2010: OVC All-Tournament Team ... the outfielder ended her steller Panther career by notching her name into the EIU record books numerous times... that includes tying the single-season home run mark with eight dingers... her bomb against Morehead State at the OVC Tournament made her the new all-time home run leader by a Panther as she finished with 27 career homers... led the squad with a .362 batting average and .631 slug mark... her 47 hits also led all players, as did her 11 total doubles... also ranked in a tie for 10th for total bases in a season with 82 and tied for fifth in walks with 24... one of six Panthers to boot a bomb over the fence in the 10-2 rout of SEMO, setting a new school and OVC record in process... also finished first in career walks with 83... was fourth all-time in RBI numbers with 92... tied for 10th for career runs with 8 and seventh in total bases with 245... OVC Top 10: Second in on base percentage... third in slugging percentage... Tied for fifth in doubles... ninth in slugging percentage for OVC-only contests as well... EIU Single-Season Rankings: Tied for first in home runs... tied for fifth in total walks... tied for 10th in total bases... EIU Career Rankings: First in home runs... first in walks... fourth in RBI... seventh in total bases... tied for 10th in both hits and runs.
2009: One of the five players to start and play in all 54 games of the season... could find her in the right field a majority of the time, while she also was thrown into left 16 times as well... and listed as designated hitter, twice... batted most of the season at clean-up, but also hit in the third spot... tied the season homer mark after nailing her eighth bomb of the year at league rival Southeast Missouri... that dinger total helped the squad set a new season homer record of 27 total... finished with a .283 batting average, off 47 hits and 166 at-bats... ranked second on the squad for total runs... led all Panthers with 40 RBIs, setting a new single-season mark in the process... had 23 two-out RBIs and finished with 12 multi-RBI performances, which included batting in at four runs in a game, three times... that helped up her career multi-RBI performances to 20... her play at the plate, either off a key hit or walk, helped EIU pull out five wins... set new personal streak by hitting safely in 12 straight games at one point... earned ten multi-hit games to move her career total to 17... led her unit with 27 walks... went 4-of-8 at the plate when bases were loaded, collecting a grand slam when EIU routed OVC foe Tennessee Tech in an 11-0 win in five-innings on the road... went 4-for-7 in stolen base attempts... committed just one error while tallying 84 put-outs, earning a .946 fielding mark... had a .524 success rate in advancing runners on base.... OVC Top Ten: Third in RBIs... tied for fourth in home runs (tied for second in OVC games)... fourth in walks (tied for seventh in league play)... nine in runs scored... EIU Single-Season Rankings: Tied for first in home runs... first in total RBIs... top ranking for walks... EIU Career Rankings: Third in home runs... fifth for walks.
2008: Second Team All-OVC… Menzione was one of three Panthers to start all 46 games, 39 times in center field… batted in five different spots in the lineup (third through seventh)… led the team with seven home runs… ranked seventh in the conference in slugging (.655) and on-base percentage (.466) in OVC play… hit all of her long balls away from home for the second year in a row, including a dramatic seventh-inning, two-out homer at Jacksonville State that lifted EIU to victory… registered all her doubles, and five of her home runs, in OVC play… also batted .328 while walking (15) more than she struck out (13) against conference opponents… reached base safely to begin an inning 42 percent of the time (8-of-19)… led the team with 15 hits with runners in scoring position… collected 10 of her 20 RBIs with two outs… homered in three straight games, the first Panther to accomplish the feat since 2004… went on to hit safely in a career-best six straight games, capping the streak with her first career three-hit game in the nightcap of the doubleheader sweep of Austin Peay… collected a pair of RBI doubles in that APSU victory… reached base safely in 17 consecutive games in March and April, batting .410 and compiling a .547 on-base percentage during the impressive streak… teamed up with Kiley Holtz for back-to-back home runs in the nightcap of the doubleheader at Southeast Missouri… went 4-for-7 with a homer, two runs scored and two walks in the doubleheader sweep at Morehead… hit safely in all three games versus Tennessee State and Morehead State… OVC Top 10: Eighth in walks… EIU Single-Season Rankings: Second in home runs... fourth in walks.
2007: Menzione played in 33 games, starting started 29 times, all at the hot corner… finished second on the team with four home runs, all of which she hit during the spring break trip to Northern California… led the team in slugging percentage after nine of her 14 hits went for extra bases… was 6-for-21 with RISP… collected nine of her 11 RBIs while batting .304 in EIU victories… went deep against nationally-ranked California and in the win at Saint Mary’s… doubled twice vs. Alabama A&M… doubled, walked twice, scored twice and knocked in a pair of runs in game two of the Southeast Missouri doubleheader… EIU Single-Season Rankings: Ninth in home runs.
HIGH SCHOOL: Denee’ was a three-year letter-winner for coaches Rob Havelka and Jimmy Cushing… led D.G. South to a runner-up finish at the IHSA State Tournament as a Third Team NFCA All-American in 2006, setting school records in doubles (18) and RBIs (62)… Daily Herald and Suburban Life Area ‘Player of the Year’ as a senior… also a First Team All-Area and All-State selection by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times… NFCA First Team All-Region… Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Bandits All-Star Team… two-time All-West Suburban Gold Conference as an upperclassman… 2005 All-Area pick by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Herald and Suburban Life… Chicago Tribune and Daily Herald ‘Player of the Week’ in 2005… D.G. South was WSG Conference champs in 2004 and 2006 and regional champs in 2005.
PERSONAL: No. 1 sports highlight was “playing in the state championship game in high school my senior year”… her high school and summer league coaches have been a major influence on her sports career because “they would always push me to become a better athlete, they believed in me and they worked with me when something wasn’t going right”… her brother Marc plays hockey at Bentley College.
OFF THE FIELD WITH DENEE':
My major at EIU... kinesiology & sports studies
Daughter of... Greg & Lori Menzione
Name of family dog... ‘Gigi’, a shetland sheepdog
Chose EIU... “because of the small campus... plus there’s a great atmosphere around town”
Favorite food dishes... my mom’s cooking
One of my favorite quotes (John C. Maxwell)... “leadership is not a right -- it’s a responsibility“
A hobby of mine... is watching sports with my family
EIU athlete I enjoy watching play... former women’s basketball standout Rachel Galligan
Favorite building on campus... Williams Field
Not real crazy about eating... eggplant
Favorite musical artist... Chris Brown
A hidden talent... still trying to find one
A goal I hope to achieve while at EIU... “is to be as successful as I can be at my profession... and I want to build a name for our EIU softball program”
Must-see tv & movie... ‘American Idol’ & ‘The Proposal’... enjoy actors Betty White & Ryan Reynolds
Currently driving... a 2004 Mitsubishi Galant
If I could trade places with someone for a day... would be with EIU Athletic Director, Barbara Burke... “I would love to spend a day in her shoes, because she’s is a very strong woman”
A professor & class I have enjoyed... Catherine Polydore in the education department
Favorite pro sports squad... the Chicago Cubs
Advice I would give to a younger athlete... “always strive for your dreams”
