Canadian Women's Lineup Finalized For November World Team Championships
by Danny Da Costa
Stephanie Edmison, photo Squash Canada
2012-10-10 - Ottawa (ON) – Canada’s Team for the 2012 Women’s World Squash Team Championship has been finalized; Samantha Cornett, Susie King, Alex Norman and Stephanie Edmison will be in Nimes France this November 12th-17th to take on the world’s best.
Susie King, Alex Norman, and Stephanie Edmison all earned their places on the Canadian team by virtue of their performance at the Canadian Women’s World Team Trials held September 28 – 30th, 2012 at the National Squash Academy in Toronto. They join Samantha Cornett who had already qualified due to meeting Squash Canada’s international excellence criteria (WSA world ranking objective).
Squash Canada Performance Director Jamie Hickox commented, “we have a balanced team with all 4 members playing well and close in level. The competition at Worlds is tough and the draw will be challenging, however we feel that the collective experience of these athletes is extensive and they have the potential to achieve a top 8 finish”.
Samantha Cornett (21) from Ottawa has been one of Canada’s most accomplished squash athletes on the international stage. She won the silver medal at the 2011 Pan America Championships as well as helping Canada win the team gold. Currently ranked 37th, Samantha is a rising star in the world game recently defeating Sarah Kippax of England (world #22) at the Carol Weymuller Open (WSA Event) and Dipika Pallikal of India (world #14) at the US Open (WSA Event).
Stephanie Edmison (25) of Toronto is a three time Canadian University Champion. At the 2011 Pan-Am Games she teamed with Samantha to help Canada win the team gold title as well as earning a bronze medal in the women’s doubles with Miranda Ranieri.
A member of Team Canada for last year’s world championships, Stephanie is looking forward to getting a chance to represent Canada once again. “I’m very excited to be named to the Canadian national team, this will be my second World Team Championships and I’m excited to be going in to it with more experience than the last time.”
Alex Norman (29) of Montreal will also be representing Canada for a second time at the World Team Championships. The two time Canadian Championships runner up is originally from Cuckfield, England but moved to Canada several years ago and has been a strong representative of Canada ever since. The 70th ranked in the world, Norman recently defeated (world #57) Orla Noom of the Netherlands at the Orange County WSA event in California.
Susie King (25) of Calgary is originally from Ascot, England. She moved to Canada four years ago and is currently the Assistant Squash Professional at the Calgary Winter Club. This will be the former representative of England’s National Junior Team's first time competing for Canada at the Women’s World Team Championships. Susie recently captured Squash Canada’s National Team Selection Trials event, defeating fellow team members Alex Norman and Stephanie Edmison along the way.
First time team member Susie King commented, “I am extremely excited to represent Canada at the upcoming Women's World Team Squash Championships in France. It is a great honour to represent the country that I have now lived in for the past 4 years. I am looking forward to playing alongside fellow team members Sam, Stephanie and Alex, I think we have a great team and a fantastic opportunity to place high and reach our goal”.
This year’s team will be coached by Melanie Jans of Georgetown, Ontario. Jans, a former national team athlete achieved a career high #25 in the world rankings in 1999 and was a gold medalist at the 1999 Pan American Games.
Canada will be looking to improve upon their 13th overall finish at the previous Women’s World Team Championships,which were held in New Zealand in 2010.
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