University of Vermont Athletics

Kristen Nestor Tayag 1998 -  Softball

A 2010 UVM Hall of Fame inductee and one of the best hitters in the history of Vermont softball, Kristen Nestor is the school’s all-time leader in batting average after hitting .407 for her career. A three-time America East All-Conference selection, she earned first team honors as a redshirt senior in 1998 when she hit .441 with 11 doubles and 14 runs batted in. Nestor also earned second team honors in both 1995 and 1997.

As a freshman Nestor appeared in 23 games and hit .462 on the year, but really came on as a sophomore. In her second year she started 30 of 35 games, batting .421 with 20 runs scored and 12 doubles. Her 12 doubles that season ranked fourth in a single season in school history at the time of her graduation.

Nestor’s big sophomore campaign helped her earn the team’s Sally Guerette Player of the Year award, as the Catamounts advanced to the America East Tournament.
 
After only appearing in three games in 1996 after tearing her ACL, Nestor bounced back to start all 37 games the following year and earn a spot on the All-New England Team. She hit .330 with 17 runs batted in, two home runs and 11 doubles.

Nestor saved her best season for her last year in a Catamount uniform. As a senior her .441 batting average ranks as the second-highest single season average in school history. Nestor would also add 14 runs batted in, 11 doubles and a .559 slugging percentage as she earned team MVP honors. That year she also earned a spot on the National Softball Coaches Association Northeast All-Region Second Team, All-New England Team and ECAC Division I Softball All-Star Team.

Nestor is the last Catamount to be named to either the NSCA All-Region or ECAC Division I All-Star teams.

At the time of her graduation she finished ranked second in doubles (36), third in career hits (137), third in total bases (182) and fifth in runs batted in (54). She also posted two of the top four single-season batting averages in school history and three of the top six single-season totals for doubles.

To show how impressive Nestor’s career batting average of .407 is, only two Cats in school history have a career average above .400, while the third-best average is .333. For her career she struck out only 23 times in 337 career at bats.
Off the field Nestor was named to America East Academic Honor Roll in 1997 and 1998.

Following graduation Nestor was a part time assistant softball coach at Boston University. She is married to Rodereck Tayag and they have a son Ryan.