Ottawa U women's team announces roster, coaches

Some info on the Ottawa U women's fastball program. Al Read and Cory Morrison from Team Easton are coaches on the team. The team will be playing home games at the Grove in Stittsville on Sept 30 and Oct 1.

from Scott Searle

The University of Ottawa Softball team is ready to kick of the2006 season. After a grueling Evaluation Camp over the LabourDay weekend, the team was selected for their quest to improve on their Silver Medal from 2005.

2006 Roster
Jen Alexander
Nicole Dunlop
Erin Durant
Allison Hibbett
Vanessa Homiak
Lindsey McLaughlin
Erin Mulvihill
Samantha Pantalone
Carol Piche
Isabelle Richard
Allie Rutherford
Ashley Sands
Elissa Sivel
Jillian Taylor
Sarah Thompson

Coaches
Al Read
Scott Searle
Jim Cowdrey
Cory Morrison

The team will have a bit of a new look in 2006 as former Head Coach Gil Read stepped back to focus on professional and personal commitments. He has agreed to remain as a mentor to the program and help at practices. We are thrilled to announce Al Read as our new Head Coach. Al is no stranger to softball diamonds around the city as he has grown up playing in the Kanata Minor Softball Association and more recently has competed at the ISC World Tournament with Team Easton for the last 3 years, taking home bronze and silver medals. Al is committed to helping the Gee-Gees in their goal of winning the 2006 OIWFA Championship. We are also very excited to add Jim Cowdrey to the staff full-time. Jim is one of the top pitchers ever to compete for Canada and represented his country at the ISF World Championships, as well as the Pan-American Games. That experience was invaluable last year and we are thrilled to have him full time this year. We are also very happy to announce that Dale Aiken has agreed to join the staff. Dale is no stranger to the softball community in Ottawa as the new President of the Kanata Minor Softball Association. Cory Morrison and Scott Searle are returning from 2005.

For full biographies of all of our coaches and athletes please visit our website.

Successful Summer for Gee-Gees

The 2006 Evaluation Camp concluded a very successful summer for many of the Gee-Gees. Returning player Lindsey McLaughlin helped lead her Brampton Blazers to a 5th place finish at the Senior Nationals in Ile Perrot, Quebec. Jillan Taylor and Samantha Pantalone were impressive enough at the Junior Provincials to be picked up by the Clarington Juniors for their first exposure to a National Championship. The pair helped lead Clarington from a 10th place ranking to a 6th place finish at the Canadian.

New to the team in 2006, but no stranger to softball fans in the province, Vanessa Homiak led her team to a 1st place finish at the Ontario Provincials in the Midget Category and a silver medal at the Canadian Championships in Guelph. Vanessa kick-started the offence with 4 homeruns at the provincials, and another 2 at the nationals en route to being selected to the Tournament All-Star Team as an outfielder.

Not to be out-done, returning pitcher Elissa Sivel and teammate Jen Alexander led their Kars Aces Midget team to an Eastern Canadian Championship win in Truro, Nova Scotia. Jen ignited the offence with a solo homerun to win the semi-final game, and a grand-slam to put her team ahead for good in the championship match. Elissa contributed key clutch hits and a pair of stellar pitching performances to keep their opponents in check.

All of these athletes are excited to return to the Garnet and Grey in search of a championship of their own.

The team heads to Windsor and Western on September 16/17 for their first games of the year. For their full schedule please visit our website http://www.eteamz.com/ottawaufastpitch