Monmouth University rising senior Nichole Alvarez has been named the NCAA Division I leader in batting average for the 2008 season, leading the nation with a .480 average at the year's conclusion.

"We are extremely happy for Nichole and proud to boast another NCAAIndividual Champion," saidMonmouth head softball coach Carol Sullivan. "To see her in the NCAArecord books along with great hitters like Cochran (Arizona State 2007) and Olympians likeMendoza (Arizona 2000) and Nuveman (UCLA2002) really puts her accomplishment in perspective."

Alvarez is the Monmouth University softball program's fifth NCAA Individual title holder and the third in the past four seasons. Alvarez joins Heather Gordon '07 (NCAA RBI champion last season) and Jennifer Egan Bjorndahl '97 (NCAA Triples champion, 1995) as NCAA Individual Champions. The 1995 and 2005 Monmouth Softball squads were both crowned as the NCAAAnnual Team Champions for triples per game.

Alvarez is one of only seven hitters in the country to rank in the top 15 in both average and slugging, and she is the only player in Division I to boast both those marks and a spot in the national stolen base rankings, placing ninth in swipes per game.