Deb Solfaro could not have asked for a more complete person on her Terrier softball team than Beth Iwamoto. She was smart, a hard worker and could she hit the ball.
"She was a great person," said Solfaro, who had the pleasure of coaching Beth during her final three undergraduate years. "She was quiet, diligent and did everything you asked of her. She was a real leader, always polite."
The outward appearance hid the strong inward competitiveness that she had on the softball field.
"She never missed a game," said Solfaro. "She was our starting first baseman and was quick on defense and a real clutch hitter."
She hit for power, she hit for average, and she could run.
At the time of induction, her name rested atop Terrier career records in four major categories, while she was second in a fifth. Her .360 career batting average, 201 hits, 24 triples and .547 career slugging percentage remained school records six years after she swung the bat the last time. In addition, her 106 RBI ranked second only to Michelle White's 117.
As a freshman during the 1994 season, she led the nation in triples with 13, while her .655 slugging percentage and triple total were school single-season records. In 1995, she had a team-leading .348 batting average. In 1996, she had 139 at bats and struck out just twice, as she was the fifth hardest player to strike out in the nation.
Finally, in 1997, she hit .404, which ranked as the second-highest single-season average in school history at the time of induction. The team captain that season, she was also the America East Player of the Year and First Team Northeast Region All-American.
During her four-year career, Beth played on teams that compiled an overall record of 133-47 and won three conference tournaments. The best season was 1996 when the Terriers finished 36-10 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. They also won the ECAC Conference title in 1994 and the America East Tournament championship in 1997.
We still haven't mentioned her success in the classroom.
She graduated with a 3.33 GPA while majoring in Physical Therapy at Sargent College. She was a four-time America East All-Academic Team selection, and her senior year, she was the America East Scholar Athlete of the Year. She was also named GTE/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American.
