April 11, 2001
Four University of Notre Dame softball players have been selected by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) to participate in the USA Softball Women’s National Team Camp, May 30-June 3 at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
Seniors Jen Sharron (Agoura Hills, Calif.), Melanie Alkire (Union City, Calif.) and Lizzy Lemire (Irvine, Calif.) and sophomore Andrea Loman (Riverside, Calif.) have all been invited to the camp. USA Softball will select two 16-player teams out of the 51 athletes invited to represent the United States in international competitions such as the U.S. Cup in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Canada Cup in Vancouver and the Pan Am Qualifier in Maracay, Venezuela during the 2001 season.
The list of players invited to camp represent the best fast pitch softball talent in the nation. Notre Dame is tied for third on the list of schools with the most selected players behind Arizona (9) and UCLA (8).
Selections for the 2001 USA Softball Women’s National Teams will be made following the USA Softball Women’s National Team Camp. The two teams will then participate in the USA Softball Shootout, a four-city West Coast tour that will stop in Portland (June 8), Spokane (June 10), Sacramento (June 14) and Los Angeles (June 17) prior to leaving for the U.S. Cup in Hawaii.
Should any of the Irish players be selected for the national team, they will become members of the undisputed #1 softball team in the world. The USA Softball National Team won the first Olympic gold medal in the sport’s history in 1996 and repeated the feat again in 2000. The USA team has won the past four consecutive World Championships, the past four consecutive Pan Am Games and the past two Olympic gold medals.
For more coverage of the USA Softball Women’s National Team visit the team’s official website at www.usasoftball.com.