Third baseman Andrea Duran was named to the U.S. national team
on June 19, only a couple of weeks after she finished her senior
season at UCLA.
Duran was the only new addition to the 17-player roster from
last year, which features 11 players from the 2004 Olympic gold
medal-winning team. Among them are four other UCLA alumnae ““
Amanda Freed, Tairia Mims Flowers, Stacey Nuveman and Natasha
Watley.
This summer, Team USA will compete at two major tournaments: The
World Cup of Softball (July 13-17) and the Women’s World
Championships (Aug. 27-Sept. 5).
The World Cup of Softball, in its second year of existence,
takes place in Oklahoma City. The World Championships, played in
Beijing, are used as the qualifiers for the 2008 Olympics.
“The importance of this year’s World Cup can’t
be underestimated,” Nuveman, a two-time Olympic gold
medalist, said in a statement. “Not only is it an opportunity
for the world’s best softball teams to play on U.S. soil, but
it also is a huge step in preparing for the World Championships
coming up in August and even further down the road at the 2008
Olympic Games in Beijing.”
Before joining the U.S. national team, Duran’s senior
season was her best at UCLA, hitting .355 with 15 home runs, 42 RBI
and 20 stolen bases in 59 games. She also won many honors,
including Pac-10 Player of the Year, and was among the finalists
for the national player of the year award.
Duran has prior experience with USA Softball as a member of the
USA Elite team in the summer of 2004, competing at the Canada Cup,
Champions Cup and World University Games. She also played with the
U.S. Junior World Championship in 2003.
Watley and Mims Flowers were teammates of Duran in her freshman
year at UCLA, as they were seniors. That 2003 team won the NCAA
Championship.
Duran now joins a U.S. team that finished second at last
year’s inaugural World Cup, losing in the championship game
to Japan.
In the history of the World Championships, the other summer
event, the U.S. is 54-1.