TAMPA - Incoming freshman Kourtney Salvarola of the University of South Florida softball team has been named to the 2010-11 USA Softball Junior Women's National Team, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced today.
The team will compete later this year at the III Pan American Softball Championship (18-and-under), August 6-15, in Bogota, Colombia, which serves as a qualifier for the International Softball Federation (ISF) IX Jr. Women's World Championship (19-and-under), December 6-17, 2011, in Cape Town, South Africa.
Salvarola is one of 17 athletes to earn a spot on the team.
A Broadneck High School graduate, Salvarola blasted a Maryland state record 12 home runs while hitting .698 and driving in 41 runs in 2007. On the mound, she was 13-3, striking out 139 hitters. The Arnold, Md., native then led her team to the 4A state championship in 2009, allowing one run from the rubber and tallying four hits at the plate. She was perfect on the mound with a 12-0 record and a 0.90 ERA in 2009. At the plate, she batted .619 with seven home runs, six triples and 28 RBI.
She was rated No. 5 in the ESPNU player rankings released in late April.
The athletes for the Junior National Team were selected by the five-member USA Softball Women's National Team Selection Committee (WNTSC) based on performances at the 2010-11 USA Softball Junior Women's National Team Selection Camp, June 10-12, at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
"On behalf of everyone at the Amateur Softball Association, I am excited to welcome the next generation of USA Softball players," said ASA Executive Director Ron Radigonda. "Our program has a rich history not only on the senior level, having won three Olympic Gold Medals, but on the junior level as well, having won three Junior Women's World Championships including the Gold Medal in 2007. I know the 17 young women selected for the 2010-11 Junior Women's National Team will continue the tradition of excellence in USA Softball. I congratulate them for their performances in Chula Vista and wish them well in Colombia and beyond."
A total of 41 athletes from the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team player pool attended the Selection Camp. The player pool is made up of athletes who have been identified by WNTSC as an elite softball player in the appropriate age group. Athletes who are identified come from observations at the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Junior National Tournaments, recommendations from college coaches, high school coaches and ASA Junior Olympic (JO) Coaches.
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation's largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
2010-11 USA Softball Junior Women's National Team Roster
Lauren Chamberlain (Trabuco Canyon, Calif./California Worth Firecrackers 18-Under Gold)
Cheyenne Cordes (Fairfield, Calif./California Lady Magic)
Ally Carda (Elk Grove, Calif./California Lady Magic)
Dallas Escobedo (Glendale, Ariz./Arizona Hotshots Gold)
Amber Freeman (Lakewood, Calif./Corona Angels 18-Under Gold-Tyson)
Erin Gabriel (Poland, Ohio/Valley Extreme Blue)
Chelsea Goodacre (Temecula, Calif./California Fury)
Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz./ Arizona Hotshots Gold)
Kylee Lahners (Laguna Hills, Calif./ California Worth Firecrackers 18-Under Gold)
Destinee Martinez (Corona, Calif./ Corona Angels 18-Under Gold-Tyson)
Shelby Pendley (Albuquerque, N.M./New Mexico Sundancers)
Kourtney Salvarola (Arnold, Md./Wagners)
Madison Shipman (Valencia, Calif./So Cal Choppers)
Cheyanne Tarango (Anaheim Hills, Calif./ California Worth Firecrackers 18-Under Gold)
Nyree White (Eugene, Ore./ California Worth Firecrackers 18-Under Gold)
Hallie Wilson (North Tustin, Calif./ California Worth Firecrackers 18-Under Gold)
Chelsea Zgrabik (Nokomis, Fla./Florida Tropic Wave-Morgan)
