Freed to Join U.S. Team for Summer

Former Pacifica High pitcher Amanda Freed, who recently completed her sophomore season at UCLA, will spend the summer traveling with the U.S. Olympic softball team.

Freed, who is designated as an alternate for Sydney, said she doesn’t expect to see a lot of playing time during the team’s upcoming six-week West Coast tour.

But in her first outing with the American team Friday, she pitched five perfect innings in a 19-0 victory over Puerto Rico. Freed struck out 11 of the 15 batters she faced.

Freed, who will travel with the team to Sydney, is looking beyond this summer’s schedule, which includes a series of games during the West Coast swing that begins in mid-July. The Olympic team will make its headquarters in San Diego.

“It’s a really good experience,” she said. “Of course, I would have liked to play on the team, but this is a good way to get started to see what the Olympics are all about. I really would like to play on the 2004 team and so I’m going to stick with it.”

U.S. Coach Ralph Raymond believes that Freed has an opportunity to gain vital experience observing as an alternate. He said he intends to let Freed pitch once in a while during the team’s cross-country tour against teams that he feels she will do well against.

“Her chances are very good if she continues on the path she is going,” Raymond said. “She definitely has tremendous talent. The only thing she can do right now is gather information and experience how it is done internationally.”

Freed, who was 28-8 this season, was the losing pitcher in Oklahoma’s 3-1 victory in the NCAA championship game last month. The Bruins, who finished 46-12-1, were the defending national champions.

“We had a good season,” Freed said. “It came out a lot better than we expected. We lost [outfielder Christie Ambrosi and catcher Stacey Nuveman], who decided to stay with the Olympic team, and that was a pretty big hit. But our team did really well despite that.”

With Freed on the mound, UCLA should challenge for a national title again next season.

“We lose three seniors [including Cypress’ Julie Adams],” she said, “but we’re getting five freshmen who can play and we return a lot of depth.”

CHAPMAN HONORS

Eric Albright, senior third baseman and closer, was chosen to the American Baseball Coaches Assn. Division III All-American first team. He is the first baseball player in Chapman’s Division III history to earn the honor. Chapman (33-12-1) finished third in last month’s Division III championship tournament.

Drafted in the 34th round by the Chicago Cubs, Albright batted .325 with 11 home runs and 61 runs batted in. The Los Alamitos High graduate’s earned-run average was 2.42 and he led the nation with 13 saves.

Three teammates were named to the All-West Region team, sophomore designated hitter Pat Stevens, senior outfielder Adam Olow and junior pitcher Tim Huff (Edison).

Stevens, a second-team Academic All-American, also was selected to the All-Division VIII squad along with outfielder Brandon Maciel (Brea Olinda).

Senior softball player Heather Peters was named a second-team Academic All-American. She batted .387 for the Panthers and had a 3.75 grade-point average, majoring in liberal studies.

She is also an outside hitter on the Panthers’ volleyball team and was recently named Chapman’s female student-athlete of the year.

Karen Vigen, the women’s tennis team’s No. 1 player, and golfer Matt Drevlow (Orange Lutheran) were selected to the at-large Division VIII academic team. Vigen had a 3.85 GPA in international business and finance.

Vigen, a sophomore, was 10-2 in singles play and 13-1 in doubles with partner Mari Matsumoto.

Drevlow, a junior, had a 3.95 GPA in accounting. He shot a team-best 74 at Sunset Hills Country Club on March 13 in the Cal Lutheran Invitational.

Three other Chapman seniors joined Peters in being honored by the school for outstanding career accomplishments.

Men’s basketball player Nate Strange (Fountain Valley), the team co-captain, won the Perkins Award for leadership. Women’s basketball player April Abeyta, also a team captain, earned the Duddy Award for leadership. Abeyta was one of 10 national finalists for the Josten’s Trophy, given to the top Division III student-athlete in the nation.

Men’s basketball player Brady Bergeson was named Chapman’s male student-athlete of the year. A senior, he had a 3.52 GPA in psychology and was a co-captain.

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