IRVING, Texas (March 14) -- For the third week in a row, FIU freshman pitcher Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) was named Conference USA Co-Pitcher of the Week, league officials announced today.
 
Kugelmann picked up two wins and her-first career save in three appearances for the week. Tuesday night, she tossed her first seven-inning contest in a 7-3 victory over East Carolina. Saturday, she recorded her third shutout in five career starts, allowing just two hits against Conference USA's second-best hitting team, Charlotte. She struck out a career-high seven in just five innings as the Panthers collected the 8-0 victory. Sunday, she was called upon in a closing role and struck out three in two innings to get her first-career save in the series sweep over the 49ers.
 
In total against Charlotte, which was receiving votes in the USA Today / NFCA weekly coaches poll, she tossed seven scoreless innings, allowed just four hits and recorded 10 strikeouts. She had 13 total punchouts in 14 innings pitched for the week.
 
For the season, Kugelmann leads the Panthers with five wins, a 1.36 earned run average, five complete games, three shutouts and two no-hitters. She is the first Panther to collect two or more no-hitters in a single season in program history. Opponents have only 17 hits off her in 36 innings and have scored just seven earned runs.

Nationally, Kugelman ranks fifth in hits allowed per seven innings, 32^nd in earned run average and tied for 15^th in the country with her three total shutouts.

Kugelman has won Co-Pitcher of the Week in three consecutive weeks out of the five weeks they have been awarded, with teammate Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) also taking home Co-Player of the Week honors on February 29.
 
The Panthers will host Rutgers for a Tuesday evening doubleheader, starting at 5 p.m. at Felsberg Field at the FIU Softball Stadium. This weekend, FIU goes on the road for its first Conference USA series away from home, at WKU.
 
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.