Ritter and Findlay Picked for World University Games
6/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Three members of the University of Michigan softball program spent the past week training at the USA Softball National and World University Games Selection Camps, with two rewarded with roster spots with the Red, White and Blue, announced Monday (June 19) by USA Softball.
Senior pitcher Jennie Ritter (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) and sophomore Samantha Findlay (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) were selected along with 15 other players to represent the United States at the World University Games in Taiwan (July 12-24).
Wolverine head coach Carol Hutchins will act as head coach and lead Team USA at the World University Games as the squad looks to repeat its championship performance in 2005. The team features athletes who have just finished college or have college eligibility remaining.
Ritter was among 30 of the nation's top female softball players who was invited to the Women's National Team Selection camp but was not chosen among the 17 players who will represent the U.S. and compete in the World Championships this summer. Wolverine volunteer assistant coach Jessica Merchant was also among the 30 invitees to the National Team Selection camp.
Seniors Tiffany Haas (North Tustin, Calif./Foothills) and Becky Marx (St. Joseph, Mich./Lakeshore) were also invited to the World University Games selection camp but withdrew due to prior commitments.
Ritter is in her second year of international play and has already earned the highest individual honor a U.S. softball player can receive -- being named USA Softball Female Athlete of the Year for 2005. Ritter played for the USA Elite Team at the Canada Cup under Hutchins and at the Intercontinental Cup in Madrid, Spain, as well as pitching for Team USA at the Pan Am/World Games Qualifying Tournament in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Ritter pitched 47.2 consecutive shutout innings in international competition, winning all seven of her starts and earning a pair of gold medals and a silver. In her final collegiate season, Ritter set program records for career strikeouts (1,205), career shutouts (43) and no-hitters (5) en route to her second All-America first team honor in as many seasons.
Findlay competed for the USA Elite Team in 2005, winning a silver medal at the Canada Cup and gold at the Intercontinental Cup in 2005. Hitting cleanup at the International Cup, Findlay batted .300 with a home run and six RBI to help Team USA to the title. In her sophomore season at U-M, Findlay earned Second team Great Lakes All-Region honors and was named to the All-Big Ten third team at first base. She led the team in walks (36) and on-base percentage (.462), while finishing second on the team in batting (.319) and slugging (.564). She hit .342 in the postseason and bumped her average up to .353 in Regional and Super Regional competition.
The World University squad will compete against the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch in Chicago (July 26-30) in a tune-up for the July games. Hutchins will be assisted by Wright State head coach Mike Larabee, Baylor assistant coach Mark Lumley and Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller.
Hutchins previously helped select both the USA Softball National and Elite teams and was appointed head coach for the Elite Team at the Canada Cup and made assistant coach for the National Team at the Japan Cup in the summer of 2005. The Elite Team posted a 10-1 record at the Canada Cup to earn the silver medal, while winning the Sendai Series at the Japan Cup.
A number of Wolverines have donned the Red, White and Blue for Team USA in the 29-year history of U-M softball. Patti Benedict (1990-93) and Vicki Morrow (1984-87) won gold medals with the United States at the Pan-American Games in 1995 and 1987, respectively, while Findlay, Haas, Merchant and Ritter took gold with the USA Softball Elite Team at the Intercontinental Cup in 2005. Findlay, Haas, Merchant and Ritter also earned silver medals with the Elites at the 2005 Canada Cup. Current Michigan associate head coach and former four-year starter at shortstop Bonnie Tholl (1988-91) was a member of the Pan-American Games qualifying team in 1994, followed by Traci Conrad (1996-99) and Melissa Gentile (1997-2000) who played on the Pan-Am qualifying team in 1997. Several Wolverines also competed at the USA Softball Women's National Team Festival in the mid-90s, including Patti Benedict (1990-93), Michelle Bolster (1985-88), Sara Griffin (1995-98), Catherine Davie (1996-99), Kellyn Tate (1995-98), Conrad and Gentile.
Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423
