Galloway, NJ – Stockton University received two awards from the New Jersey Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (NJAIAW) at its 28th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day luncheon, which took place yesterday at Seton Hall University.
Senior
Meg Murzello (Maple Shade/Holy Cross), an outfielder for the Stockton softball team, was recognized as Stockton's NJAIAW Woman of the Year. The award is based on athletic excellence, academic success and community service.
The Stockton women's cross country team earned the NJAIAW Team Academic Award for fall sports for the second straight year and third time in the last six seasons. The squad posted the highest team grade point average of all women's fall sports teams at NJAIAW institutions with a 3.76 GPA.
Jayson Resch, coordinator of cross country and track & field, and team members
Dominique Tye (Roxbury/Roxbury) and
Maria Antoni (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Upper Moreland) attended the luncheon and accepted the award on the team's behalf.
Murzello is entering her third year on the Stockton softball team after playing at St. Francis University (Pa.) as a freshman. The senior has started all 83 games for the Ospreys over the last two seasons. In just two years, Murzello ranks sixth in school history in batting (.375), seventh in stolen bases (41) and 10th in runs (69). She should move into the top 10 in hits this year as well.
Murzello was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association East Region First Team and NJAC Second Team selection in 2018 after leading the Ospreys in hits (56), runs (39) and on-base percentage (.467) and tying for the team batting lead (.412). Last year, she topped the squad in stolen bases (16) and tied for the team lead in hits (45).
Murzello, a Nursing major at Stockton, was chosen Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars national sport winner for softball by the publication Diverse: Issues in Higher Education in 2019. She also was an NJAC All-Academic Honorable Mention qualifier last year.