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Welcome to the web site of the DTA Elite 18U! We are a competitive 18U girls fastpitch softball team formed in fall 2009 through the merger of the DTA Mustangs 18U and Illinois Thunder—Simpson 18U.
Due to restrictions on team name changes imposed by organizers of the tournaments that both teams registered for this fall, the DTA Elite competed as the Illinois Thunder–Simpson team during our highly successful fall 2008 season. (See related story below.) Now that our fall schedule has concluded, our name change to DTA Elite has taken effect, so look for us in summer 2009 as theDTA Elite 18U.
Our team consists of serious, dedicated, team-oriented players and coaches with a desire to play the game at a high level. We operate under the umbrella of DuPage Training Academy, a facility rich in softball training resources and committed to establishing a premier travel softball program in Chicago’s Western Suburbs.
Our program seeks to provide an enriching, competitive softball experience for our players, and our coaches are committed to developing the softball skills of all players in a positive, respectful manner. We will once again play a challenging “A” level travel softball schedule beginning in fall 2008 and continuing in summer 2009, including several college exposure tournaments designed to help our players with college softball aspirations achieve their goals.
Because the DTA Elite is part of DuPage Training Academy, we benefit from year-round access to DTA’s softball training facility in Carol Stream, IL. DTA softball is committed to building a premier, well-respected travel softball ball program and to giving its teams the support and resources needed to help compete on the highest national level while having a good time doing it.
We invite you to learn more about the DTA Elite 18U by surfing our web site.
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Signs of Fall: Five DTA Elite Athletes Ink College Deals for 2009
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One of the DTA Elite’s main goals is to do everything possible to help players with college softball aspirations achieve their dreams of becoming student-athletes. That’s a commitment we make to all players and parents who choose to play for the team, and we attempt to fulfill that commitment in several ways. One is by ensuring that we play in college exposure tournaments that offer our talented athletes the maximum opportunity to be seen by coaches from schools where they want to become student-athletes. Another is by guiding athletes on how to navigate the college recruitment process.
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Based on the signing successes achieved this fall, the DTA Elite has achieved its goal for the Class of 2009. Five 2009-grad DTA Elite players will realize their dreams of having the opportunity to play college softball, a dream that likely started when they first started tossing around a 10” softball back in their 10U days. Taylor Schulty, Meaghan Sullivan, Bethany Holaway, Bri DiGioia and Amber Hane have all inked letters of intent this fall to play softball when they head off to college in fall 2009. (Scroll down to read about their success stories.) They join their current DTA Elite teammates Hannah Santora (Grand Valley State University), Nikki Simpson (University of Illinois), Jill Trzaska (Cornell College) and Linnea Detrick (University of Illinois), as well as summer 2008 DTA teammate Kelsey Phalen (Valparaiso University) as college softball signees.
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| DTA Elite Goes 5-0 in St. Louis, Keeps Fall Unbeaten Streak Intact |
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The DTA Elite 18U capped off a phenomenal fall season by going 5-0 in the St. Louis Softball Showcase held Oct. 31-Nov. 2. That performance kept the Elite’s unbeaten streak intact for the fall schedule. The Elite went 21-0-1 for the fall season, one tie game away from a perfect record.
In St. Louis, the Elite recorded double-digit wins against three of its five opponents and scored 52 runs while yielding only 5 runs to the competition. For the weekend, the Elite came away with wins against the New Lenox Lightning (11-0), St. Louis Energy (8-2), Homer Hawks Purple (11-1), St. Louis Illusions (13-2) and Chi-Town Express (9-0). While the Elite achieved its goal of putting a competitive squad on the field in one of the nation’s best tournaments, the team also achieved its main goal of giving its talented players the opportunity to showcase their individual skills and abilities in front of coaches they hope to play for in college.
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| DTA Elite Wins DuPage Tourney Crown in First Competition Together |
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The DTA Elite 18U took the top spot in the inaugural DuPage Ultimate Softball Tournament held Sept. 27-28 in Carol Stream, IL. The DTA Elite went 6-0 on the weekend in their first tournament together. Included in that unbeaten record were two dramatic, come-from-behind wins against a hard-hitting Illinois Thunder team.
The Elite went 2-0 in pool play, downing the Downers Grove Outlaws and Lemont Sizzlers by identical 15-0 scores. Glenbard North H.S. senior and Grand Valley State University-bound Hannah Santora picked up the win in game one. The Elite pounded out 14 hits in the game, including triples by Glenbard North H.S. juniorJenny Nelson and Wheaton-Warrenville South H.S. senior Meaghan Sullivan. Wheaton North H.S. senior and Olivet Nazarene University-bound Bethany Holaway went 2-4 with two RBIs.
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Barrington H.S. senior pitcher Kim Cygan picked up the win in the Sizzlers game. The Elite continued their hot bats in that contest, recording 13 hits, including a grand slam home run by Sully, who tallied six RBIs for the game. West Chicago H.S. senior Chrissie Rovtar went 2-4 with a double and drove in two runs. Glenbard North H.S. senior Laura Scott also drove in two runs. Glenbard North H.S. sophomore Alyssa Jasinski went 2-2 and scored three runs.
The Elite’s first elimination round game was a rematch against the Downers Grove Outlaws. The Elite pulled out a 3-0 win in that contest with Hannah picking up the win. Chrissie went 2-3 with an RBI triple. Kim also went 2-3 in the game.
That win set up a battle of the unbeatens between the Elite and the Illinois Thunder, which also entered the game with a perfect 3-0 record. After falling behind 3-0 on Sully’s second homer of the tournament, a two-run blast in the first, and an RBI single by Glenbard North H.S. senior Brianna DiGioia, the visiting Thunder battled back against the Elite to take a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. After a leadoff ground out, Sully coaxed a walk to put the tying run on first and bring Jenny to the plate. After taking a strike, she hammered the next pitch to right field, just inside the foul line, and circled the bases for a game-winning homer. Kim picked up the win in relief of Hannah.
That win put the Elite in the semifinals against a scrappy and unbeaten Naperville Diamonds 16U team playing up an age bracket in the tournament. With Kim in the circle, the Elite jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first on back-to-back RBI triples by Chrissie and Bri. The Elite added three more in the fifth on Bri’s second triple of the game and another three-spot in the sixth on Kim’s RBI triple and an RBI single by Bethany. The Elite scored a final run in the fifth on an RBI single by Elk Grove H.S. senior Amber Hane. Woodstock H.S. senior pitcher Taylor Schulty relieved Kim in the sixth to close out the 9-3 win. Oak-Park River Forest H.S. senior Asia Babbington had a double in the game.
The championship game was a rematch against the Illinois Thunder, which had to battle through the loser’s bracket to earn another shot at the Elite. As in the first game, the Elite jumped out to an early lead on a two-RBI double by Taylor, playing left field in this game, and an RBI triple by Jenny. But the Thunder once again battled back, this time to tie the game going into the seventh, setting the stage for another dramatic win for the DTA Elite.
After a leadoff ground out, Taylor walked to put the winning run on first base. Laura pinch hit for Asia and singled down the right field line, moving Taylor to third and bringing Hannah to the plate. After working the count to 1-1, she drove a high fastball beyond the reach of the Thunder center fielder for a game-winning double to give the Elite the tourney championship.
Taylor picked up the win in relief of Kim, who pitched six strong innings, and earned the championship game MVP honors for her three-RBI performance at the plate. Sully, who hit .667 with two home runs and had 11 RBIs in the tournament, picked up tournament MVP honors.
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| DTA Elite to Compete as Illinois Thunder–Simpson This Fall |
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The DTA Elite 18U is the result of a merger of two highly successful travel ball teams, theDTA Mustangs 18U and Illinois Thunder–Simpson 18U teams. Due to restrictions on team name changes imposed by organizers of the tournaments that both teams registered for this fall, the DTA Elite will be competing as the Illinois Thunder–Simpson team during the fall 2008 season. The fall tournament organizers required us to use one of the team names under which the teams originally registered for the tournaments. We opted for Illinois Thunder–Simpson to simplify matters.
Now that our fall schedule has concluded, our name change to DTA Elite has taken effect. In summer 2009, we will be competing as the DTA Elite 18U.
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