May 31, 2006

BERKELEY - Senior second baseman Emily Friedman has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American third team for Division I Softball. Friedman, who recently signed with the Philadelphia Force of the National Pro Fastpitch softball league, carries a 3.60 GPA and is majoring in integrative biology and psychology.

A native of Berkeley, Calif., Friedman transferred from Wisconsin before the 2005 season and was a significant contributor during both the 2005 and 2006 campaigns. This year, she served as Cal's everyday second baseman and earned a Golden Bear Award for having the highest GPA on the softball team. She ranked fifth for the Bears in batting average (.313). Friedman picked up first-team Pac-10 All-Academic honors earlier this month.

Friedman finished the season with 21 runs, 31 RBI and a .994 fielding percentage. She will make her debut with the Force Wednesday against the defending NPF champions Akron Racers. Five former Cal softball players are currently on NPF rosters: Lisa Iancin (1997-2000) and Jocelyn Forest (1999-2002) play for the New England Riptide, Chelsea Spencer (2002-05) competes for the Philadelphia Force, Vicky Galindo (2003-05) plays for the Chicago Bandits, and Kaleo Eldredge (2002-05) plays for the Arizona Heat. For more information on the NPF, visit http://www.profastpitch.com.

- CalBears.com -