Courtney Dale was hired as a volunteer assistant coach for the
UCLA softball team on Tuesday, replacing Lisa Fernandez. Dale
played at UCLA from 1998 to 2001 and was named an All-American when
she went 33-1 with a 0.98 ERA for the 1999 NCAA champion team.
“We are thrilled to have Courtney Dale join our coaching
staff,” UCLA coach Sue Enquist said in a statement.
“Her dominance in the circle as a player and her technical
knowledge as a coach will be a great addition to our
program.” Dale finished her career in the circle at UCLA with
a 56-5 record. Not only known for her pitching, Dale clubbed 17
home runs in her Bruin career and is among the top 20 in most UCLA
career offensive and pitching statistical categories. Since her
playing career at UCLA Dale has played professionally in Japan for
two years and played with USA Softball’s Elite team in 2003.
“(Dale) is an excellent role model and a proven winner in
every sense of the word,” Enquist said. Fernandez resigned
from the position to pursue several opportunities, including the
development of Lisa Fernandez Tournaments, aimed at developing
youth softball internationally. Dale joins a coaching staff that
won the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s National
Coaching Staff of the Year Award two weeks ago.
BRUINS HELP OLYMPIC TEAM GET READY FOR ATHENS:
USA softball ““ which has five former Bruins on its Olympic
roster ““ completed its pre-Olympic schedule with a 53-0
record when it swept a doubleheader from the Stratford Brakettes
14-0 and 8-0 in Stratford, Conn. on Saturday. Bruin alumnae
Fernandez and Stacey Nuveman hit home runs in the doubleheader.
Former UCLA players Natasha Watley, Amanda Freed and Tairia (Mims)
Flowers are also on the team. The doubleheader ended USA
Softball’s “Aiming for Athens” tour, in which it
traveled across the country to play college, professional, semi-pro
and All-Star teams. Team USA will not play again until the 2004
Olympics in Athens, Greece. The first softball games will be played
on Aug. 14.
CURRENT BRUINS HELP USA ELITE TEAM: Caitlin
Benyi, Lisa Dodd, Andrea Duran, Jodie Legaspi and Emily Zaplatosch
are all on the USA Elite team, which is playing in the Champions
Cup in Irvine. The USA Elite reached the semifinals with a 4-0 win
over Storm USA and will play the winner of Australia and Chinese
Taipei. Zaplatosch and Benyi both had RBIs. In their previous
international tournament, the USA Elite reached the semifinals of
the Canada Cup last week.
BRUIN SIGNEE NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Angelica Selden, who has signed to play with UCLA in 2005, won the
Gatorade National Player of the Year Award and was named on to the
NFCA High School All-American first team this week. Selden compiled
an ERA of 0.03 and won 26 games for Vanden High School last
year.