WATER POLO: USA Women's Senior National Team Announces FINA World League Super Final Roster; Trims Training Roster To 14

The USA Women's Senior National Team has announced their 14 player roster for the upcoming FINA World League Super Finals, June 10-15 to be held in, Santa Cruz del Tenenfe, Spain. Team USA has won three of the four Women's World League Super Finals and are looking for their third consecutive World League title. The naming of this roster also signals the reduction of the team's Olympic training roster from 15 to 14 athletes. Leading the way for Team USA is Team Captain Brenda Villa and she will be joined by fellow Olympians Heather Petri and Natalie Golda. The reigning FINA World Championship MVP and Top Goalkeeper Lauren Wenger and Betsey Armstrong are on board in addition to veteran Moriah van Norman. Rounding out the roster is a host of athletes that have gained a great deal of international experience in the last two years including Alison Gregorka, Jamie Hipp, Elsie Windes, Kami Craig, Erika Figge, Brittany Hayes, Jessica Steffens, and Patty Cardenas."This marks that we are one step closer to naming the Olympic Team,"said Head Coach Guy Baker."We are looking forward to the World League Super Final which will provide us an excellent opportunity for us to evaluate our preparation for the Olympic Games."Left off the roster is 2000 and 2004 Olympian Ericka Lorenz who had battled back from an injury that occurred leading into the 2007 World Championships and a surgery that followed. Lorenz was cleared to resume full-time training in February. The veteran has been a fixture on the National Team since 2000 and has had a decorated international career. Her highlights include two Olympic medals, two World Championship gold medals and a gold medal at the Junior World Championships to name five of the ten FINA international medals won during her eight year international career."Ericka had a wonderful career that can only be matched by a few over the last eight years,"added Baker."She will be missed and the injury proved to be more of a factor than we had hoped. Her contributions to our program have been tremendous and everyone involved will always remember her performance in the 2003 World Championship final."A schedule of competition for the Super Final will be forthcoming. The World League Super Final consists of six teams, and the competition format will be five round robin preliminary games followed by a first, third and fifth place final based on the finish of the preliminary round. On the horizon for the squad following the Super Final will be a four nation tournament in Greece, June 20-22 and then a return home for a highly anticipated four game set against Australia kicking off on the 4th of July at the USA Water Polo National Training Center in Los Alamitos, CA. The Olympic Team will be named on Monday, June 30th. 2008 FINA World League Super Final Roster 1. Betsey Armstrong 2. Heather Petri 3. Erika Figge 4. Brenda Villa 5. Lauren Wenger 6. Natalie Golda 7. Patty Cardenas 8. Jessica Steffens 9. Elsie Windes 10. Alison Gregorka 11. Moriah van Norman 12. Kami Craig 13. Jamie Hipp 14. Brittany Hayes