The roster is now official for the team that will represent the host country at the Olympic Softball competition at the Summer Games in Athens, Greece. The Hellenic Amateur Softball Federation made the 2004 Greek Olympic Softball team official with two of the players from the remaining 18 designated as alternates and one other becoming the team’s (second) assistant coach.

"This announcement marks the success of the planning of the Hellenic Amateur Softball Federation for the presence in the Olympic Games of a well-trained team that will worthily represent Greece and the sport," said HASF President Dimitrios Modes. "We are optimistic that our Olympic team will have a good presence in the Olympic Games and that this presence will constitute the starting line for the growth of the sport in the future."

Making up the 15 that will be Greece’s official roster for the competition in August in Athens will be:

Jessica Bashor - catcher
Riverside, CA
Bashor was the MVP of the 2003 European Championships and played for the University of Iowa. A 2000 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American; First Team All Big-Ten Catcher in 2000 & 2001; Second Team All Big-Ten Catcher in 2002; First Team All-Region in 2001. In 2000, her team was the Big Ten Conference Champions, and her 2001 team was Big Ten Tournament Champions. She was captain of the Santiago High School team in Corona, California, and was All-League all four years that she played.

Lindsey Bashor- outfield
Riverside, CA
Bashor played at the 2002 Canada Cup and had a .982 fielding percentage in her freshman season at the University of Iowa. She was captain on the Santiago High School in Corona, CA. She was All-League and All-County all four seasons in high school.

Joanna Bouziou - utility
Corfu, Greece
She was the MVP Pitcher in the Greek Championship in 2001 and 2002 and the MVP Pitcher in the 2001 Greek Cup. Joanna also played in the European Championship in 2001 and 2002. She attended Athens University.

Vanessa Czarnecki - infield
Riverside, CA
Czarnecki was four-time Western Athletic Conference (WAC) All-Academic and three-time Most Inspirational at Fresno State University. She made second Team All-WAC in 2002 and was named to the All-Regional team. Her team won four WAC championships and made one trip to the College World Series. She was a part of the nation’s number one defense in 2002. At Riverside Poly High School, she was captain of her softball team for two years. She stole over 100 bases in three years and batted over .500 in 1998. Vanessa represented Team USA at the Superball Junior Tournament in 1997, where she won a gold medal.

Christa Dalakis - Assistant Coach
Falls Church, VA
Dalakis started in 185 consecutive games during her collegiate career at George Mason University and had a batting average of .304 over her four years. She was selected to play in the Women’s Amateur Softball League for the Breakettes in 1997 and was All-Metropolitan (Washington, D.C.) in her senior year at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. She won three Gold Gloves.

Jamie Farnworth - shortstop
Upland, CA
Farnworth attended Upland High School in Upland, California, where she was a captain for one year for softball. During her freshman year of softball, she was second Team All-League, and her sophomore year she was All-Inland Valley and first Team All-League. She attended Cal State Long Beach.

Sarah Farnworth - pitcher
Upland, CA
Farnworth earned All Big West honors in both 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 at California State University, Northridge. She attended Upland High School in Upland, California, where she was captain of the softball team. She won California State Pitcher of the Year in 1997, was All First Team California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) in 1995, ‘96, and ‘97, and CIF player of the year in 1997. The Women’s Professional Softball League (WPSL) drafted her in 2001 to play for Tampa Bay.

Stacey Farnworth - catcher/3rd base
Upland, CA
Farnworth started at the University of Utah before playing her final two years of college ball at Arizona State University, where she is now a Student Assistant Coach. As a player, she helped ASU to a regional final and semi-final appearance. She had a .994 fielding percentage in her senior year. At Utah, she was named to the New Mexico All-Tournament Team. She hit the winning home run off of Australia’s Tanya Harding at the 2002 Canada Cup.

Joanna Gail - shortstop
Poway, CA
Gail was the Captain of Poway High School’s softball team that won the C.I.F. S.D.S Division 1 championship in 2002. She was a member of the 2003 San Diego Union Tribune All-Academic Team, was Second Team All-Palomar League, and won the 2003 PHS Varsity Coaches award. She has committed to University of Oregon.

Ginny Georgantäs - 3rd base/1st base
Lockport, IL
At the University of South Florida, Georgantäs was Freshman of the Year in 1998 and two years later she won the Coaches Award. In 2001, she was Conference USA First Team, and a 2002 Pre-Season All-American. In 1997 she was a high school All-American, All-State, and Player of the Year.

Lindsay James - outfield
San Carlos, CA
James was a 2003 All-Pac-10 honorable mention and All-Pacific Region second team while playing at Cal. In high school she was First Team All-County, All-League, and Team MVP for three years. Lindsay batted .620 her senior year.

Kristen Karanzias - pitcher
Yorba Linda, CA
Karanzias made her international debut against Canada at the U.S. Cup in Hawaii in 2003. She was a 2003 Iowa State University Scholar Athlete, Softball Team MVP 2002-2003, and both All-Empire League Softball & El Dorado High School Scholar Athlete from 2000-2003.

Chloe Kloezeman - infield
Burlingame, CA
Kloezman was a four-year varsity high school starting shortstop at Notre Dame High School in Belmont, CA. She was the 2003 WCAL All League and GPSL League Batting Champion and the year before she was All-San Mateo County shortstop. She was GPSL All-League in 2002 & 2001. She will attend the University of Mississippi in the fall.

Katerina Koutougkou - outfield
Athens, Greece
She played at the European Championship Cup "B pool" (club team from Athens), with her team finishing third. She attended Schenley High School in Pittsburgh, PA. She attended the College of Sports Science

Tina Kramos - infield
Bloomington, IL
Kramos was first Team All Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) 1993 & 1994 and was named to the 1994 MVC All-Tournament Team. Her 1992 and 1994 teams were MVC champions. In her senior year she set the school single-season record for assists with 152 and holds the career record for assists At Southwest Missouri State University. She was captain at Shawnee Mission West in Overland Park, Kansas, where she was the 1990 All Sun Country Player of the Year and 1989 & 1990 first Team All Sun Country. She is the Assistant Softball Coach at Illinois State University.

Stephanie Skegas-Maxwell - pitcher
Torrance, CA
Skaggs-Maxwell attended North Torrance High School in Torrance, CA, where she was the captain of her softball team and a three-time (Bay) League MVP. In addition, she was named to the All-California softball team twice, and was the North Torrance Athlete of the Year (1986). She played college ball at the University of Nebraska,

Infielders Jeana Gevas and Pauline Glenn are the team’s two alternates. Outfielder Christa Dalakis will assume the duties of an assistant coach. The team previously had just one assistant coach, Diane Ninemire. All of these players are Greek citizens.

Head Coach Linda Wells has been coaching at Arizona State University for 13 years. She has 819 total career Division I victories, over 450 of those at ASU and most recently guided her 2001 team to a third place finish at the Women’s College World Series. Her 819 Division I victories place her ninth on the Winningest Active D-I Coaches list, and eleventh among All-Time D-I Coaches. "I am very proud of the players announced for the Hellas Olympic softball team. Each player brings a specialness to the squad and the overall chemistry of the team is fantastic. These players understand the opportunities and challenges that are before us. We are all proud to be a part of the Hellas team and to represent Greece in the endeavor of the Games of 2004," she said. She already has international coaching experience, having assisted the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 1985 South Pacific Classic in Australia as well as the team that won the 1987 Pan American Games.

Full player bios, the pre-Olympic tour schedule, and more on the Greek team are available in the Greek National Team section of the website www.internationalsoftball.com.