Speers Named to Canadian Women’s National Team
6/28/2017 3:41:00 PM | Softball
OTTAWA, Ontario – Kent State rising senior Holly Speers is one of 15 athletes named to the Canadian Women's National Team, Softball Canada announced on Wednesday (June 28).
Speers was chosen from a 36-athlete pool that participated in Softball Canada's selection camp in Mississauga, Ontario over the past week. The Surrey, B.C. native will make her National Team debut after previously representing her country at the 2013 ISF Junior Women's World Softball Championship and 2015 WBSC Junior Women's World Championship.
Through her first three seasons as a Golden Flash, Speers has established herself as one of the greatest sluggers in program history. The two-time All-MAC Second Team performer earned All-MAC Tournament Team honors in helping Kent State advance to the NCAA Tournament this past season for the first time since 2008. Speers currently sits second in school history in slugging percentage (.612), fourth in home runs (31), sixth in batting average (.319), seventh in on-base percentage (.421) and walks (69) and eighth in RBIs (89).
Kent State's connection to Softball Canada goes beyond Speers, as assistant coach Meaggan Pettipiece competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and served as an alternate for the 2004 Athens Olympics. Varsity "K" Hall of Fame member Pauline Maurice (1988-91) was a member of Team Canada at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The Canadian Women's National Team begins competition with an exhibition series against the two-time defending National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) champion Chicago Bandits on June 30 and July 1, followed by the World Cup of Softball from July 5-9. The team will then head to Speers' hometown Surrey, B.C. to compete at the Canada Cup from July 11-17 before returning to the U.S. to take on the Akron Racers and former Golden Flash Maddy Grimm on July 31 and August 1. The WBSC Pan American Women's Softball Championship, which is scheduled to take place August 4-13, is next. Finally, the team will travel overseas to compete in the Japan Cup from August 25-28.
Dates            Tournament/Opponent         Location
June 30-July 1    Chicago Bandits               Chicago, Ill.
July 5-9          World Cup of Softball           Oklahoma City, Okla.
July 11-17        Canada Cup                    Surrey, B.C.
July 31-Aug. 1    Akron Racers                   Akron, Ohio
Aug. 4-13        Pan American Championship  Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Aug. 25-28       Japan Cup                      Takasaki City, Japan
