UAB's Krzan Chosen To Compete Against U.S. Olympic Team

Holly Krzan

The UAB softball team's freshman centerfielder Holly Krzan was selected to play for the Spokane All-Stars this summer as the Washington-based regional squad will square off against the two-time gold medal winning United States Women's Olympic team on June 12.

"This is a very special opportunity for Holly," said UAB head coach Marla Townsend. "She's the type of player that's not happy unless she's taking reps, so this will be a great chance for her to continue to work on her game. It will also be a good opportunity for her to play in front of her family against some high-caliber competition."

Krzan, UAB's highly-touted native of West Richland, Wash., will face the likes of Olympic stars Lisa Fernandez and Leah O'Brien-Amico, as well as star pitcher Jennie Finch.

Finch, who guided Arizona to the NCAA championship, was a finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and was the Honda Award winner for softball as the nation's top player in 2001.

Fernandez, a 5-foot-6 pitching dynamo, is, at age 33, the senior member of the U.S. Olympic team. She played in 1990 on the ISF World Champions and has been a member of the last two Oympic gold medalists.

First baseman-outfielder O'Brien-Amico, left-handed pitcher Lori Harrigan and centerfielder Laura Berg are also two-time gold medalist Olympians.

The Blazers' Krzan, who was a member of the prestigious 2003 USA Junior National Team, led UAB in three offensive categories this season and was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team on Wednesday. During the 2004 campaign, Krzan registered five home runs and finished with team-highs of 24 runs scored and 21 bases on balls.

Krzan will practice and compete with the Spokane All-Stars this summer, who were individually chosen during a tryout process that attracted nearly 50 players from across the nation. Krzan, who was unable to attend the official tryout due to the completion of UAB's 2004 season, was selected for the team by word of mouth.

She will be joined by others currently playing college softball, including Washington's Tia Bollinger and Robyn Wike, Cal's Kristina Thorson, Oregon's Ashley Richards and Delaware State's Jessica Murray.

The UAB softball team concluded the 2004 season with a 20-36 overall record and 7-17 mark against conference opponents. Despite having the services of only three seniors, the Blazers registered a seventh-place finish in the C-USA standings and reached the 20-win plateau for a fifth-consecutive season.

Krzan will help lead a solid core of returning players next season as UAB boasts seven returning position starters and two returning pitchers. The Blazers had 14 players start at least 10 games during the 2004 campaign and 11 of them are expected to return for the 2005 season.