Oct. 19, 2007
ATLANTA – Former Georgia Tech stand out Caitlin Lever and current Yellow Jacket second baseman Jennifer Yee were named to the Canadian National softball team, announced by Softball Canada on Friday. Lever and Yee are among 15 players selected to represent Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China next August.
Lever, a three-time All-ACC selection, was named to the NFCA All-Southeast Region first team last season. She finished 2007 with a career-high 20 doubles, 11 home runs, and 60 RBI. Lever’s season totals in hits, runs scored (63), RBI, total bases (155), slugging percentage (.745) and on base percentage (.526) rank in the top 10 in ACC single-season history.
Yee had an astonishing inaugural season on the Flats. The Niagara transfer finished the 2007 campaign first in the Tech single-season record book in at-bats, while finishing second in runs scored. She started all 70 games last season and accounted for 25 multiple-hit games and 13 multiple-RBI games. Yee also set a new Tech school record with an 18-game hitting streak.
The international scene is not new for Yee as this is her third year in the Canadian National Program. In 2006, she played for the Elite Team and then was a member of the team that participated in the World University Games in Thailand this past summer.
The Canadian team is currently ranked fifth in the world based on its finish at last year’s ISF World Championships. Last summer the Canadians held their own against teams ranked higher. The red and white produced wins against Japan (2nd), Australia (3rd) and China (4th), and they expect to be in the thick of the battle for a podium finish in Beijing. Podium finishes in 2007 included a bronze at the World Cup, silver at the Pan-American Games, silver at the China Cup and gold at the Universiade.
The Olympians will travel to Las Vegas in late January to begin centralized training and play several games against NCAA competition. They will then travel to Australia in March to continue their training at the site of the 2000 Olympic Games in Blacktown, Australia, and will play against the Australian and Japanese national teams. April and May are set aside for specialized training before the team re-groups in early June. The exact schedule from that point on is in the process of being finalized but will include the Canada Cup in Surrey, BC from July 12-20.
The following athletes have been selected by the coaching staff to represent Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games:
Danielle Lawrie – Langley, BC
Jennifer Salling – PortCoquitlam, BC
Robin Mackin – Newmarket, ON
Alison Bradley – Pinkerton, ON
Lauren Bay Regula – Trail, BC
Melanie Matthews -Surrey, BC
Dione Meier – Saskatoon, SK
Caitlin Lever – Amherst, New York
Erin Cumpstone – Saskatoon, SK
Noémie Marin – Acton-Vale,QC
Sheena Lawrick – Calgary, AB
Jennifer Yee – North Delta, BC
Erin McLean – Whitby, ON
Megan Timpf – Port Dover, ON
Kaleigh Rafter – Winnipeg, MB
– RamblinWreck.com –
