STARKVILLE, Miss. – Michigan senior Jordan Taylor has been named as the final NFCA National Player of the Week of the 2011 season for games played May 9-15.

Taylor helped lead the Wolverines to the Big Ten title and sweep over arch-rival Michigan State last week with two commanding performance in the circle. On the week, Taylor allowed no runs off of just one hit with 19 strikeouts and only two walks over 11 innings of work. She finished the week with 0.00 ERA, while limiting the Spartans to a microscopic .027 batting average. 

The Valencia, Calif., native started the week with a one-hit, 13-strikeout performance against Michigan State on Friday in her last regular season home game at the Wilpon Complex in Ann Arbor. On Saturday when the series moved to East Lansing, Taylor was even more impressive. In the regular-season finale, she helped the Wolverines win their fourth straight Big Tem title outright by tossing the eighth no-hitter of her remarkable career and the second of her final campaign with the Maize & Blue. 

Taylor finished the 2011 regular-season with a 29-3 record, a 1.29 ERA, 301 strikeouts, an opponent’s batting average of .174 and a DI-leading eight saves. 

The second-ranked Wolverines (51-4) now head to the NCAA Championship where they earned the 10th-overall seed and the right to host a regional. Michigan will kick-off play in the Ann Arbor regional, which also includes No. 23 Kentucky and No. 24 Notre Dame, on Friday when they take on the champions of the Mid-America Conference, Western Michigan. 

Other Top Performances
Louisiana-Lafayette’s Christi Orgeron earned Sun Belt tournament MOP honors by batting .538 with 13 RBIs and three home runs… Jen Mineau of Fordham was nearly unhittable at last week’s Atlantic-10 tournament, allowing just six hit and no runs while fanning 27 over three games… Tennessee’s Ellen Renfroe helped the Lady Vols to the SEC Crown by going 3-0 and limiting three Top 25 opponents to a combined two earned runs… Whitney Johnson of North Dakota St. landed her second straight Summit League MVP honor last week after allowing just five hits and no runs while striking out 19 in the conference tournament. 

NFCA DI National Player of the Week
May 17 – Jordan Taylor – Michigan – Sr. – P – Valencia, Calif. 
May 10 – Keilani Ricketts – Oklahoma – So. – P – San Jose, Calif. 
May 3 – Raven Chavanne – Tennessee – So. – OF – Thousand Oaks, Calif. (co) 
May 3 – Jen Mineau – Fordham – Jr. – P – Schaghticoke, N.Y. (co) 
Apr. 25 – Adrienne Monka – Northwestern – Jr. – 1B – Ranch Cucamonga, Calif. 
Apr. 18 – Jolene Henderson – California – So. – P – Elk Grove, Calif. 
Apr. 11 – Kristyn Sandberg – Georgia – Jr. – C/IF – Island Park, N.Y. 
Apr. 5 – Sara Plourde – Massachusetts – Jr. – P – Bristol, Conn. 
Mar. 29 – Jacqueline Grim – Loyola (IL) – Sr. – 1B – Beecher, Ill. 
Mar. 22 – Blaire Luna – Texas – So. – P – Austin, Texas 
Mar. 15 – Kelly Hmiel – Pittsburgh – Jr. – 3B – York, Pa. 
Mar. 8 – Chelsea Thomas – Missouri – So. – P – Pleasantville, Iowa 
Mar. 1 – Lori Spignola – North Carolina – Fr. – P – Atlanta, Ga. 
Feb. 22 – Stephanie Brombacher – Florida – Sr. – P – Pembroke Pine, Fla. 
Feb. 15 – Gabrielle Bridges – La-Lafayette – Sr. – 1B – Lafitte, La.