Ephs' Laura Brenneman '99 Named to Team USA

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Laura Brenneman
Phoenix, AZ - Following two days of national team trials, USA Baseball has selected its 18-player roster for the Women’s National Team. Team USA manager Julie Croteau will direct the team that will compete compete in the International Baseball Association Federation (IBAF) Women’s World Cup II, hosted by Taiwan, July 31 through August 6. Team USA is the defending gold medalist and will face Australia, Canada, Cuba, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Venezuela in a round-robin format. Eight members on the current roster played on the 2004 gold medal winning team, including tournament Most Valuable Player, Laura Brenneman, and Most Valuable Pitcher, Laura Rose. Brenneman was also honored as the 2004 Woman Player of the Year by the International Baseball Federation Executive Committee “The competition was very tight with very talented players,” said Croteau. “I feel that we are sending the 18-best players to represent the USA at the IBAF tournament. These next few days will be important in terms of forming a cohesive team as we move towards facing Canada in our opening game.” Brenneman recently completed her Ph.D in astrophysics at the University of Maryland. At Williams she was a four-year letter winner in soccer, basketball and softball, four-time All-NESCAC choice in softball, three-time All-NESCAC selection in soccer, named All-NESCAC in basketball once and a four-time academic All-NESCAC choice. Brenneman also earned All-New England honors in softball and soccer and earned All-America honors in soccer as a goalkeeper. "I've been fortunate enough to make the Team USA again this year and we'll be leaving for Taiwan for the tournament Wednesday night," said Brenneman. "Competition this year should be fierce between us, Canada, Japan, Australia, Cuba, Hong Kong and Taiwan." Team USA will practice at Phoenix Municipal Stadium through Wednesday, July 26 before traveling to Taiwan. The team will also compete in three scrimmages prior to facing Canada on July 31. The players, selected through regional and national trials, represent 10 states with California leading with six players. Three members are from Florida while two hail from Massachusetts. Croteau, an assistant coach with the 2004 team, is recognized as the first woman to play men’s NCAA baseball (St. Mary’s College of Maryland), as well as the first woman to coach men’s NCAA Division I baseball (University of Massachusetts). She is one of two women to ever play in an MLB sanctioned winter league (Hawaiian Winter League) and her glove and photo are on permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Eph fans can follow Laura Brenneman and Team USA throughout the World Cup II in Taiwan on the web at www.usabaseball.com
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ADOPTED! Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Great news, Kyzer and Cali found a home for Christmas already! Still looking for a new friend for the holidays? There are plenty of dogs and cats and small animals at Berkshire Humane who would love to go home with you.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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