Team Bath name exciting squad to defend Superleague crown
Team Bath today (Tuesday) announced a squad with an exciting blend of youth and experience to defend their Netball Superleague title in 2014.
Team Bath are the most successful team in the history of the Superleague their 62-56 Grand Final victory over Celtic Dragons in May earned them a fifth title from just eight Superleague campaigns.
Head coach Jess Thirlby¹s 15-strong squad for the 2014 campaign features six senior England internationals and eight current University of Bath students.
The team, which has Carter Jonas as its property partner, get their campaign underway at home to Team Northumbria on 31 January for full fixtures and ticket information go to http://www.teambath.com/sport/netball/fixtures-results/
Thirlby said she¹s looking forward to getting the new Superleague season underway. ³I have been really impressed with the standard of our trials this year. Both the number and quality of the players that put themselves forward is the best it¹s ever been and the players have set very high standards this year,² she said.
³We are brutally honest here at Team Bath and reflect on wins and losses with the same amount of scrutiny and look forward to what we know will be another very tough and competitive Superleague season,² she added.
England international midcourter Serena Guthrie captains the side for the new season after impressing as vice-captain last time around.
She is joined in the squad by England captain Pamela Cookey and fellow senior England international Stacey Francis, both University of Bath graduates. Francis will be Team Bath vice-captain for the 2014 season.
Rosie Allison, Mia Ritchie and Yasmin Parsons have also played for England at senior level. Allison and Parsons are University of Bath students and are Trendell Sports scholars, while Ritchie is a graduate and is supported by a Surridge scholarship.
England under-21 international and Surridge scholar Shaunagh Craig, former Welsh international Amanda Trounce and former Bath NTL player Sophie Masterson also return from the squad that won the 2013 title.
Student Scarlett Williams returns to the squad after missing the 2013 campaign away on her placement year as part of her Sport and Exercise Science degree.
Team Bath also welcome back Ursula Bowers probably better known to netball fans as Billy Bowers. The former Wales captain was captain of the Team Bath teams that won the first two Superleague titles, in 2006 and 2007, and was a member of the coaching team behind the team¹s 2013 successes.
New Zealand defender Jenna Murie features in Team Bath colours for the first time after playing for Celtic Dragons last season.
And youngsters Lauren Dent, Jazz Scott and Summer Artman feature in the Superleague squad for the first time. Dent and Scott are both University of Bath Sports Performance students while 16-year-old Artman, an England under-17 player, is on a netball scholarship at King Edward's School in Bath.
³I am really happy with the balance within the squad this year,² said Thirlby. ³We have some very experienced players and an abundance of leadership within the team, not least the England captain and former Team Bath captain Pamela Cookey, former Team Bath captain of two championship winning Team Bath sides Ursula Bowers and this year¹s captain Serena Guthrie and vice-captain Stacey Francis.
³Equally important to our successes in the past though is the inclusion of youth and players that bring something different to the team in players like Summer Artman, Sophie Masterson, Jazz Scott and Jenna Murie,² she added.
³I feel we have all the ingredients to go a long way this season. We are particularly proud to see the inclusion of so many Team Bath high performance programme athletes and University of Bath students who have graduated to the highest level of domestic netball, a reassuring confirmation that what we do here at Team Bath is working and is creating a player pool for us to choose from.²
The full 2014 Team Bath Superleague squad is:
Pamela Cookey GA, GS Rosie Allison GS, GA Shaunagh Craig GS, GA Lauren Dent GA, GS Yasmin Parsons C, WA Amanda Trounce WA, C Jazz Scott WA, C Mia Ritchie C, WA Serena Guthrie (captain) WD, C Scarlett Williams WD, C Stacey Francis (vice-captain) GK, GD, WD Ursula Bowers GK, GD Jenna Murie GD, WD, GK Sophie Masterson GK, GD Summer Artman GK, GD
