Marquez, Ekx named NJCAA All-Americans

On the heels of a sixth place finish at the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) tournament, the Rock Valley College softball team has now added two more names to RVC's prestigious NJCAA All-American list: Vivi Marquez and Kara Ekx.

Marquez finished the season third in the country in RBIs (70) and fourth in home runs (10) while hitting .504. The freshman catcher from Hononegah High School was previously named conference MVP and first team all-conference catcher for the N4C (North Central Community College Conference). Marquez was also named all-region for NJCAA Region IV.

Ekx did even better from a national standpoint, leading NJCAA Division III in home runs (12) and ranking second in RBIs (75) while posting a .516 average with 13 doubles and 55 runs scored. The sophomore outfielder from McHenry High School was also a first team all-conference and an all-region selection.

Marquez and Ekx join the 137 previous RVC athletes to achieve NJCAA All-American honors, covering all sports.

Vivi Marquez                        Kara Ekx

About RVC Softball

NJCAA-Division III Rock Valley College plays in Region IV and is a member of the N4C (North Central Community College Conference). Head Coach Darin Monroe is coming off his first season at the helm, in which the Golden Eagles went 30-17 and finished second at the Regional Tournament. Home games are played at the Mulford Campus on a field that was just built in 2003.  The outdoor facilities consist of four outdoor batting cages, brick dugouts, and press boxes.  The indoor facilities include a 4,300 seat arena which has two drop down batting cages, as well as a moveable netting system and a student-athlete study lounge. 

About Region IV

Illinois is divided into only two regions: Region 4, which includes the junior colleges (approx.) north of Peoria and Region 24, which includes the junior colleges south of Peoria. RVC plays in the highly competitive Region 4, which consists of 24 junior colleges in Northern Illinois as well as Madison in Wisconsin.

About N4C

N4C stands for North Central Community College Conference. The N4C consists of seven teams:

Rock Valley College, Joliet Junior College, College of DuPage, Triton College (D2), Madison College and Harper College.

For conference play, RVC plays each of the other five N4C teams in a home and away double header on Friday and Saturday afternoons.

What RVC Softball can offer our Recruits…

• Excellent education for low cost.
• A knowledgeable coaching staff to develop and prepare you for 4-year level softball.
• Extensive help with transferring to a 4-year college program after playing at RVC.
• A week long spring break trip.
• A chance to play on one of the nicest softball fields in the area.
• State-of-the-art indoor facility that went through a $13 million renovation in 2009.
• A chance to play college softball in one of the toughest regions in the country.
• An opportunity to play for a highly successful athletic program that has seen three teams win national championships in the last year (volleyball, women's tennis, women's basketball).
• Interested in learning more about Rock Valley Softball? Fill out an interest form!