Softball Coaches
NORA MAY-DAVILA
HEAD COACH
Bringing a wealth of both domestic and international experiences, Nora May-Davila is on board as the new softball coach at the University of the Incarnate Word.
“Nora comes to Incarnate Word with international experience both in coaching and in playing”, UIW Athletic Director Mark Papich said. “And, she fits a key role with our team in that she is a pitching coach. That is always important in building a top program because it has been proven you can control the game with good pitching.”
A native of Puerto Rico, May-Davila spent 10 years as a player in her country’s Olympic softball program. That time included competitions in the World Cup, the Pan American Games and the Central American Games.
As a coach, she has been on the staff of the Puerto Rican National team as well as the Junior Olympic Team.
In 2000, she traveled to the International Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, as a softball umpire.
At the collegiate level, she was the head coach for four years, first at Missouri Valley College and most recently at Si Tanka University in South Dakota. In those years, her teams were in post-season play each time and once reached the regional finals. Also, those teams produced 10 academic all-conference players.
At the high school level back in Puerto Rico, she coached teams at St. Francis School to five consecutive national championships.
She is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico where she played both softball and basketball. She earned a master’s degree at Columbia College in Missouri. Her husband is Angel Davila and their adult children are Noraida Negron and Hector Torres May. Angel Davila currently is the manager for the Laredo entry in the independent Central Baseball League.
Papich continued. “Nora has stepped in quickly to begin the process of filling out the softball roster as we approach another school year.”
LEAH BOWEN
GRADUATE ASSISTANT
This is Leah Bowen’s first full year at Incarnate Word and her first go at the spring softball season as the team’s graduate assistant.
She is a 2004 graduate of Bemidji State University in Minnesota where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management. At UIW, she will continue on in that field seeking a master’s degree.
A native of Duluth, Minn., she is a graduate of Hermantown High School where she played softball, volleyball and basketball.
At Bemidji State, after four years of softball, fans can look at the top 20 lists in that sport and find her name prominent for both season and career accomplishments on the diamond, six times in both areas. Not only that, but her father played football at Bemidji State while her mother was a cheerleader there.
Away from softball, she is into biking, kayaking and skiing and she does get excited about being in the snow.
