Auburn University may be well represented in Beijing’s Olympic swimming events, but when it comes to softball, the University of Mobile (UM) has cornered the market.
Five past and present members of the UM Lady Rams softball team — Denisse Fuenmayor, Jineth Pimentel, Maribel Riera, Yaicey Sojo and Maria Soto — are representing Venezuela in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
Fuenmayor played for the Lady Rams from 2001 until 2004. Sojo finished up her last year with the team in May.
Soto, who was chosen to carry the Venezuelan flag during the games’ opening ceremony, played for UM from 1998 until 2003.
Riera played on UM’s national championship team in 2006 and is now the team’s assistant coach, while Pimentel will be a senior at UM in the fall.
For any athlete, “the Olympics are the ultimate height of competition,” said Terri McCormick, head softball coach at UM. “To be able to represent their country is an honor.”
She said it was an exciting time for the university when the women made the Venezuelan national team.
“They have been working for years upon years preparing for this opportunity,” McCormick said, adding they all e-mailed when they qualified last summer.
The Venezuelan team faced the U.S. team in its first game Aug. 12, losing 11–0. The team went on to lose to China and Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) and beat the Netherlands. At press time, the team had games remaining with Canada, Japan and Australia before the semifinals began Aug. 20.
“We are hoping for the best for them. They are an exceptional group of athletes,” McCormick said. “I am pulling for our kids — that they do well, that they can walk out feeling like they are successful.” (TAB)
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