Former Westlake player coping with tragedy as a member of Virginia Tech's softball team
Savre was off campus at the time of shootings
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

Stephanie Savre

On Monday the worst shooting in U.S. history took place on the campus of Virginia Tech University when 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui killed 32 people and injured 21 others before taking his own life.

The effects of this tragedy reverberated worldwide. For one area family, whose daughter attends Virginia Tech on a softball scholarship, the day's events ran the gamut of emotions- from worry, to shock to ultimate relief.

Simi Valley residents Randy and Kathie Savre, parents of Stephanie Savre, a 2004 graduate of Westlake High, first learned about Monday's shootings while at work. Randy i m m e d i a t e l y called Stephanie on her cellphone to make sure his daughter was safe.

"I made a phone call to her around 8:30 a.m. our time and found out she was okay," Randy Savre said. "Immediately my wife and I breathed a huge sigh of relief."

St e p h a n i e said she learned about the first shootings around 8 a.m. EST when she heard a loudspeaker on Virginia Tech's campus, which is located roughly two miles from her off-campus apartment. Savre did not have class Monday morning.

"Obviously, I was a little scared after the first set of shootings because we had also had the two bomb threats in the past week or two," she said. "I found out about the next set of shootings on TV when it was taking place.

"Immediately I just wanted to make sure everyone on the team and everyone I knew on campus was okay. Like everyone who was watching, I was kind of in the dark with just what exactly was happening."

Savre said she hung out with her softball team the rest of the day. On Wednesday, the Hokies resumed softball practice for the first time since the shootings.

"I think playing sports does help, as athletics is one of the best healers in a situation like this," Savre said. "It was nice to get outside and play and escape being inside watching the television."

Savre said the team is going to make T-shirts dedicated to the memory of the 32 victims and that the Hokies will wear them in practice and before games.

While at Westlake High, Savre was named an All-Marmonte League first-team player in 2003 and was named the league's Offensive Player of the Year her freshman year in 2001.

When Savre decided to attend Virginia Tech, her parents never believed that a situation like the one that occurred Monday would ever happen.

"Virginia Tech is a great small college community, and I never felt a sense that something like this would ever take place there," Randy Savre said. "We always felt that our daughter would be safe there." Despite the recent situation, Stephanie still believes the campus is safe. "This is definitely not a place where I thought something like this would ever happen," Savre said. "How could you? It's a small college community where everyone is nice to each other most of the time. I don't think there is any way this could have been prevented."

Virginia Tech's classes and most of the university's athletic schedule have been canceled this week. The softball team, which is currently ranked No. 20 in the nation, will resume play Saturday at home against Maryland.

Savre, a communication major, is batting .286 with five home runs and 20 RBI in 126 at-bats.

The lefthanded hitting junior first baseman has started all 48 of the Hokies' games this season.