Lady Vol sophomore pitcher Monica Abbott and her USA Softball Elite teammates are scheduled to open the 1st World University Softball Championship on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at a time and against an opponent still to be determined.  The six-day event (Oct. 26-31) will be contested in Plant City, Fla., at the Plant City Stadium and the Randy L. Larson Softball Fourplex.  A field of seven competitors, including Australia, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Guatemala, Japan, and the Netherlands, awaits the American contingent.  Russia and Uganda were originally scheduled to participate, but both teams apparently removed themselves from the competition on Sunday.
This past summer Abbott helped the USA Schutt Elite to a 13-5 mark on its summer tour that included stops at the Canada Cup (7-3) in Surrey, British Columbia, and the Champions Cup (6-2) in Irvine, Calif.  During her time in Canada, Abbott pitched 18 innings with 23 strikeouts, while registering a perfect 4-0 record.  The sophomore hurler pitched two solid innings of relief to pick up a victory in a 3-2 triumph over homestanding Canada and eliminate them from their own event.  She also registered a 2-1 mark during the Champions Cup with a one-hit, 13 K performance in a 2-0 win over Venezuela and a two-hitter in a 4-0 victory over Storm USA.
During her 2004 collegiate campaign, Abbott, a Salinas, Calif., native, registered one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in NCAA history for the Lady Vols.  A finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year and a first team All-America, Abbott won a school record and nation-leading 45 games on the way to becoming the first player in Southeastern Conference history to receive both the SEC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year awards.  She eclipsed Cat Osterman’s (Texas) national record for strikeouts by a freshman with 582 K’s, posted 24 solo shutouts, claimed the first 17 decisions of her career and registered 34 double-digit strikeout performances as the Lady Vols advanced to NCAA Regionals and posted a 55-16 overall record. 
In her collegiate debut on Feb. 5, 2004, Abbott twirled a no-hitter with 14-K’s against Saint Mary’s (9-0), and ended the campaign with two no-no’s and just the second perfect game (Hawaii) in UT softball history.  She also claimed the SEC Pitcher of the Week honor a record-tying four times, while setting over 50 Lady Vol school records and registering a miniscule 1.03 ERA.
Eight universities and four conferences are represented on the 16-member squad. 
Results will be posted on utladyvols.com as they become available.

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