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Val Silvestrini
In 2022-2023, Val Silvestrini enters her 14th season as the head softball coach at Florida Tech. During her tenure with softball program, Silvestrini has compiled a 356-267 record. As of April 3, 2021, she is holds the distinction of being the program's leader in wins as she surpassed the late Hall of Famer Dr. Nancy Bottge's mark of 316. The Argentine also the team's only coach to win a Sunshine State Conference Championship and NCAA South Region titles.
During the 2022 campagin, Val led the Panthers to a 30+ win season amassing a mark of 32-20 with a 15-15 SSC record. Six Panthers earned SSC honors, two named to the Cosida Academic All-District team, and one selected to the D2CCA and NFCA All-South Region teams.
Val and the rest of the team put together a 13-15 record in 2021 including a 10-12 SSC mark. The offensive prowess of the squad landed them the top batting average in the SSC at .277 and Cheyenne Nelson lead the team and the conference at .418. The individual success was plentiful as Nelson won SSC Player of the Year and first team honors along with two first team All-South Region distinctions. While Tina Velazquez Rolon earned first team All-SSC and second team D2CCA All-South Region. Three other members of the Crimson & Gray also tallied an All-SSC nod.
Silvestrini led the 2020 Panthers to a 16-11 record and 7-2 in the SSC before the season was cut short due to COVID-19.
The 2019 season was Florida Tech's greatest season in program history. Silvestrini coached the team to the program's first Sunshine State Conference title, highest national ranking at No. 4, second trip to the NCAA South Super Regional and tied the Panthers' win record with 42 with 23 coming in SSC play. With her coaching, Melanie Murphy became the second player in program history and first since Elisa Bartolo, in 1995 and 1996, to earn All-America honors.
2018 was a banner year for Florida Tech as the team went 32-21 and 16-14 in the SSC. Despite a slow start to the season, Florida Tech picked it up and made a run for the post season but fell just outside the cutoff point for the tournament. Under her tutelage, two members of the team earned first team All-SSC which was the first for the program since 2016.
During the 2017 season, Silvestrini led Florida Tech to a 26-25 overall record, and finished sixth in the SSC with an 11-13 record. Starting off the season, the Panthers recorded a six-game winning-streak, which began against Nova Southeastern (Feb. 4). The Panthers also earned their first sweep against Rollins, which had not been accomplished since Silvestrini became head coach in 2009.
In the 2016 season, she guided the Panthers to the best season in program history, as Florida Tech not only advanced to postseason play for the first time in school history, but also claimed the NCAA DII South Region Championship to advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals. That year, Florida Tech finished the season with a 38-20 overall record and went 14-10 in Sunshine State Conference play. The Panthers finished the season ranked for the first time ever, sliding in at No. 19 in the NFCA poll.
Silvistrini came to the institution from the University of North Florida, where she was the assistant coach for the Ospreys during the last two years. While there, she assisted in all facets of the program and helped lead UNF to consecutive winning seasons, that saw the team ranked sixth out of the 11 schools in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings each of the last two years.
Prior to her stint at UNF, Silvestrini served as an assistant coach at Charleston Southern University and at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia, where she earned her Master of Science degree in sports medicine. She completed her bachelor’s degree in physical education teaching and coaching from ISEF N° 1 “Dr. Enrique Romero Brest” in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In addition to her coaching experience, Silvestrini has received her National Strength and Conditioning certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). During her tenure at AASU, she coached five Peach Belt All-Conference players, four conference Players of the Week and one NFCA National Player of the Week. In 2006, the team finished 23rd in the NFCA Division II National Rankings.
At UNF during the 2008 season, the Lady Ospreys broke the single season record for home runs with 50, and set a new school record for wins as a Division I program with 39. In the last two years, Silvestrini has guided North Florida to a 66-48 record (.727 winning percentage). Additionally, Val has had six of her student-athletes honored as All-Atlantic Sun players and four named Players of the Week. As a coach, she was responsible for the planning and implementation behind softball practices, recruiting, and team travel. In addition, she served as the supervisor of academic development for student-athletes and Interim Head Coach at UNF for three months in the summer of 2008.
During her athletic career, Silvestrini played for the Argentinean National Team from 1998-2007 and served as captain from 2005 until she retired. She participated in several international tournaments, including the Pan-American and South American Championships. During her stints with the Division I teams in Argentina and Spain, she was named Player of the Year, Best Hitter and Best Defensive Player on numerous occasions.
While playing for Armstrong Atlantic as a senior, she hit .410 for the season and was tabbed an All-Conference, All-Region and All-Tournament Outfielder. Silvestrini is currently in the top three in three different offensive categories for single season records at AASU, including second in hits (73), third in batting average (.410) and second in runs scored (49).
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