Selena Collins Invited to USA Softball Tryouts
Sep 02, 2003 | Softball
September 02, 2003
Former Texas A&M All-American catcher Selena Collins was chosen to compete, along with 45 other players, for spots on the USA Softball Women's National Team that will participate in the 2004 Olympics.
Collins, a Glendale, Arizona native, completed her eligibility last season after starting behind the plate for four years. Collins was honored as an All-American in 2002 after leading the Big 12 with 16 home runs and being named the Big 12 Player of the Year. She was named to the All-Big 12 first team and All-Midwest region team three times and was named the Big 12 Player of the Week two times. She finished her collegiate career as A&M's all-time leader in several categories including career home runs (39), runs batted in (141) and walks (98). She also set an A&M single season record with 47 walks last season. Collins' invitation comes on the heels of spending the past two summers competing as a member of the USA Elite team.
Tryouts began today, September 2, and will run through the week. An initial list of 18-players will be announced on Monday, September 8th. Since the official Olympic roster consists of only 15-players, three of the 18 players selected will be named as alternates at a later date.
Automatic invitations were given to players who participated on USA Softball National Teams in 2003. Of the 46 players invited to the Trials only six participated in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Players invited from the 2003 USA Softball Women's National Team that captured the gold medal at the U.S. Cup and the Pan Am Games are Leah O'Brien-Amico, Chino Hills, CA; Laura Berg, Santa Fe Springs, CA; Crystl Bustos, Canyon Country, CA; Jaime Clark, Tustin, CA; Lisa Fernandez, Long Beach, CA; Jennie Finch, La Mirada, CA; Amanda Freed, Cypress, CA; Nicole Giordano, Saugus, CA; Keira Goerl, Moreno Valley, CA; Lori Harrigan, Las Vegas, NV; Lovieanne Jung, Fountain Valley, CA; Nina Lindenberg, Anaheim Hills, CA; Jessica Mendoza, Camarillo, CA; Tairia Mims, Tucson, AZ; Stacey Nuveman, La Verne, CA; Cat Osterman, Houston, TX; Jenny Topping, Whittier, CA and Natasha Watley, Irvine, CA.
Players vying for spots from the USA Softball Elite National Team that captured gold at the 2003 Canada Cup are Selena Collins, Glendale, AZ; Jodie Cox, Lancaster, CA; Courtney Dale, Fresno, CA; Teri Goldberg, Ft. Collins, CO; Alicia Hollowell, Suisun City, CA; Lyndsey Klein, Roseville, CA; Kelly Kretschman, Melbourne, FL; Lauren Lappin, Anaheim, CA; Toni Mascarenas, Garden Grove, CA; Iyhia McMichael, Nacogdoches, TX; Gina Oaks, Alta Loma, CA; Jamie Southern, Clovis, CA; Nichole Thompson, Irvine, CA; Mackenzie Vandergeest, Newbury Park, CA and Kellie Wilkerson, Jacksonville, FL.
Other players earning invitations to the 2003 USA Softball Olympic Trials are Lauren Bauer, Santa Ana, CA; Autumn Champion, Tustin, CA; Vicki Galindo, Union City, CA; Jocelyn Forest, Santa Maria, CA; Danyele Gomez, Metairie, LA ; Leah Gulla, Huntington Beach, CA; Stacey Jennings, Aurora, CO; Jodie Legaspi, Garden Grove, CA; Caitlin Lowe, Tustin, CA; Sarah Martz, Lanark, IL; Becky McMurtry, North Platte, NE; Kristen Rivera, Perris, CA; Courtney Scott, Clovis, CA;
The following players were invited to the Trials but declined their invitations: Lindsay Gardner, Katy, TX; Lyndsey Collins, Carrie Leto, El Cajon, CA; and Trena Peel, Aurora, CO.
When the U.S. Women's National Team travels to Athens, Greece in 2004, it looks to defend its 1996 and 2000 Olympic gold medal and add its third consecutive gold medal to the Olympic record books. In Olympic Competition, the women have tallied a 15-4 overall record since their first title in 1996.
In 2002, the Women's team captured their fifth consecutive World Championship title qualifying them as the top seed at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. USA Softball Women's National Teams have been among the most dominating of any sports team in history. The USA's ability to bring home the title in World Championships, Pan American Games and Olympic Games is unchallenged, with a total of 15 gold medals.
With its first Olympic gold medal in the sports history during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA, the USA Softball Women's National Team defended its gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Winning the past five World Championships, the past five Pan Am Games and the past two Olympic gold medals, the Women's team has been the undisputed No. 1 team in the world for the past 17 consecutive years.
As the National Governing Body of Softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting women's, men's, junior girls' and junior boys' National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions. USA Softball is one of the only two women's sports to capture back-to-back gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996.
The following is a complete breakdown of the Olympic Trials participants by state with their college listed in parenthesis (* are players that have college eligibility):
Arizona-
Selena Collins, Glendale, AZ; (Texas A&M)
Tairia Mims, Tucson, AZ; (UCLA)
California-
Leah Amico, Chino Hills, CA; (Arizona)
Lauren Bauer, Santa Ana, CA; (Arizona)
Laura Berg, Santa Fe Springs, CA; (Fresno State)
Crystl Bustos, Canyon County, CA; (Palm Beach Community College)
Autumn Champion, Tustin, CA; (*Arizona)
Jaime Clark, Tustin, CA; (Washington)
Jodie Cox, Lancaster, CA; (Cal State Fullerton)
Courtney Dale, Fresno, CA; (UCLA)
Lisa Fernandez, Long Beach, CA; (UCLA)
Jennie Finch, La Mirada, CA; (Arizona)
Jocelyn Forest, Santa Maria, CA; (California)
Amanda Freed, Cypress, CA; (UCLA)
Vicki Galindo, Union City, CA; (*California)
Nicole Giordano, Saugus, CA; (Arizona)
Keira Goerl, Moreno Valley, CA; (*UCLA)
Leah Gulla, Huntington Beach, CA (Oklahoma)
Alicia Hollowell, Suisun City, CA; (*Arizona)
Lovieanne Jung, Fountain Valley, CA; (Arizona)
Lyndsey Klein, Roseville, CA; (UCLA)
Lauren Lappin, Anaheim, CA; (*Stanford)
Jodie Legaspi, Garden Grove, CA; (*UCLA)
Nina Lindenberg, Anaheim Hills, CA; (Fresno State)
Caitlin Lowe, Tustin, CA; (*Arizona)
Toni Mascarenas, Garden Grove, CA; (Arizona)
Jessica Mendoza, Camarillo, CA; (Stanford)
Stacey Nuveman, La Verne, CA; (UCLA)
Gina Oaks, Alta Loma, CA, (Cal State Fullerton)
Kristen Rivera, Perris, CA; (*Washington)
Courtney Scott, Clovis, CA; (California)
Jamie Southern, Clovis, CA; (*Fresno State)
Nichole Thompson, Irvine, CA; (Arizona State
Jenny Topping, Whittier, CA; (Cal State Fullerton)
Mackenzie Vandergeest, Newbury Park, CA; (*Arizona)
Natasha Watley, Irvine, CA; (UCLA)
Colorado-
Teri Goldberg, Ft. Collins, CO; (Colorado St.)
Stacey Jennings, Aurora, CO; (*Tennessee)
Florida-
Kelly Kretschman, Melbourne, FL; (Alabama)
Kellie Wilkerson, Jacksonville, FL; (Mississippi State)
Illinois-
Sarah Martz, Lanark, IL (DePaul)
Louisiana-
Danyele Gomez, Metairie, LA (Louisiana-Lafayette)
Nebraska-
Becky McMurtry, North Platte, NE (Louisiana-Lafayette)
Nevada-
Lori Harrigan, Las Vegas , NV ; (UNLV)
Texas-
Iyhia McMichael, Nacogdoches, TX; (*Mississippi State)
Cat Osterman, Houston, TX; (*Texas)
For complete coverage of the USA Softball Women's National Team visit our web site at www.usasoftball.com.
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