Abbott on Olympic team

Monica Abbott, who led Tennessee’s Lady Vols to the NCAA finals last season, was named a member of the U.S. Olympic team that will compete this August in Beijing.

“I am so honored and thrilled to hear that I’ve passed the final step and am now an official part of the U.S. Olympic Team for Beijing,” Abbott said. “This was always one of the major goals I wanted to achieve in my softball career. It’s beginning to sink in now that I’m going to have the chance to experience all that the Olympics have to offer: the competition, the opening and closing ceremonies, the Olympic Village, the camaraderie with athletes from all over the world…all the parts of the Olympic experience that you dream about. I am so excited to join such an amazing group of athletes in China and am so very humbled by my inclusion on this incredible team.”

The team was announced today with Abbott as its youngest member. She is a two-time member of the National Team and led the team last year with a 6-0 record an 0.00 ERA in 26.2 innings.

The Olympic team will be in Knoxville on April 12 to play an exhibition game against the Tennessee women’s team.

Abbott is on a staff that also includes Jennie Finch and Cat Osterman. Lisa Fernandez, who pitched the deciding games for the U.S. in the last two Summer Olympics, was named as a replacement player.

The U.S. team had its 185-game winning streak in pre-Olympic exhibitions snapped Wednesday, when the Americans were no-hit by Virginia Tech’s Angela Tincher.