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Christa Lee Williams-Yates (born February 8, 1978) is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
, former collegiate three-time All-American, two-time Gold Medal winning Olympian, retired three-time pro All-Star, right-handed hitting
softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
originally from
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. She competed at the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
where she received a gold medal with the American team. Four years later at the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, she won her second gold medal. Williams-Yates began her college career with the
UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...
in 1997 before transferring to play softball with the
Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...
(1998–99). Joining in its inaugural year, she played three years in the
National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...
with the
Texas Thunder Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wit ...
(2004–06) and still ranks top-10 in career wins,
strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...
,
ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...
among other records. In 2018, Williams-Yates was named to the USA National Softball Hall of Fame. Currently, Williams-Yates teaches high school softball in Kingwood, Texas.


College

In her freshman year, Williams-Yates was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Third Team All-American. She was also named First Team All-
Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...
She led the Bruins to the
Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...
and into the championship final where they lost to the
Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...
on May 26. Williams-Yates was named to the All-Tournament Team going 4-2, throwing two shutouts with 46 strikeouts. Williams-Yates transferred to
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
for the next two seasons. She was named a NFCA First Team in 1998 and the Second Team in 1999. She also would earn two First-Team All-
Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...
selections. This helped earn her a place on
Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
for the
2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
and Williams-Yates opted not to return for her senior year.


NPF

Williams-Yates was named an All-Star all three years of her career with the
Texas Thunder Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wit ...
. She debuted on June 1, 2004, throwing a two-hit shutout with 6 strikeouts over the
Akron Racers The Akron Racers were a women's softball team based in Akron, Ohio. In 2018 they moved to Cleveland and were renamed the Cleveland Comets. The team was started by Joey Arietta in 1999 to participate in the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL). Fro ...
. She no hit the
Arizona Heat The Arizona Heat was a women's softball team based in Tucson, Arizona. From the 2004 season, it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. The team's home games were played at historic Hi Corbett Field. Six of the players on the 2006 roster ...
on June 18 with a 15 strikeout performance. On June 28, 2005, she set a personal best by fanning 17 of the Stratford Brakettes. Later that year beginning on July 7-August 6 she pitched a 10 consecutive game win streak, throwing 65.0 innings with 25 hits, 6 earned runs, 16 walks and 74 strikeouts for a 0.64 ERA and 0.63 WHIP. Williams-Yates is the only NPF player to have played at least three seasons and be recognized as an All-Star every year of their career. She currently ranks top-10 in career statistics for wins, strikeouts, ERA, shutouts, strikeout ratio and WHIP.


Statistics


UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...
&
Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...


Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...


National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...
Texas Thunder Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wit ...


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Christa 1978 births Living people American softball players Softball players from Texas Olympic softball players for the United States Softball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Softball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in softball Texas Longhorns softball players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Houston UCLA Bruins softball players