Herman of Williams Earns 500th Career Victory

Courtesy Williams Sports Information

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — With a sweep of Amherst on Saturday, May 1, not only did the Williams College softball team earn the top seed in the NESCAC West Division and secure the right to host the 2010 NESCAC championship, but the two wins also gave head coach Kris Herman a milestone victory.

The Ephs’ 6-3 win in the nightcap of the doubleheader was Herman’s 500th coaching victory of her career. She became only the 26th Division III coach to reach the 500-win milestone in NCAA history. The milestone victory came in her 23rd season of coaching,  her seventh at Williams.

After the win,  each member of the current Williams team signed the game ball for coach Herman and presented it to her.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by players year after year who worked really hard and chose to get better every day,” Herman said. “I’ve been involved with several great teams along the way who were relentless in their pursuit of excellence. I’ve also had several great assistant coaches — Cheryl Milligan from Tufts certainly comes to mind — who have been invaluable along the way.  But when you’ve been around as long as I have, you’re going to reach certain milestones.”

Herman began her coaching career at her alma mater, Tufts, in 1988. She coached the Jumbos for 16 seasons and compiled a record of 339-164-3 (.679), winning three NESCAC titles and guiding her team to an NCAA Tournament appearance in her last seven seasons at the school. Tufts also made its first NCAA World Series appearance under Herman.

In 2004, Herman shifted to Williams, where she promptly led the Ephs to three straight NESCAC Championships (2004, 2005, 2006). In 2005 and 2006, Williams advanced to the NCAA College World Series as well.

Herman was named NESCAC Coach of the Year four times and earned New England COTY honors in 2001, 2005 and 2006.

In her 23 seasons, Herman has coached eight All Americans and 25 First Team All-New England players. This season, after a 0-8 start, Williams is 16-19-1 heading into the 2010 NESCAC Tournament. The Ephs face Bowdoin Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the opening game of the tournament.