Lipscomb Lady Bisons head softball coach Kristin Peck has a tough task ahead in her fourth season as she attempts to improve on 2008, the most successful season in the NCAA era.
The Lady Bisons finished tied for the regular season Atlantic Sun Conference Championship and earned the top-seed in the conference tournament in Deland, Fla., at Stetson University.
Peck was honored by her peers as the Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year as the Lady Bisons were 29-26 overall, 16-6 in the conference. Both victory totals were records in the NCAA era.
"We are not everywhere we want to yet, but we are moving in the right direction,” said Peck.
In three seasons Peck is 68-88-1.
The Lady Bisons were 25-28-1 in 2007. They finished with a 9-8-1 worksheet in Atlantic Sun Conference games, good enough for a fifth place finish.
“When you get your first head coaching job you are trying to get your feet under you and you are trying to learn on the fly,” said Peck. “Now the big things are under control. Now we are putting our focus on the little things that are going to make this program better.”
The 2006 team finished14-34, 4-14 in the Atlantic Sun in Peck’s first season as head coach.
Peck spent the 2005 season as a graduate assistant coach in softball and volleyball. She helped direct the softball team to it’s first-ever berth in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The Lady Bisons finished in a tie for third place in the A-Sun and entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed.
She worked with both former head coach Andy Lane and interim coach Cheryl Smith, who took over mid-season, as the Lady Bisons finished 27-24, 13-7 in the conference.
On the softball field Peck was one of the most decorated players in program history. She excelled at shortstop and in centerfield during the early part of her Lipscomb career, helping lead the Lady Bison softball program to 122 wins while being named All-Conference and All-Region.
She posted a career batting average of .300, a .400 on-base percentage, 150 runs, 187 hits, 34 doubles, 18 triples, 69 runs batted in, 41 stolen bases and a .940 fielding percentage. She was a four-year starter who served as team captain in 2003.
Peck set numerous school records in volleyball as a four-year starter.
Academically, Peck was also a leader. In 2004 she won the James R. Byers Award given annually to the top male and female athlete at Lipscomb for leadership in athletics, academics and Christian life.
She was named NCAA Woman of the Year for the state of Tennessee in 2004. Peck graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Health and Physical Education-Teaching. She was a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-American All-District IV second team.
Peck was also a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society and was honored by the Lipscomb Department of Education as 2004’s top student teacher.
She is the daughter of Barbara and Larry Peck of Smyrna, Tenn. She has three sisters: Karen, Katie, and Kelci.