University of Tennessee Athletics
UT Stars To Shine For USA This Summer
June 15, 2015 | Softball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee alums Raven Chavanne and Lauren Gibson and rising sophomore Meghan Gregg are set to don the Red, White and Blue this summer for USA Softball.
Chavanne and Gibson will suit up once again for the USA Softball Women's National Team and Gregg joins the USA Softball Junior Women's National Team.
Both the National Team and the Junior National Team are in Sugar Land, Texas, tonight and Tuesday for exhibition games against each other at 8:05 p.m. ET each night at Constellation Park.
The National Team will play exhibitions on June 18 at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Md., and on June 27 at Hidden Valley Sports Complex in Blue Springs, Mo., leading up to World Cup of Softball X, which runs June 29 to July 5 at Bill Barber Park in Irvine, Calif. The senior squad has two more exhibitions (July 11 at Moody Park in Ewing, N.J., and July 14 at Marathon Park "Cube" in Findlay, Ohio) in preparation for the 2015 Pan American Games, which run from July 19-26 in Toronto, Canada. Team USA finishes its summer with the Japan Cup from Aug. 7-9 in Ogaki, Japan.
The Junior National Team's final tune-up before World Cup of Softball X is an exhibition on June 18 at Brookside Park Stadium in Ashland, Ohio. After World Cup of Softball X, the junior squad will play exhibition games on July 7 at Ron Tonkin Field Stadium in Hillsboro, Ore., before returning to Oklahoma City for training sessions from July 18-26 and Aug. 1-8. The juniors will compete in the XI WBSC Junior Women's World Championship from Aug. 9-15 at ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City.
Chavanne and Gibson are veterans with Team USA. Chavanne played for the Stars and Stripes in the summers of 2013 and 2014. Gibson has been a staple on Team USA every year since 2011. Both were on the 2014 USA Softball Women's National Team that went 28-6 last summer and took silver in the ISF XIV World Championship and gold in the World Cup of Softball IX.
Chavanne and Gibson were two of Team USA's brightest stars in 2014. Chavanne led the Red, White and Blue with a .464 batting average (45-for-97) and posted two homers, one double, 19 RBIs, 26 runs, eight walks. She also tallied a team-best 10 stolen bases this summer in 12 attempts and finished with a .509 on-base percentage and a .536 slugging percentage for a 1.045 OPS.
Gibson hit .310 (26-for-84) and was one of the Americans' main power threats, ranking second on the team in RBIs (23) home runs (five), doubles (eight) and extra-base hits (13). Gibson totaled 23 runs and 11 walks and finished with a .398 on-base percentage, a .482 slugging percentage and a .865 OPS.
Gregg was named to the Junior Women's National Team in January and enjoyed a standout freshman season in 2015, helping lead Tennessee to its seventh Women's College World Series appearance. The Williamson, Ga., native hit .314 in her rookie campaign, led the team with 64 hits and 29 extra-base hits (13 homers, 14 doubles, two triples) and tied for the team high with 51 RBIs. Gregg also paced the team with 18 multi-hit games and 17 multi-RBI games and garnered Freshman All-SEC honors.
For updates on the USA Softball Women's National Team and Junior Women's National Team visit www.USASoftball.com.
