VICTORIA, Texas – Senior designated player Naomi Amu has been named the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Female Athlete of the Week for the week of Feb. 9-15, it was announced Monday.

The honor marks the second time in the last four weeks that Amu has been named A.I.I. Athlete of the Week. CSUSM softball players have taken three out of the last four honors from the conference, and CSUSM female student-athletes have captured four straight weekly conference awards.

Amu was crowned the Most Valuable Player of the 32-team Desert Stinger Classic on Sunday after leading the No. 12 Cal State San Marcos softball team to the tournament title with an undefeated 5-0 record. The competition featured 31 other teams from the NCAA Division II West Region, and the Cougars beat out four other undefeated teams via tiebreaker to take the crown.

Amu led all players in home runs (4), RBI (16) and total bases (24), finishing 11-for-16 (.688) while slugging 1.500 with on an-base percentage of .722. She scored eight times, walked twice and did not strike out in 18 plate appearances.

In the opening game of the tournament, Amu hit a grand slam in an eventual 8-1 victory. It marked her second consecutive game with a grand slam.

On Saturday, Amu turned it up a notch, hitting a home run in each of the victories over Black Hills State (S.D.) and Montana-State Billings. She went a combined 6-for-6 with nine RBI between the two games.

On the final day, Amu homered in a 16-3 victory over Simon Fraser, her fifth straight game with a home run. She was 4-for-7 with three RBI on the afternoon.

Amu was also named the A.I.I. Female Athlete of the Week on Jan. 26.

2014-15 CSUSM A.I.I. Athletes of the Week
Sept. 21, 2014 - Paulina Good (women's soccer)
Oct. 26, 2014 - Andrew Tellames (men's cross country)
Nov. 16, 2014 - Alyssa Foster (volleyball)
Nov. 16, 2014 - Amanda Sears (women's soccer)
Nov. 30, 2014 - Blake Nash (men's basketball)
Jan. 25, 2015 - Naomi Amu (softball)
Jan. 25, 2015 - Wade Collie (men's basketball)
Feb. 1, 2015 - Heather Thompson (women's basketball)
Feb. 9, 2015 - Melyssa Bellamy (softball)
Feb. 16, 2015 – Naomi Amu (softball)