Trio of Wolverines Invited to USA National Team Camp
8/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Three members of the national champion University of Michigan softball team recieved invitations to the USA Softball Women's National Team Selection Camp as announced today (Friday, Aug. 12) by the Amateur Softball Association and USA Softball. The camp will be held Sept. 6-10 at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
The trio of Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS), Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./East HS) and Jessica Merchant recently earned an Intercontinental Cup title in Madrid, Spain, as members of the Team USA Elite squad.
Merchant led the American charge, earning MVP honors and hitting .500 with a home run and eight RBI. Ritter earned the clinching victory for Team USA, capping off a 2-0 tournament in which she did not give up a run in 11 innings of work.
Findlay, who is coming off Women's College World Series MVP honors, batted in the cleanup spot for the Elite team. She hit .300 with six RBI and a long ball in the tournament.
The 35 athletes in the camp will vie for 17 spots on USA Softball's National Team. The squad will compete in the World Championship qualifying tournament in Guatemala City, Guatemala, from Nov. 26-Dec. 5, 2005. The 2006 World Championships will be held in Beijing, China. This National Team will also represent the Red, White and Blue at the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The three Wolverines make up the third-largest single-school contingent represented at the camp, behind UCLA (eight) and Arizona (five).
An official announcement of the selections will be made on Sept. 12.
Contact: Rich Marion (734) 763-4423
