March 19, 2007

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette freshman Christina Giambrone (Blairstown, N.J./Blair Academy) has been named Patriot League Rookie of the Week after hitting .318 with eight RBI over the final eight games of the Rebel Spring Games.

Giambrone was 7-for-22 with six walks last week in Kissimmee, Fla. and had an extra base hit in three of Lafayette's victories as the Leopards finished their annual spring break trip with a 5-5 record. She ranks second on the team with a .286 batting average this season and has a team-best .412 on-base percentage.

Giambrone began her campaign for Rookie of the Week honors early in the week, providing big hits in a pair of victories on Monday. Her two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the sixth delivered the only runs of the game in a 2-0 win over Vermont. Earlier in the day, Giambrone hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning of Lafayette's 10-4 win against Manhattan.

On Thursday against Dayton, the freshman contributed a two-run double in an 11-8 win. Giambrone reached base in seven of the Leopards' eight games last week, and has started all 10 games this year - five at shortstop, four at catcher, and one as the designated player. In the field, she has handled 49 chances while committing only two errors.

Lafayette's doubleheader at St. Joseph's on Tuesday has been postponed due to the field conditions from last weekend's significant snowfall. The Leopards are scheduled to take the field next on Thursday against Penn in their home opener.