April 18, 2008

Kingston, RI (UWIRE) -- Jill Anderson, a senior on the University of Rhode Island softball team, was given the 2008 Rainville Student Leadership Award at a ceremony held April 8 in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

"It's a huge honor," Anderson said. "The Rainville Award is something I've heard about since I was a freshman here. I've seen past athletes receive it and I've understood it to be the highest, most distinguished non-academic award on campus."

For the past 20 years, the award has been given annually to students who are successful in leadership roles and maintain a good academic standing.

The award, named in memory of former Vice President of Student Affairs A. Robert Rainville, is designed to recognize, encourage and celebrate student leadership in the campus community.

Anderson was pleased to have been given the award, but was more surprised than anything after hearing she had won.

"It shocked me to be a nominated, it shocked me to be a finalist and it shocked me to have won, like genuinely, I did not think that this was going to be me," Anderson said. "It's nice though, because you work for countless hours that no one is ever going to know about, hours of studying and practice outside of scheduled practices and it's nice to have that recognized."

Anderson described herself as a goal-oriented person, which has led to her success both on and off the field. In addition to being the ace of the staff this season, she plans to attend law school after graduating in the spring.

It was not always easy for Anderson, however, who lost her mother to breast cancer two months before the start of her freshman year at URI.

"That was something that was horrible,. It was the most devastating thing in my whole life, but I was able to rebound after adversity," Anderson said. "It's OK to show somebody out there that you can still succeed. I didn't let it break me down, and if anyone else is faced with that situation hopefully they can hear my story and then they can do that, too."

"From when I was a little girl, my father has always been my coach and he's been my no. 1 fan," Anderson said. "He has always made an effort to get out to almost all of my home games, and he's been a great supporter."

Each year she has been a major contributor in improving the softball team, and with 14 games to go, plus the Atlantic 10 Tournament, she has already set a career high with eight wins in a season.

Anderson is also sporting a 4.55 earned run average on the season in 148.1 innings pitched with 61 strikeouts, all of which are team highs.

She also leads the team in starts, complete games, and is tied with teammate freshman Stacey Stanovic with one shutout.

On the season the Rams are 13-27 (3-11 A-10), and return to action today when they host University of Dayton in the first of a two-game series beginning at 3 p.m. The Rams take on the Flyers the following day at noon.

(C) 2008 The Good Five Cent Cigar via UWIRE