Hand, Robinson Invited to USA Trials

May 6, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Oklahoma's Whitney Hand and Danielle Robinson are among the 29 women's college basketball players invited to try out for the 2009 USA Basketball Women's World University Games Team.

The invitations were announced publicly Wednesday by the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team Committee. The 12-member team trails will be held May 14-17 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

Hand, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and Robinson, a Nancy Lieberman Award finalist, led the Sooners to a conference title, Final Four appearance and program-record 32 wins in 2009.

Joining the Sooner duo are Final Four competitors Jayne Appel, Kayle Pederson and Jeannette Pohlen of Stanford and Tina Charles, Tiffany Hayes and Maya Moore of Connecticut. Kansas' Danielle McCray was the only other Big 12 representative.

USA Basketball | Women's Basketball Blog

"We are looking forward to a few great days of trials competition for the World University Games team," Sue Donohoe, NCAA Vice President for Division I Women's Basketball and Women's Junior National Team Committee Chairperson, said. "These young players are extremely talented, and there will be a very high level of competition for the opportunity to be selected to represent the United States in the World University Games. The committee is anxious to begin the evaluation process and anticipates a great team trial."

Arizona State's Charli Turner Thorne will be the team's head coach. She will be assisted by Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant and Pepperdine's Julie Rousseau.

The 2009 Women's World University Games begin July 1 in Belgrade, Serbia. The games are held biannually and organized by the International University Sports Federation.

USA World University Games History
USA Basketball women's teams have participated in 14 prior World University Games and collected a record six golds, six silvers and one bronze medal. Since 1973, the first year the USA women competed in the WUGs, the United States has compiled an 82-15 record. In 2005, the last year USA Basketball sent a team to the WUGs, the USA posted a 7-0 slate en route to the gold medal.

Most notable among the list of WUG alumni are 2008 Olympic gold medalists Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Lisa Leslie, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Cappie Pondexter, Katie Smith and Tina Thompson; as well as 2008 head coach Anne Donovan and assistant coach Dawn Staley. Additionally, Olympians Carol Blazejowski, Ruthie Bolton, Pat Head (Summitt), Katrina McClain, Suzie McConnell (Serio), Ann Meyers (Drysdale), Ruth Riley, Katy Steding, Kara Wolters and Lynette Woodward played for the USA in the World University Games.

2009 USA Women's World University Games Team Trials Roster
NAME	POS	HEIGHT	SCHOOL	HOMETOWN
Danielle Adams	G	6-1	Jefferson College	Kansas City, Mo.
Jayne Appel	F	6-4	Stanford	Pleasant Hill, Calif.
Jessica Breland	F	6-3	North Carolina	Kelford, N.C.
Doreena Campbell	G	5-9	UCLA	Alexandria, Va.
Tina Charles	C	6-3	Connecticut	Jamaica, N.Y.
Alysha Clark	F	5-10	Middle Tennessee State	Mt. Juliet, Tenn.
Cetera DeGraffenreid	G	5-5	North Carolina	Cullowhee, N.C.
Dawn Evans	G	5-7	James Madison	Clarksville, Tenn.
Tyra Grant	G	5-11	Penn State	Youngstown, Ohio
Alexis Gray-Lawson	G	5-8	California	Oakland, Calif.
Whitney Hand	G	6-1	Oklahoma	Fort Worth, Texas
Tiffany Hayes	G	5-11	Connecticut	Lakeland, Florida
Allison Hightower	G/F	5-11	LSU	Arlington, Texas
Ashley Houts	G	5-6	Georgia	Trenton, Ga.
Ify Ibekwe	F	6-2	Arizona	Carson, Calif.
Amy Jaeschke	F	6-5	Northwestern	Wilmette, Ill.
Jantel Lavender	C	6-4	Ohio State	Cleveland, Ohio
Danielle McCray	G/F	5-11	Kansas	Olathe, Kan.
Jacinta Monroe	F/C	6-5	Florida State	Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Maya Moore	F	6-1	Connecticut	Lawrenceville, Ga.
Kayla Pedersen	G/F	6-4	Stanford	Fountain Hills, Ariz.
Ta'Shia Phillips	C	6-6	Xavier	Indianapolis, Ia.
Jeanette Pohlen	G	5-11	Stanford	Brea, Calif.
Epiphanny Prince	G	5-9	Rutgers	Brooklyn, N.Y.
Alex Rack	G	5-4	Mississippi State	Franklin, La.
Danielle Robinson	G	5-8	Oklahoma	San Jose, Calif.
Carolyn Swords	C	6-6	Boston College	Sudbury, Mass.
Courtney Vandersloot	G	5-8	Gonzaga	Kent, Wash.
Natasha Vital	G	5-8	California	Stockton, Calif.
Head Coach: Charli Turner Thorne, Arizona State Assistant Coach: Suzy Merchant, Michigan State Assistant Coach: Julie Rousseau, Pepperdine

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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