Amanda Freed Named Assistant Softball Coach
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Sept. 11, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia head softball coach Eileen Schmidt announced Tuesday that Olympic gold medalist Amanda Freed has been hired as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers, completing Schmidt’s staff. She will begin her duties Sept. 15.
“We are extremely fortunate to have things fall into place so that Amanda could join our staff,” Schmidt said. “She is a great addition from the standpoints of knowledge and experience. Amanda is versatile all over the field and just loves the game. Obviously her experiences will bring another level of competitiveness to our team and staff.”
Freed, a native of Cypress, Calif., was a member of the United States national team that claimed the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Her national team experience also includes a stint with the 2006 squad and gold medals at the 2003 Pan American Games, 2002 ISF World Championships and 2001 and 1999 U.S. Olympic Cup.
At Virginia, Freed will serve as the team’s pitching coach and help coach the outfielders, as well as the offense. She also will handle team travel, camps and assist in all recruiting efforts.
Most recently, Freed completed her third season in the National Professional Fastpitch ranks as a member of the Rockford Thunder. Rockford was the NPF runner-up this season, which wrapped up in late August.
Freed was a three-time All-American at UCLA from 1999-2002, helping the Bruins to the Women’s College World Series title in 1999. The squad also was the national runner-up in 2000 and 2001.
A versatile player, Freed enjoyed success as a pitcher and utility player and also in the batter’s box. A four-time All-Pac 10 member, she started all 250 career games in which she played in and finished her career with a .321 batting average. In the circle, Freed finished with a 97-20 record and her 97 victories are second in program history. She also ranks among the top five in career appearances, innings pitched and strikeouts.
Freed recorded five no-hitters during as a time as a Bruin, one of which, ironically, came against Virginia back in 2002. She finished with a 0.94 career ERA.
Freed received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from UCLA in 2002.