Brombacher, Bruder, Bush & DeFelice Participate in Graduation Ceremonies This Weekend
Friday, December 16, 2011 | Softball
Four 2011 softball seniors will bid farewell to the University of Florida as undergrads this weekend when they participate in commencement ceremonies on the UF campus. Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), Kelsey Bruder (Corona, Calif.), Megan Bush (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) and Tiffany DeFelice (Coral Springs, Fla.) will earn their undergraduate degrees after finishing their four-year careers as members of the Gator softball team last spring.
The quartet was a part of two SEC Championships in 2008 and 2009, four-straight SEC Eastern Division titles, led Florida to four-consecutive Women's College World Series appearances and played for the National Championship in both 2009 and 2011. Brombacher, Bruder, Bush and DeFelice are four components of the winningest class in UF softball history, finishing their astounding Gator careers with a 238-33 (.878) overall record and a 94-13 (.878) record in SEC play.
This year's graduates combined for over 100 UF single game, single season and career records in the Gator history and record book, while racking up numerous All-SEC, All-America and Academic All-America awards during their time donning the Orange and Blue.
Among plentiful accolades, Bruder was named the 2011 SEC Player of the Year, the 2011 Honda Award winner for softball and a 2012 NCAA Today's Top VIII Award recipient. Bush walks away from her Gator career holding the SEC and UF records for career home runs, while Brombacher and DeFelice were one of the most powerful and effective pitching and catching duos during their tenure. Brombacher was a top-10 finalist for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, while DeFelice tallied just two errors in her four-year stint, owning a perfect fielding percentage for two-straight years as a starter.
All four graduates put in stellar work, not only on the field, but in the classroom with Academic All-SEC honors multiple years, while Brombacher, Bruder and Bush were Academic All-America honorees to compliment their athletic All-America accolades.
Bruder will additionally be recognized as UF's Outstanding Female Leader this weekend, just one month prior to 2012 NCAA Convention, where she will attend a banquet and honors celebration for becoming the sixth Gator – joining Tim Tebow, Stephanie Nickitas, Danny Wuerffel, Megan Neyer and Tracy Caulkins – to earn the prestigious Top VIII Award.
Both Bruder and Bush have continued their softball careers professionally in the National Pro Fastpitch league, Bruder with the USSSA Pride (Orlando, Fla.), and Bush with the Akron Racers (Akron, Ohio).
Brombacher, Bruder, Bush and DeFelice will join 34 other University of Florida student-athletes in commencement ceremonies this weekend. For the complete list of fall semester Gator grads, visit here. A staggering 68 percent of UF's fall athlete grads were a part of at least one SEC or national championship squad during their Gator career.
Brombacher, Bruder and Bush will earn Health, Education & Behavior degrees, while DeFelice will graduate with a degree in Criminology.
