Dominican University’s Emily Mahoney (Crystal Lake, Ill.) had a record-setting season for the 29-13 Stars on the softball diamond, earning the senior right-hander the Dominican University Female Athlete of the Year award as voted on by the department of athletics coaching staff.
 
Halfway through the 2013 season, Mahoney shattered the Stars’ single-season strikeouts record, punching out 251 hitters on the year to go along with a 21-8 record in the circle with a 1.95 earned run average with nine shutouts in 34 appearances.  The Crystal Lake native earned National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Great Lakes First Team honors as she ranked in the top ten nationally in strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings and shutouts.
 
In the opening round of the 2013 Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) softball tournament, Mahoney led the Stars to an 8-0 win over the Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors as she tossed the first perfect game in NAC Tournament history.  Mahoney set down all 15 batters she faced in the five-inning victory, logging four strikeouts, seven fly outs and four ground outs.
 
Mahoney garnered First Team All-NAC honors as she was named the NAC Pitcher of the Year in addition to leading the Stars offensively with a .348 batting average.
 
Mahoney edged out Jacy Lawrence (St. Louis, Mo.) and Courtney Smalarz (Lemont, Ill.) for the award honoring Dominican University’s top female athlete.  Lawrence became just the second player in Dominican University volleyball program history to earn honorable mention for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Teams as she led the Stars’ volleyball team to a 24-9 overall record with a bid to NCAA Division III National Tournament for just the second time in program history.  Smalarz anchored the backline for the Stars’ women’s soccer team, garnering All-NAC Second Team honors as the Stars posted a 1.25 goals against average in 12 NAC games.