SUSF Elite Athlete Program (EAP) scholarship holders Nina Khoury and Mathilda Carmichael have been selected in the Australian junior women’s hockey squad, the Jillaroos, for the 2013 Women’s Hockey Junior World Cup in Germany later this month.
Khoury (Bachelor of Commerce/Laws) and Carmichael (Bachelor of Medical Sciences) – Sydney Uni Hockey Club (SUHC) representatives – were selected in the squad after solid performances for the Jillaroos in four games against a Japan ‘A’ side in Japan last month.
Khoury, a Jillaroos regular, was pleased with the teams performance in Japan and was wrapped with her selection in the World Cup squad.
“Japan was a great experience for the Jillaroos, we had to adapt to a completely different environment which proved to be quite challenging at times,” explained Khoury.
“We were able to successfully implement a number of different structures against the Japanese which is a very positive step leading into JWC.”
“I am very excited to be selected, it’s such an honour to represent your country, especially at a Junior World Cup! We’ve been building as a team since January (Australian Youth Olympic Festival)and we can’t wait to get to Germany and finally compete!”
Unfortunately fellow SUHC representative and SUSF EAP scholarship holder Georgina Morgan missed out on selection for the final squad.
The squad departs Australia for Germany on Wednesday, 17 July before undertaking a series of pre-tournament practice matches against Germany, Korea and the Netherlands.
The Junior World Cup is contested by 16 nations. The teams will be split into four pools of four teams each. Following the preliminary round robin, teams will either move into a placement round for the bottom eight finishers or onto a quarter-final, semi-final and final round.
The Australian women will face New Zealand, India and Russia in Pool C. The Jillaroos finished fifth at the last Junior World Cup four years ago in Boston, beating this year’s hosts Germany in a playoff.
The Jillaroos qualified for the Junior World Cup as the highest ranked Oceania nation earlier this year after they defeated New Zealand in the final of the Oceania Junior Nations Cup.
