September 26, 2002
Texas A&M senior catcher Selena Collins and 51 other athletes are participating in the Women's National Team Camp, Sept. 26-29 at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, USA Softball announced. USA Softball will select a core group of athletes to return to the 2002 National Team Camp in June of 2003.
"It's a great honor for me to tryout for the USA National Team," Collins said. "I gained a lot of confidence from playing on the USA Elite team this past summer and I hope to carry that confidence into the tryouts this weekend. I appreciate the support my coaches and teammates have given me in helping me to prepare for this great opportunity."
"Selena has worked hard to get where she is today," Aggie Head Softball Coach Jo Evans said. "Being invited to tryout for the National team is an incredible honor. She continues to represent Texas A&M in a very positive light and brings great recognition to our softball program. She is a leader on the field at A&M and I'm sure the national team coaches recognize what that leadership could bring to the USA Team."
Collins ended her junior season earning third-team All-America honors as well as being tabbed the Big 12 Player of the Year in a vote by the league coaches. Collins hit .331 with 16 homeruns and 43 RBI. Collins has 28 career homers and trails Aggie record holder Liz Mizera who had 34 homeruns in her career.
The 52 players invited to the tryouts include members of the 2002 Women's World Team, the 2002 Elite Team and at-large invitees.
Coaches for the camp will be Michael Bastian (former WPSL head coach), Bob Coolen (Hawaii), Roger Dawes (Redding, CA), Joan Joyce (Florida Atlantic), Celeste Knierim (Meramec Community College), Eugene Lenti (DePaul University), Dr. Dot Richardson (two-time Olympic gold medalist) and Margie Wright (Fresno State).
The USA Softball Women's National Team won the first Olympic Gold Medal in the sport's history during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. The squad repeated the feat in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. The USA team has also won five consecutive World Championships.