“Never limit yourself, never be satisfied, and smile—it’s free!”

“I hate losing. I mean, I love winning, but losing is a much more intense feeling. When I lose, I take it very personally."

"My goal is to never lose. That may not be realistic, but I'm going to try."

“A macho attitude is totally to my advantage. Guys try to hit it 400 feet out of the park, but in softball you have to use a short, quick swing. Big, huge swings equal big, huge strikeouts.”

“I do my job on the mound and then do what I can at the plate, always working on helping the team anyway I can.”

“I’m just hitting the jackpot because I’m coming out at the perfect time when women’s athletics is booming.”

“My family vacations were softball tournaments.”

“The best compliment I’ve gotten was being compared to Randy Johnson. We’re both hard-throwing.”

“I don’t want to be just a face. I want to go out there and prove something on the field.”

“When I was growing up, softball had stereotypes along with other female sports. But society is definitely changing since the WNBA and WUSA. Muscles on female athletes are OK now. Young girls can look up to beautiful, athletic, fit women.”

“Got any pitches? I got five pitches—rise-ball, curveball, screwball, drop-ball and changeup.”

“I’m living a dream. I hope in 10 years people will know me as a gold medalist.”

“The whole sexiness thing—I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that. But it has helped the sport grow. I think it changes how people see women’s athletics.”

“When you train six to seven hours a day to be the best in your sport, you don’t want that to be overlooked. I don’t train for my looks.”

“The attention I get has been great. It has opened so many doors for me. It’s nice that people are accepting beautiful women as athletes. It’s encouraging to girls that muscles don’t mean you can’t be beautiful.”

“I had female role models to look up to starting in middle school, athletes like Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm who made me realize that there was room in the world of sports for women. They ignited my dream of becoming an Olympic athlete.”

“Seeing women on television was very important to me. It opened my eyes to the possibilities of women’s sports. It showed me what I could do and who I could be.”

“My life has been centered around sports. It is where I have met my closest friends and shaped the values that have made me a successful athlete, student and role model for young people.”

“How's motherhood? It is absolutely wonderful. Oh, my gosh. It's truly indescribable and amazing.”

“I used to think about my body constantly. I was always taller and bigger than the guys in my school and I hated it. At 6'1", 168 lbs., I was always hunching over, trying not to stand out.”

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