SB | Zapanta Named to All-WCC Preseason Team

Gaels' sophomore Kimiko Zapanta was named to the All-WCC Preseason team by conference's coaches on Wednesday.

SAN BRUNO, Calif. — The West Coast Conference announced their coaches' preseason poll results today and Gaels' outfielder Kimiko Zapanta was one of 14 student-athletes chosen to the All-WCC Preseason Team. The sophomore was Saint Mary's lone representative selected to the team this year.

Zapanta was a star last season for the Gaels and was named Second Team All-WCC after an impressive freshman campaign. The Martinez, Calif. native broke the conference's single-season stolen base record and tied SMC's program record with 39 steals in 44 attempts.

Zapanta was also one of the Gaels' premier hitters from the leadoff spot with a .333 batting average and .417 on-base percentage. In 49 games last season, she committed only two errors in the outfield and had a .989 fielding percentage.

As a team, the Gaels were picked to finish sixth in the conference but only one point behind Santa Clara for fifth. Saint Mary's head coach Sonja Garnett will look to rewrite that script in her first year at the helm after helping her last school, ART U, to a 40-18 record in 2018.

BYU was projected to win the conference this season with four first place votes and 24 total points, just ahead of Loyola Marymount who received 22 points. The Cougars have won all five of the WCC's conference titles since it adopted softball in 2014.

The Gaels begin their 2019 season on Feb. 7 at the Hawai'i Paradise Classic in Oahu, Hawai'i. More information and links to the games can be found on the Saint Mary's schedule page.

2019 WCC SOFTBALL PRESEASON POLL

Place	Team	Votes (First Place)
1.	Brigham Young	24 (4)
2.	Loyola Marymount	22 (2)
3.	San Diego	15
4.	Pacific	14
5.	Santa Clara	8
6.	Saint Mary's	7

2019 PRESEASON ALL-WCC SOFTBALL TEAM
Position Players

Name	Institution	Year	Pos.
Lindsay Clare	San Diego	Jr.	INF
Bridget Fleener	Brigham Young	So.	C
Andrea Gonzalez	Loyola Marymount	So.	INF
Rylee Jensen	Brigham Young	Jr.	OF
Hailey Reed	Pacific	Jr.	OF
Hannah Russell	Santa Clara	Jr.	C
Talli Shepard	Pacific	So.	INF
Taylor Spence	San Diego	Sr.	OF
Libby Sugg	Brigham Young	Sr.	C
Lexi Tarrow	Brigham Young	Sr.	OF
Kimiko Zapanta	Saint Mary's	So.	OF

Pitchers

Name	Institution	Year	Pos.
Hannah Bandimere	Loyola Marymount	Sr.	P
Autumn Moffat	Brigham Young	So.	P
Kerisa Viramontes	Brigham Young	Jr.	P

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Players Mentioned

#24 Kimiko Zapanta: OF; 5' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#24 Kimiko Zapanta
: 5' 2"; Freshman
: OF

Players Mentioned

#24 Kimiko Zapanta

Players Mentioned

#24 Kimiko Zapanta