Laura Berg - National Team

National Team

Berg would also join the United States national team in 1994, participating in the 1994 ISF Women's World Championship, where the US team won the gold medal. Berg redshirted at Fresno State in 1996, the year that she won her first Olympic gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In 1998, she won her second gold medal at the world championships. At the 1999 Pan American Games Berg performed well in the gold medal effort, batting .375 for the tournament with 15 hits. In the 2000 Summer Olympics Berg drove in the winning run in the 8th inning of the gold medal game.

From 2000 to 2003 she participated at tournaments with the national team. She added gold medals at the 2002 World Championships and 2003 Pan American Games to her resume, batting .471 in the Pan-Americans. In the 2004 Athens Olympics she started eight of the nine games, batting .368, and held a perfect fielding average. In the gold medal game on August 23, Berg had a hit in the eventual win over Australia. In 2006 Berg won her fourth consecutive World Championship in Beijing. Berg's four World Championship appearances is a record for the event.

In 2007 Berg returned to her third Pan American Games, where she won another gold medal, and was chosen to carry the U.S. flag during the closing ceremonies. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she captured a silver medal with the Team USA, the only time in Olympic history the United States did not win the gold medal. Berg did not play in the gold medal game but did hit .500 for the tournament highlighted by a diving catch to save Monica Abbott's perfect game vs. the Netherlands on August 17. After the finals, Berg along with teammates retired from international competition.