-America team:

http://www.nfca.org/pagebank/?id=1568

Wright was chosen MIAC Player of the Year while Radcliffe repeated as MIAC Pitcher of Year. It also marked the seventh year in a row a St. Thomas player was named conference Pitcher of the Year. 

The pair led the Tommies to a 21-1 record and the program's sixth MIAC championship in seven seasons. UST also won the conference playoff then took seconnd of eight teams in the NCAA regional to complete a 40-8 season.

Two other Tommies joined Wright and Radcliffe on the 23-player All-MIAC first team -- senior OF Erica Wilson and junior OF Sydney Marquardt.

Junior Becky Eischens and freshman Kimmy Hassel made honorable mention All-MIAC.

Wright (SR-Pewaukee, Wis.) was named All-MIAC all four year as was MIAC Rookie of the Year in 2007. She batted ,500 or better in conference games in each of her four varsity seasons. In 2010 she led the MIAC with a .557 batting average in her 22 conference games. Wright was 39-for-70 with 20 RBI, 13 runs, and eight doubles.

In all games, her 262 hits in 181 games shattered the conference record of 239 set by ex-Tommie Michelle Wong (200-2005). Wright finished with 87 multi-hit games on her career, and led her team to a 164-23 record in her era. She had a 34-game hitting streak in 2009, and a 20-game hit streak in 2010. In 186 career games, she batted .469 with 264 hits, 147 runs, 155 RBI, 24 HRs, 53 doubles, three triples, 28 walks, 52 SBs, 373 total bases, .972 field%.

Radcliffe (SR-Lakeville) was 14-0 in MIAC play, pitching 93 2/3 innings and allowing only six earned runs. She finished the MIAC season with a 0.45 ERA, 116 strikeouts and only 25 walks. In the Tommies'  38-4 stretch to close the season, she was 26-2. Radcliffe closed her career with a 68-14 record -– including a 43-2 record against conference opponents. She beat every conference team at least once on her career. She lowered her season ERA to 1.03. Since April 1, she was 20-2 with one save.

Both Wright and Radcliffe are candidates for the Division III All-America team, which will be annnounced later this week.

Both are on national ballot for CoSIDA Academic All-America consideration in 2010. Wright was softball's 2009 Academic All-American of the Year in the College Division with a 3.93 gpa. Radcliffe has a 3.76 in Psychology.

Wilson missed the 2009 season with an injury but came back to hit .431 with 66 hits, 41 runs, 14 extra-base hits, 12 walks and 19 steals.

Marquardt played through a foot injury in May games. She finished with 56 hits and 38 RBI in 44 games batted .440.

Eischens batted .319 in 44 games, with 37 hits, 30 runs, 13 RBI, nie walks, 25 steals and no errors in 34 chances.

Hassel batted .287 in all 48 games and had 35 hits, 21 runs and 14 RBI. 

Linfield (39-5) capped a 4-0 run on the tournament and advances to next week's College World Series.

The Tommies (40-8) needed a win to force a Monday title game. They led 1-0 after four innings but couldn't close out the victory. UST outhit Linfield 6-5 but missed a couple of scoring chances. Rachel Tondryk went 2-for-3 for UST, which went 6-2 in the postseason.

The Tommies took second in the regional and posted the program's seventh consecutive 40-win season. After a 2-4 start, they won 38 of their last 42 games. 

Click here for box score:

http://www.simpson.edu/livestats/xlive.htm

UST, which never trailed, outhit IWU 8-4 and beat the Titans for the second time in three days. The Toms were led by Kayla Boward's 3-for-4 day. Radcliffe retired 16 of the last 19 batters.

St. Thomas (40-7) now has won 40 games for the seventh consecutive season. They face Linfield at 1:30 p.m. and need to win to force a Monday rematch for the region crown.

Click here to access live stats for today's games

http://www.simpson.edu/storm/2010softball/index.html

The Tommies (39-7) had a 19-game winning streak snapped. UST needs to win three elimination games on Sunday and Monday to win the regional.  

UST tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth on Alison Wright's RBI single, but Linfield scored eight runs in its last three at-bats. Linfield outhit the Toms 11-3.  

UST plays Illinois Wesleyan at 11 a.m. Sunday in an elimination game. Wesleyan eliminated Simpson 2-0 on Saturday night. The winner of the 11 a.m. game will face Linfield at 1 p.m.

Click here to access box score:

http://www.simpson.edu/storm/2010softball/stats/ncaasb11.htm