Entering her third season at the helm of the RedHawk program, head coach Angie Jacobs is determined to lead this Miami squad to its first Mid-American Conference Tournament appearance since 1983 and first winning season in almost a decade.

In its first seven years as a varsity sport, the softball program yielded a .805 winning percentage with a 128-31 record. Since that time, the Red and White has experienced some subpar seasons. Jacobs, however, is a tireless worker always fine-tuning the instruments that will elevate the RedHawks into a MAC Tournament contender.

Over her first two seasons at the helm of the Miami program, Jacobs has attained a 31-66 overall record and a 13-32 Mid-American Conference mark.

Last season, Jacobs’ squad posted a 16-30 mark and a 5-15 MAC record. Miami opened its 2000 season by capturing the UNC Wilmington title and winning six of its first nine games.

Although Miami finished 15-36 in 1999, the RedHawks came close to winning several contests. The RedHawks fell short by a one-run margin in 11 games and dropped 11 others by two runs. Jacobs’ ‘Hawks also took seven games into extra innings.

Two of Jacobs’ pupils earned all-Mid-American Conference recognition in 1999 (Shawnda Moye and Keri Brisnehan), while freshman Abbey Arnold shattered Miami’s single-season strikeout record. Brisnehan was one of only two conference freshmen to garner all-MAC accolades. Moye went on to improve her Miami career homerun record and also break Miami’s RBI record.

With an 8-17 conference mark for a .280 winning percentage, Jacobs sports the second-best conference record for a first-year head coach in the history of the program. She placed her name two slots ahead of her predecessor, Sandy Pearsall, who went 7-23 in the conference in her first season for a .233 winning percentage. Prior to Pearsall’s tenure, Liz Kelly sat at the helm of the program. Kelly earned a 6-16 MAC mark in her first season for a .273 winning percentage. Peg Conradt is the only coach in the history of the program to have a winning conference season in her first year. Her 1983 team went 7-3 (.700); it also was the first year of MAC competition in softball.

The 1989 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley came to Miami after spending two years as the top assistant at the University of Utah. Jacobs also assisted with programs at the University of Oregon (1995-96), San Jose State University (1993-94) and Saint Mary’s College in Morgana, Calif. (1991-92). As an assistant, Jacobs tutored outfielders, catchers, pitchers and hitters.

A first baseman and catcher at California, Jacobs earned Pac-10 all-league honors as a senior. She helped her team to the Pac-10 title in 1987 and a third-place finish at the NCAA College World Series in 1986. Jacobs garnered all-West Region honors in 1987 and ‘88, and was named the NorPac Rookie of the Year after her freshman campaign.

In 1989, Jacobs received the Honda Inspiration Award, which is presented annually at the Broderick Awards Banquet to a female collegiate athlete who competes under extraordinary circumstances. Six months prior to the start of her junior season, Jacobs had her right thumb reattached to her throwing hand following a mill accident. She came back to start the first game and complete the last two years of her playing career.

In addition to coaching, Jacobs also has played in the professional ranks. She spent the summer of 1998 as a member of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch League’s Orlando Wahoos, which went on to win the league’s title, and played first base and catcher for the WPF’s Georgia Pride during the 1997 season.

A two-time all-American in the Amateur Softball Association, Jacobs led the ASA’s Redding Rebels (Calif.) to three consecutive national titles from 1993-95 and a third-place finish in 1997. She also helped the Rebels to the Canada World Cup championship in 1993 with a solo home run to defeat Australia, 1-0.

As a player/coach for the Bologna Queens of the Italian Softball League in 1989, Jacobs directed the team to a second-place finish in the Italian Championships.

The Medford, Ore., native earned a B.A. in psychology at Cal and a master’s in sports psychology in 1993 from John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, Calif.