Nine Named to 2009 Pan Am Elite Teams

2009-12-11

Nine members of the USA Field Hockey National Teams were named to the 2010 Pan American Hockey Federation Elite Teams, a compilation of all-star players from the Pan American region. The Pan American Hockey Federation announced the Elite Teams today. The PAHF Elite Teams, named every two years, were first introduced after the 2007 Pan American Games.

Hockey specialists involved or present at the 2009 Pan American Cups in Bermuda and Santiago were consulted for the selection of the Elite Teams roster. Additional input was sought from persons present at the FIH events in which PAHF teams participated, such as the Women's Champions Trophy in Sydney and the Junior World Cups.

USA Field Hockey Women's National Team members Carrie Lingo, Kayla Bashore, Rachel Dawson, Tiffany Huisman and Keli Smith were named to the Women's Pan American Elite Team 2009. The USA were runners-up at the 2009 Women's Pan American Cup in Bermuda, forcing 2008 Olympic bronze medal winners Argentina to penalty strokes.

The Women's Pan American Elite Team 2009 is led once again by 3-time WorldHockey Player of the Year Luciana Aymar, from Argentina. She is joined by five more players from Argentina, winner of the Pan American Cup, including Player of the Tournament Carla Rebecchi. Six countries are represented in the Women's Pan American Elite Team 2009: Argentina (6 Players), Canada (1), Chile (3), Mexico (1), Trinidad & Tobago (2) and USA (5).

USA Field Hockey Men's National Team members Pat Cota, Sean Harris, Pat Harris and goalkeeper Tom Sheridan were named to the Men's Pan American Elite Team 2009. The USA claimed the silver medal at the 2009 Men's Pan American Cup in Santiago, taking 2008 Olympic Games participant Canada to extra time.

Canada, the Men's Pan American Cup winner, is represented by five players, including Player of the Tournament Rob Short. Six countries in total are represented in the Men's Pan American Elite Team 2009: Argentina (3 players), Canada (5), Chile (3), Mexico (2), Trinidad & Tobago (1) and USA (4).

2009 Pan American Elite Teams
Men Francisco AGUILAR MEX Mario ALMADA ARG Kwandwane BROWNE TRI David CARTER (GK) CAN Pat COTA USA Pat HARRIS USA Sean HARRIS USA Sebastián KAPSCH CHI Esteban KRAINZ CHI Pol MORENO MEX Ken PEREIRA CAN Thomas SHERIDAN (GK) USA Rob SHORT CAN Alfredo THIERMANN CHI Scott TUPPER CAN Lucas VILA ARG Matias VILA ARG Paul WETTLAUFER CAN		Women Mitzy Mara AGUILERA ZULETA MEX Nicole AMING TRI Luciana AYMAR ARG Katie BAKER CAN Noel BARRIONUEVO ARG Kayla BASHORE USA Rachel DAWSON USA Carla DUPUY ARG Denise INFANTE CHI Paula INFANTE CHI Carrie LINGO USA Rosario LUCHETTI ARG Carla REBECCHI ARG Claudia SCHULER (GK) CHI Stacy SIU BUTT TRI Keli SMITH USA Tiffany SNOW USA Maria Belen SUCCI (GK) ARG

For more information, please visit the Pan American Hockey Federation web site.