By: Tvisha Reikhy

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Boys tennis, girls tennis. Boys soccer, girls soccer. Baseball, softball. Sports have always been separated by gender, whether that be in town teams, high school teams, or even at the collegiate level. Well, that recently changed when Olivia Pichardo became the first woman to appear in a Division 1 baseball game, representing Brown University. Although her at-bat led to a hard groundout, it marked a moment in history, showing young girls worldwide that anything is possible. Ever since she could remember, Pichhardo shared her dad’s love for baseball, and started off like most baseball players: on a little league field in Queens, hitting “squishy” balls. She immediately fell in love with the game, and after countless hours of training, was able to make her town's varsity baseball team… as a 7th grader. Her arm was her biggest strength, throwing more than 80 miles per hour, backed up by her violent swing and solid defense. Pichardo continued her passion by playing for various club teams. Originally, she was accepted into Brown University based on her academics. However, she emailed head coach Grant Achillles clips of her high school baseball career and was invited to a walk-in tryout, competing against another male for her position. Although her skill played a huge part in the coach’s decision, they were most impressed by her confidence and the way she kept her calm, instantly gaining respect from her male teammates. Even when playing in the Dominican Republic with the crowd screaming things like “Girl”, Olivia kept her calm and wowed them with her 0.500 batting average. She says that her biggest message for young girls is to continue playing the sport they love, regardless of who else plays it, or what society thinks of it. When there is a will… There is always a way. 

https://d1baseball.com/features/meet-browns-olivia-pichardo-first-woman-to-play-d-i-baseball/#:~:text=Remember%20the%20 name%3A%20 Olivia%20 Pichardo,a%20Division%20I%20baseball%20game.

Cricket is a sport that has been popular in continents such as Asia and Europe, but in the USA, it is seen as something foreign, often confused with the more familiar baseball. However, slowly, cricket is starting to become more popular in the United States, with over 30 million fans. More impressively, the US was able to form a 15-player U19 national women's cricket team. And this upcoming winter, the U19 team will make history by representing America in the T20 world cup, located in South Africa. The girls will face a challenging group consisting of women from all over Australia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The team is taking their confident wins over West Indies and the United Arab Emirates and using that to motivate them to continue their winning streak in the upcoming world cup. Chair of the USA team’s selection panel, Nadia Gruny, has stressed that the team has had “great preparation” going into South Africa, and is excited to see what the girls can accomplish. As a cricket player myself, I have played with some of these national players in matches during regional tournaments. Not only are they amazing players with tremendous athletic ability, but also help to create a loving family, full of support and laughter. These girls have always been my role models, and that is true for millions of other aspiring female cricketers. The players help to show the world that with hard work, anything is possible!  To learn more about their incredible journey, visit usacricket.org

https://usacricket.org/media-release/usa-cricket-womens-under-19s-squad-for-historic-first-world-cup-appearance-named/