2
April 2001
BASKETBALL
AUSTRALIA NAMES OPALS "TRAIN
ON" SQUAD
Basketball Australia today
announced the Opals’
"train on" squad for
2001. The squad features 29
players, including all but one
member of the 2000 silver medal
winning Olympic Games team.
Only Michele Timms, who
retired from international
competition following the Sydney
Olympics, is missing from the
team that represented Australia
with such distinction at the
Sydney Olympics. The silver medal
winning performance was the
Opals’ second consecutive
Olympic podium finish, having
claimed the bronze in Atlanta in
1996.
Nine squad members have yet to
represent Australia at senior
level, including two players who
are also members of the
Australian junior (Under-20)
squad. Laura Summerton and
Shelley Hammonds face the
exciting prospect of representing
Australia at the World Junior
Championship in the same year as
they earned their first call up
for senior international duty.
Jessica Bibby, Allie Douglas,
Natalie Hughes, Alison
O’Dwyer, Belinda Snell,
Eleanor Sharp and Deanna Smith
are the other squad members
looking to taste international
basketball at the highest level
for the first time.
Sandy Brondello and Rachael
Sporn, both 32, are the oldest
players in the squad, while
17-year old Laura Summerton is
the youngest of the 29 players
named.
"This is an exciting
time," Opals’ coach Jan
Stirling said today. "We
have named a larger squad than in
previous years, and there are
great opportunities for some of
the younger players to prove
their worth on the international
stage. The door is open and the
East Asian Games will be the
first opportunity to see some of
these players show what they can
achieve internationally."
The squad was chosen by
Basketball Australia’s
selection panel that comprises
Adrian Hurley (Chairman), Karen
Dalton and Stirling. As with the
Boomers' squad announced last
week, these selections are the
beginning of a new era. The
selections not only cater for the
Opals' immediate and short term
commitments - East Asian Games,
Oceania Qualification Series, and
2002 World Championships, but
also facilitate the development
of emerging talent that will
serve the team well in the longer
term, including the Athens
Olympic Games and beyond.
The Opals’ 2001
"train on" squad
comprises:
- Suzy
Batkovic (Sydney Flames)
- Jessica
Bibby (Dandenong Rangers)
- Carla
Boyd (Adelaide Lightning)
- Sandy
Brondello (BTV Gold Zack)
- Tracey
Braithwaite (Adelaide
Lightning)
- Michelle
Brogan (Melbourne Tigers)
- Annie
Burgess (Sydney Panthers)
- Allie
Douglas (Dandenong
Rangers)
- Trish
Fallon (Famila)
- Kristi
Harrower (BTV Gold Zack)
- Jo
Hill (Tarbes Gespe
Bigorre)
- Shelley
Hammonds (AIS)
- Natalie
Hughes (Sydney Panthers)
- Lauren
Jackson (Canberra
Capitals)
- Jae
Kingi (Adelaide
Lightning)
- Emily
McInerny (Dandenong
Rangers)
- Alison
O’Dwyer (Sydney
Panthers)
- Natalie
Porter (Bulleen Boomers)
- Rachael
Sporn (Adelaide
Lightning)
- Shelley
Sandie (Canberra
Capitals)
- Belinda
Snell (Sydney Panthers)
- Eleanor
Sharp (Canberra Capitals)
- Laura
Summerton (AIS)
- Deanna
Smith (Adelaide
Lightning)
- Gina
Stephens (Bulleen
Boomers)
- Penny
Taylor (Dandenong
Rangers)
- Allison
Tranquilli (Ciudad)
- Kristen
Veal (Canberra Capitals)
- Jenny
Whittle (Tarbes Gespe
Bigorre)
The purpose of the "train
on" squad is to ensure
players continue their fitness
and training once club
commitments in 2001 are
completed. The Opals’ team
to compete at the East Asian
Games, the World Championships
qualifying games and any other
internationals in 2001 will be
selected from the "train
on" squad. Players can be
added or dropped from the squad
at discretion of the selection
panel.
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