Jan. 5, 2015
IRVINE, Calif. -
2015 USA SOFTBALL JUNIOR WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
San Diego State freshman Jenavee Peres (Garden Grove, Calif.) has been named to the 2015 USA Softball Junior Women's (19-Under) National Team (JWNT), the USA Softball Women's National Team Selection Committee (WNTSC) announced today.
Peres is one of 17 athletes that made the team after the two-day camp, which was contested on Jan. 3-4 in Irvine, Calif., where the WNTSC evaluated the invitees on position drills and simulated games.
The JWNT will represent the United States at the World Cup of Softball X in Southern California (June 30-July 5) and the International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Women's World Championship (Aug. 9-15) this summer.
"We have a good mix of speed and power and I'm very excited to see what we can do defensively," head coach Tairia Flowers said. "Overall, we have a good group of girls and will head into the summer with some experience with athletes having a full college season under their belt. We've also got a few young ones who will just be finishing up their high school careers. The staff and I are looking forward to the summer and we know that these girls will be ready to go when we head to Oklahoma City for the ISF World Championships."
The Aztecs are one of 11 NCAA Division I universities that are represented on the team and one of only two (also Louisiana-Lafayette) with a player from a non-Power 5 Conference.
Team USA is looking to reclaim the gold medal at the ISF Junior Women's World Championship (JWWC) after falling to Japan, 4-0, at the 2013 JWWC in Canada. This marks the first time since 1995 that an ISF JWWC will be held in the United States.
Joining Flowers (Cal State Northidge head coach) on the coaching staff include Trisha Ford (Fresno State head coach), Kristie Fox (UT Arlington head coach) and Tim Walton (Florida head coach). Current SDSU associate head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz was an assistant coach at the JWNT selection camp.
Peres came to The Mesa after playing her club ball for the Firecrackers under coach Tony Rico and her prep ball at Garden Grove High School. Peres hit .556 over her career at GGHS with 30 home runs, 118 RBIs, 98 runs, 22 doubles, five triples and 34 stolen bases. She also finished her prep career with a 1.120 slugging percentage and a .620 on-base percentage. As a senior in 2014, Peres batted .623 (48-for-77) with 14 homers, 48 RBIs and 40 runs, while posting a 1.350 slugging percentage and a .691 on-base mark.
San Diego State finished with a 40-19 record in 2014 to advance to its seventh straight NCAA tournament, which is the third-longest streak among non-Power 5 Conference programs and the 20th-longest overall. The Aztecs' 40 victories were the fourth most in program history and most since winning a school-record 44 times in 2008. SDSU also finished the 2014 campaign with seven school records, including batting average (.301), on-base percentage (.397), runs (301), hits (467), RBIs (270), walks (226) and times hit by pitch (30).
San Diego State kick off its 2015 season against Purdue (twice), Idaho State, Texas A&M and UCLA at the SoCal Collegiate Classic from Feb. 6-8 in Fullerton, Calif., and Los Angeles.