Athletes

Jessica Mendoza is currently a member of the Women's Sports Foundation Board of Trustees (elected 2005), Finance and Legal Committee and Athlete Relations Committee as well as a Board member of the National Education Association. She is currently a member of the ProFastpitch X-Treme Tour. She also has been the assistant coach for UC Santa Barbara's softball team since 2006. In September 2007, Mendoza was officially named to the U.S. Softball Women's National Team Olympic roster for 2008. In July, the U.S. team went undefeated, taking home its sixth consecutive Pan American gold medal. For the second consecutive year, the U.S. team captured the World Cup championship. The team was also victorious at the 2007 Canada Cup. Mendoza was named 2006 USA Softball Female Athlete of the Year, as she led the United States to its first gold medal at the World Cup of Softball with three home runs, 16 RBI and a 1.167 slugging percentage. She also led the team to the International Softball Federation International Softball Federation (ISF) World Championship title with five home runs, 16 RBI and a slugging percentage of .969. That same year, she was inducted into the International Latin Sports Hall of Fame. In 2005, she captured the International Sports Invitational Championship as a member of the U.S. women's softball team and became a member of the National ProFastpitch's Arizona Heat, making the all-star team. Mendoza made her first Olympic appearance as a member of the gold-medal-winning U.S. women's softball team in 2004. At the 2003 Pan American Games, she and her team also won a gold medal. She was Stanford University's leader in hits (83), home runs (14), runs scored (70), slugging percentage (.737) and total bases (151). Mendoza was a 2002 ISF world champion and was a member of the 2002 U.S. women's world softball championship team, defeating Japan. She was one of the top 25 selections for the 2002 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. In May of 2002, Mendoza was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association/Louisville Slugger All-American for the fourth time. In her final season, she was one of three Stanford seniors named to the 2002 Division I All-Pacific Region squad. She garnered first-team All-Pac-10 accolades for four years straight and led the Cardinals team to its first Women's College World Series appearance in her junior year. During her sophomore season, Mendoza was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year, making her the first Stanford athlete to achieve this feat. As a freshman, she was named the Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year. That season she shattered the school's single-season records for home runs, batting average, hits and doubles. Mendoza graduated in the spring of 2002 with a degree in American studies and a master's degree in social sciences in education. She is featured in the Women's Sports Foundation's GoGirlGo! educational curriculum. Mendoza served as color commentator on ESPN for the 2007 Women's College World Series. (11/07)

For more information on Jessica, check out her Web site at: www.jmendoza.com.