Montclair State’s Anita Kubicka honored for National Fastpitch Coaches.
Montclair State University head softball coach Anita Kubicka earned the highest honor a coach can achieve as the long-time mentor was elected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2015, according to the school’s website.
The achievement was announced at the conclusion of the NFCA Hall of Fame banquet in early December, and Kubicka was inducted at the 2015 NFCA National Convention in Georgia in December as well. According to Montclair State University officials, she will be enshrined along with Joe Evans of Texas A&M University and Auburn University’s Clint Meyers.
“Kubicka’s selection marks the third different Hall of Fame enshrinement for the Red Hawk head coach, who was inducted into the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Montclair State Athletic Hall of Fame this past October,” said the announcement. “Entering her 25th season at the Red Hawk helm in 2015, Kubicka has fashioned an impressive coaching resume – 796 victories, the most in MSU athletic history, and a .742 winning percentage – both which rank in the Top 10 among active coaches in Division III.”
Anita Kubicka started at Montclair State in 1991 and a year later had the Red Hawks in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. According to Montclair State athletics, earning the final berth into the 1992 Regional Tournament, Montclair lost its first game, but went on to win the next four including three on the final day to earn a trip to Iowa. Four years later, Montclair State returned to the national final and reached the championship game in Wisconsin. The Red Hawks came within a run of claiming the national title before falling to Simpson College, 2-1.
Anita Kubicka also played a major role in the construction of the first-class facility on Montclair State’s campus, which opened in 2004 to rave reviews and is one of the premier softball-only complexes in the East Region. The stadium served as the home to the NY/NJ Juggernaut of the National Pro Fastpitch in 2004 and in May 2009 was the site for the NCAA Division III Softball Championship, according to Montclair State officials.
Among the list of 56 players to be named All-American at Montclair State, Anita Kubicka has coached 38 of them – 19 First-Team selections, including 1992 NCAA Division III Player of the Year Lois Fyfe. “Kubicka’s teams have also excelled in the classroom ranking among the top academic athletic teams at Montclair State and place several players each year on the NJAC’s All-Academic Team,” according to the announcement. In 2008, Jackie Ferranti became the first female and the fifth student-athlete in school history to be named to the Capital One Academic All-America Team with pitcher Alex Hill earning three straight honors from 2012-14 including being the first MSU female to selected to the First Team in 2013.
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