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 | Class:
Junior
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| Hometown:
West Hills, Calif.
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| High School:
Chaminade College Prep
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| Height:
5-4
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| Position:
IF
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| B/T:
L/R
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AT ILLINOIS
2009 - Sophomore
Earned third-team All-America honors by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association ... The second All-American in Illinois history ... First team NFCA Midwest All-Region ... First team All-Big Ten ... Batted .401, ranking second in the Big Ten and third in Illinois' single-season history ... Played and started in all 46 games at second base ... Her 48 runs scored ranked first in the Big Ten ... Had 20 stolen bases in 21 attempts ... Also ranked first on the team in hits (63), at-bats (147), triples (2), on-base percentage (.484) and multi-hit games (17) ... Picked up three or more hits in eight games ... Named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week on March 24 after batting .900 while slugging 1.500 through three games against Penn State and Illinois State ... Was 8-for-8 with five RBIs and five runs in Illinois' sweep over Penn State on March 21-22 ... Opened the season with a 15-game hitting streak from Feb. 6-27, the second-longest streak in school history ... Also hit safely in six consecutive games from March 1-24 ... Named Big Ten Player of the Week on Feb. 9 after opening the season 7-for-7 with four RBIs in Illini wins over Boise State and James Madison ... Was 3-for-3 against Wisconsin on April 4 ... Hit first career home run on Feb. 28 at No. 2 Florida ... Hit triples against Wisconsin (April 4) and James Madison (Feb. 6) ... Academic All-Big Ten ... Second team Academic All-District by ESPN the Magazine ... Named team Most Valuable Player and also earned team Gold Glove Award and Igniter Award.
2008 - Freshman
Played and started all 62 games at second base ... Ranked second on the team in runs (43) and hits (67) and was third in batting average (.318) ... Stole 14 bases ... Had a seven-game hitting streak from March 8-21 ... Had 18 multi-hit games on the season, including five with three or more hits ... Was a perfect 4-for-4 against No. 22 San Diego State on March 22 ... Also went 4-for-4 against Florida International on Feb. 22 ... Had three triples throughout the year, including one each in back-to-back games against Florida Gulf Coast and Cal Poly on Feb. 10 and 15 ... Earned team Gold Glove Award.
HIGH SCHOOL
Three-time Female Athlete of the Year honoree at Chaminade ... Earned back-to-back All-Mission League first team honors ... Led high school to the Mission League and CIF championships under coach John Ellinghouse ... Named Daily News All-Area first team and All-CIF second team as a junior ... Hit .404 and stole 29 bases in 2006 ... Named a Scholar Athlete three times ... Led Valley Breeze ASA Team to nationals in 2004 and 2006 under coach Tom Sotelo ... Also played for the SoCal Diamonds, SoCal Pumas and SoCal Athletics.
PERSONAL
Born July 4, 1989 ... Daughter of Rich and Marie Zymkowitz ... Has one younger sister, Madison ... Majoring in communication ... Enjoys water sports and basketball.
GETTING TO KNOW DANIELLE
Favorite food: Cereal ... Favorite TV shows: American Idol and The Office ... Favorite music artist: Carrie Underwood ... Favorite pro team: Los Angeles Lakers ... Dream job: Work for ESPN ... Why Illinois? "The traditions and going to all the sports events." ... What I've learned from Coach Sullivan: "Every day is a great day to be an Illini. I am proud to be an Illini!"
