23 Tara Knudsen Class: Senior Hometown: Thornton, Colo. High School: Westminster Position: Shortstop B/T: R/R

Taken No. 1 by New England Riptide in Pro Fastpitch Supplemental Draft after being selected in the 3rd round by now defunct San Antonio in last year's senior draft * Signed pro contract with Riptide on May 26, 2004

As a Senior (2004): Earned All-ACC honors for the third straight season ... Started in all 66 games, 65 of them at shortstop ... Led Tech in all offensive categories ... Ended her career as the all-time home run leader in the ACC with 46 ... Ranks first all-time in Tech history in career slugging percentage (612), doubles (45), total bases (435), walks (119), games played/started (246/245) and at bats (711) ... Finished with the nation's 49th best batting average (.392) ... Ranked fourth in the ACC in home runs (12) ... Posted the league's second best slugging percentage (.696) and third highest on base percentage (.507) ... Broke her own single-season Tech record with 39 walks ... Drove in 42 runs on the season, the fourth highest tally in any Tech single season ... Stole a career-high 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts ... 126 total bases on the year was the second most for a single season in Tech history ... Tallied 15 doubles, the third most by any Tech player ... Led the ACC Tournament with five runs batted in en route to being named to the all-tournament team for the first time in her career ... Drove in the game-winning runs against Maryland (5/15) in the quarterfinals of ACC tourney ... Broke the ACC and Tech home run record on March 5 against UTEP ... Posted game-winning home runs against Virginia Tech (2/27) and DePaul (2/28) ... Drove in six game-winning runs ... Slugged a season-high two home runs against the Hokies ... Had first grand slam of her career against Ohio (3/23) ... Elected as the team's most valuable offensive player.

As a Junior (2003): Started in all 62 games for Tech at shortstop ... Hit .364 in the NCAA Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with one home run and two RBIs ... Ended the post-season 8-for-22, with a home run and three RBIs ... Led the team for the second straight year with a .309 batting average ... Named All-ACC for the second consecutive season ... Led the ACC with 13 home runs ... Ranks second all-time at Tech with 34 career homers ... Ranked third in the league in total bases (107), fourth in RBI (39) and walks (33), seventh in hits (56) and eighth in doubles (12) ... Currently holds the highest career slugging percentage (.583) in Tech history ... Had a sturdy .925 fielding percentage in the middle of the diamond ... Stands third in career RBI (102), fourth in career batting average (.323) and career doubles (30) ... Had 11 multi-hit games during the course of the season and 10 multi-RBI games ... Tied the school record with four hits in a single game against Mercer on March 30, ending 4-for-4 with three RBIs ... Drove in a season-high five Tech runners against Harvard on March 26, ending 2-for-3 with two home runs ... Named ACC Player of the Week on March 31, after hitting .667 (8-12), scoring eight runs and smashing two homers in four games.

As a Sophomore (2002): Earned third-team NFCA All-America honors at short stop, becoming just the second such honoree in program history ... Also garnered first-team All-Southeast Region and All-Atlantic Coast Conference accolades ... Enjoyed one of the finest offensive seasons in Tech and conference history ... Her 16 home runs tied the Tech and ACC single-season record ... Posted the second-highest single-season totals in program history with 80 hits, a .687 slugging percentage and 46 runs scored ... Had 51 RBI to stand third on the single-season record chart ... Set a school record with 37 walks ... Started all 70 games at shortstop ... Led the team in batting average, runs, hits, home runs, runs batted in, total bases, slugging percentage, walks and on-base percentage ... Ranked among the league's top five in nine offensive categories ... Opened the season with an 11-game hitting streak ... Led the team with 25 multi-hit games ... as three hits in a game on four different occasions ... Homered twice against Georgia State on February 20 and at North Carolina on April 5 ... Had a game-winning, walk-off, two-run homer to defeat Long Beach State in the National Invitational Softball Tournament on March 8 ... Her two-run homer against No. 25 Georgia proved to be the difference in a 2-1 Tech win on April 28 ... Had multiple hits in two of Tech's five games in NCAA Regional play ... Showed improved defense with 13 errors in 239 chances at shortstop ... Posted a .946 fielding percentage.

As a Freshman (2001): Emerged as one of Tech's top offensive and defensive players as a rookie ... Played in 48 games, making 47 starts, at short stop ... Led the team with a .259 batting average and posted 35 hits to share the team lead with Erin Hawley ... Her five home runs also equaled the team lead, while her five doubles were fourth ... Also drove in 12 runs, which ranked third on the squad ... Had a .904 fielding percentage from her position in the middle of the Yellow Jacket infield ... Part of an impressive infield that turned a conference-best 27 double plays ... Owned seven multi-hit games, including a 3-for-4 performance with two runs, an RBI and a double in Tech's win over Georgia State on March 2 ... Most dramatic home run of the season lifted the Jackets to a 2-1, extra-inning win over 16th-ranked Florida State ... Also had a three-run homer to propel Tech to a 4-3 victory over Maryland on April 15.

High School: Earned four letters in both softball and basketball while at Westminster High School, also lettered for one year in volleyball ... Was a two-year captain of both the softball and basketball teams ... Earned softball all-conference recognition at shortstop in each of her four years at Westminster, was also an all-state pick in 1998 and `99, while earning All-Colorado honors in 1999 under coach Rich Archer ... Garnered all-conference honors on the hardwood from 1998-2000 ... Was selected to play in the CCGS All-State Game as a senior ... Named the 1998 Player of the Year in the ASA 18 & under National B Division ... Cites winning the 2000 USSSA World Tournament in North Carolina with the Colorado Stars travel team as her most memorable athletic achievement ... Graduated with honors and in the top five percent of her class from Westminster, as she was 12th in her class of 265.

Personal: Tara Lynn Knudsen ... Born March 2, 1982 ... Majoring in management ... Parents are Steve and Sandy Knudsen.

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