So Cal Sliderz: Sliderz Alumnae News
SLIDERZ ALUMNAESLIDERZ ALUMS AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL:
Dena DePompa- Catcher, University of Hawaii/2005-University of Washington
Linda Reyes- Short Stop, St. Johns University, New York/CSUDH
Katie Gustavsen - Biola University, California
Jessica McGivney - 3rd Base, Indiana State University
Candice Monlinari - 2nd Base, University of Mass.
Ryanne Hodgins - Outfield, University of New Mexico
Kirsten "Bam-Bam" Whitt - Loyola Marymount University
Sara Radabaugh - Pitcher, Cal. State University, Riverside
Natalie Kula - Texas Tech
Laura Hovestreydt - CSUN
Cori Blanton - Rutgers
Lauren Nydam - Stanford
Daisy Barcena, Abilene Christian University, TX
Michele Summers-S.E.Missouri State Univ.
Sara Sherman - Cal Baptist
Erin Martin - Seattle University
Kelly Trout - Army
Alesandra Giampalo - Michigan
Vanessa Roderique - San Fransisco State
Sara Garcia - Central Arkansas
Adrian Lira - Colorado State
Past and Current Coaching Staff from the college ranks:
Ally Weber - Cal. State University, Dominguez Hills (past)
Scia Maumausolo - Cal. State Northridge (past)
Meredith Cervenka - Cal. State Long Beach (current)
Danielle Proctor - Cal. State Dominquez Hills (current)
Where My Girls At
Glendale NewsPress Article East-West Game 6/10/03
by ERIK BOAL
Game was a trip down memory lane
Carol DePompa didn't let the moment pass without capitalizing on a tremendous photo opportunity.
And in a way, her photo defined what Monday's 17th annual San Fernando Valley All-Star Softball game was all about history.
It was about taking one last opportunity to cherish the memories that a number of individuals on the East roster shared together. Be it through the countless hours spent on the same diamond in high school, the various weekends shared competing together across Southern California and the United States in travel ball, or the numerous years playing Little League that groomed them to become the next great wave of high school players to come through the area and the region.
The mother of Verdugo Hills High senior catcher Dena DePompa, Carol assembled the eight athletes who had at one time or another in the past six years competed on the Southern California Sliderz travel-ball squad, which was coached by her husband, Glendale Police Captain Ron DePompa.
In addition to DePompa and Verdugo Hills' teammates Laura Hovestreydt and Jessica McGivney, that photo also featured Crescenta Valley standouts Sarah Sherman and Kirsten Whitt, in addition to North Hills L.A. Baptist's Katie Gustaveson, Burroughs' Ryanne Hodgins and Mission Hills Alemany's Vanessa Rodrigue, linking almost half the East squad together through their history with the Sliderz.
"I spent four years with most of these girls," said the Loyola Marymount University-bound Whitt, who played four innings defensively at three different positions (center field, shortstop and third base).
"And it's just great to be with all of them again."
Said Sherman, who played four defensive innings in left and center field, in addition to pitching a scoreless seventh inning: "It definitely feels like [a reunion]."
A reunion they had all been looking forward to before the season even began. And a reunion they got an early glimpse of at the third annual San Fernando Valley Victory Spring Classic, where Ron DePompa said there were a total of 17 players from the 16 teams competing that had ties to the Sliderz during the past six years.
And even after they finally shared their moments together following Monday's 8-1 loss to a loaded West squad, Sherman, Whitt, DePompa and the rest of the group was all smiles, simply because of the time they enjoyed practicing together the past two weeks and the opportunities they had to create new memories during their nine innings in the dugout and on the field at the Sports Complex.
"It was just like old times," said Dena DePompa, a two-time News-Press All-Area selection as a freshman and sophomore, who will attend the University of Hawaii in the fall.
"We felt really comfortable around each other because we've all played together somehow or somewhere [for the past six years].
"It's been such a small-town feeling for so long and [that's why] it will probably hit me more when I get [to Hawaii], because then I won't be around all those people I've known growing up."
In addition to DePompa's Sliderz ties, also included in that list of people was Glendale's Danielle Soule, who shared a different kind of history with some of her East teammates having gone through elementary or middle school at Village Christian. DePompa attended the Sun Valley-based school, as did Hodgins and Sherman growing up, before transferring to Verdugo Hills for her final two years.
In addition to reuniting with those old friends, Soule who played travel-ball growing up with East teammate and La Cañada pitcher Danielle Mellin also had one last opportunity to play with long-time friend and Nitro teammate Heather Hamasaki, who she grew up playing Little League ball in District 16.
But in the true spirit of the history they shared together and the value of the extended softball family, the two won't stray far from each other once they settle in at their respective colleges in the fall.
Soule is attending Colgate and Hamasaki is headed for Lehigh. Both universities compete in the Patriot League. But on Monday, it didn't matter which school the aforementioned members of the East All-Star team represented or which college they would be attending after another grueling summer of travel-ball commitments.
What mattered most were the memories they had already made, the extended softball family they were fortunate enough to be surrounded by and the history they shared together.
And fortunately for Dena DePompa, Sherman and Whitt, they can rely that wonderful photo opportunity to keep them smiling until the next time they're able to gather together and take another meaningful trip down memory lane.
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ERIK BOAL is a staff writer. He can be reached at 637-3225.