| Karen Lemcke |
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Karen Lemcke is entering her third season as an assistant coach at UVa. She returned to the Virginia softball program in the fall of 2002 after earning three varsity letters for the Cavaliers from 1998 to 2000. Lemcke will work with Virginia's infielders.
The former Karen Breshears married Cade Lemcke, a fellow Cavalier graduate and two-time men's basketball letterwinner, in September of 2000.
Under Lemcke's tutelage, the Cavaliers turned 27 double plays for an average of .42 per game during the 2004 season, which ranked seventh among all Division I teams.
In June of 2004, Lemcke played against the United States Olympic team as a member of an all-star team made up primarily of current college softball players with ties to the Commonwealth. Lemcke started at third base in the game which was part of USA Softball's "Aiming for Athens" tour in Salem, Va., and made several outstanding defensive plays.
While a member of the Virginia softball team, Lemcke was a three-year starter at third base and earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in 1999. The Camarillo, California native was also selected to the ACC All-Tournament Team the same season.
In three seasons at UVa, Lemcke started 186 of the 191 games she appeared in. She hit .274 (144-531) and drove in 67 runs while scoring 64 times. Lemcke, a co-captain in 2000, ranks among Virginia's all-time leaders in several career statistical categories. She is 12th in doubles (24), tied for 12th in home runs (6), 16th in games played (188), 17th in RBI (67), and tied for 17th in total bases (194), and hits (144).
Lemcke began her collegiate career at the University of Toledo where she garnered All-MAC Second Team honors in 1997 playing for Cheryl Sprangel. Lemcke transferred to UVa following her freshman season after Sprangel was named the Cavaliers' head coach.
Lemcke earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Virginia in 2000.
"Karen was an outstanding third basemen and hitter here at the University of Virginia. What makes her a great coach is her ability to understand the game and break the skills down to the fundamentals. We were able to change Karen's position to a full-time level this year. This has allowed her to put more focus and time into working with our infielders and hitters, and also strengthen our recruiting process," said Sprangel.
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