Sports

Hnatyk goes global for Canadian national team

When UW head softball coach Chandelle Schulte and her team reconvenes for fall practice in the upcoming weeks, the Badgers will truly boast world-class talent.

Right-fielder Katie Hnatyk has spent the summer rubbing elbows with the best the softball world has to offer as a member of the Canadian Senior National Team. Hnatyk, a native of London, Ontario, has racked up the frequent flyer miles as well — her team played in the U.S. World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City and exhibition matches in Texas and Connecticut before the World Championships in Beijing, China.

"My overall experience has been great," Hnatyk said in an e-mail from Beijing. "I feel as though I have improved so much here working with great coaches … and [playing] against the best in the world."

That is good news for UW, as an improved Hnatyk will only aid an offense that struggled at times to score runs last year.

Though only a junior-to-be, Hnatyk finds herself ready to blow away the school record for career home-runs — her two-year total of 19 is only one behind the record held by two others — and is on pace to set the school RBI mark.

Hnatyk put that power on display for the world to see when she homered off of Great Britain's Stacie Townsend during the World Cup of Softball.

"It was pretty cool," Hnatyk said of the round-tripper. "Being able to perform on that stage was pretty neat."

According to Schulte, Hnatyk worked hard last season to become a more complete hitter, and the results were evident.

"She can understand hitting now, where before, I think, she would go up there without a purpose," Schulte said. "But now she could take you out now and teach you."

"The one-on-one attention she got was terrific, especially in hitting," Schulte said.

If all goes according to plan for Canada, this won't be Hnatyk's last visit to the Far East. By finishing in the top four of the sixteen-team field in the World Championships, Canada would advance to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, which are also held in China. National teams can also qualify for the Olympics next summer via the Pan American Games. At press time, Canada was 3-1 in the World Championships.

Hnatyk has mainly contributed in a supporting role as a pinch runner or hitter late in games, appearing in all three games to date and scoring twice.

"She's our fastest player home to home," Schulte said. "When Team Canada called about her … I said 'honestly, this kid can run.' I think that's part of the thing that intrigued them is that she could provide them with a utility that they didn't have — someone who could run and could hit for power and also someone who can go in and play defense."

Qualifying for the Olympics would allow Hnatyk to realize a once-distant dream.

"I told my dad all the time that it was something that I wanted to do," Hnatyk said, "but I never actually truly believed that I would be here someday; it was just a dream."

And while nothing in her collegiate experience to date can compare with representing one's country, one thing could come close.

"With Team Canada, we are playing on one of the largest stages you can in this sport, and it is absolutely amazing," Hnatyk said. "Hopefully, with UW we can get to the highest level possible in the NCAA. We definitely have the potential to do it."