In the past two months, amateur softball, among other sports, has been a hot topic on the minds of the International Olympic Committee.
As for now, softball is an Olympic event. And when the torch is lit for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, the Sun Devils will be represented.
The Greek national team held a press conference last month to name its first-ever Olympic softball coach, ASU's Linda Wells. Former Sun Devil catcher/third baseman Stacey Farnworth, who is now an administrative assistant for the team, earned one of 12 available spots on the national squad.
Wells' staff held a tryout for North Americans with Greek heritage in late August. Of the 32 players that tried out, only a dozen were kept to later join the designated national players from Greece.
"It was a really intense tryout from the morning to night," Farnworth said.
Inaugurated as an Olympic sport for the 1996 Atlanta Games, softball is holding strong with a worldwide presence. Although there have been talks of the IOC eliminating it, along with baseball and the modern pentathlon.
Farnworth will join two familiar faces when the Greeks meet Jan. 2 for their first full practice at Farrington Stadium, before playing in a slew of summer events. Farnworth's cousins, Jamie and Sarah, made the cut as well.
Jamie Farnworth, a junior shortstop at Long Beach State, and Sarah Farnworth, a former pitcher at Santa Barbara, will play alongside each other for the first time in more than four years.
"My senior year in high school, Jamie was a freshman, and we all played together on the same team," Farnworth said.
The Farnworth cousins continued the family unity on the field upon beginning their collegiate careers at Utah.
"I've played with Sarah my whole life," Farnworth said. "We both started off at Utah together, then I came (to ASU), and Sarah went to UCSB. It's really nice to be able to play with (my cousins). It's fun for the whole family."
Upon transferring to ASU after her sophomore year, Farnworth immediately saw time at third base. She started all 58 games and finished the season third on the team in assists with 107.
But as a senior, Farnworth spent more time behind the plate. She threw out nine would-be base stealers and picked off five, the second-best mark in the Pac-10. Farnworth also logged a .994 fielding percentage.
With so many family members involved, the Farnworth family likely will be raking up bonus miles in the coming year.
"My mom will come to the games," Farnworth said, "but my dad usually gets pretty nervous, so I don't know if he'll be there."
Reach the reporter at damien.tippett@asu.edu.
