USA Team Handball Announces Women’s National Team Preliminary Roster
by USA Team Handball

USA Team Handball (USATH) Women’s National Team interim head coach Julio Sainz announced today the preliminary roster of 28 athletes for the Women’s National Team. The Selection Committee met as stipulated by selection procedures on June 7, 2021.
The committee was comprised of Sainz, Women’s Junior National Team head coach Craig Rot, Women’s Beach National Team head coach Lisa Dunn, recently retired Women's National Team handball athlete and former USATH board member Tomukei “T” Ebuwei, current USATH board member and athlete representative Mark Ortega, and USATH CEO Ryan Johnson (non-voting member).
"I'd like to commend our coaching staff and all of the athletes that participated in this process for their commitment to the sport. The last year has been incredibly challenging for athletes to train and stay prepared for these kinds of opportunities,” said USA Team Handball Chief Executive Officer Ryan Johnson. “Our entire community is behind these athletes as they prepare for the NACHC Women's Championships later this summer in Elgin. We can't wait to see them take the court and represent Team USA.”
A total of 53 candidates were evaluated during the process, with 28 earning a spot on the preliminary roster and eight getting added to the Women’s National Team pool. The final roster selection will be announced on the day of the technical meeting for the 2021 North American and Caribbean Handball Confederation Championships, to be held in Elgin, Illinois this August.
The list includes local talent from clubs including Boston Team Handball Club, Rogue Handball Club, Army West Point Handball Club and New York City Handball Club. It also includes an array of American players currently training abroad in clubs from France, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Canada.
“I feel the selection of these athletes was fair and inclusive; we looked at this selection process from a holistic perspective, and the selection committee assisted me well in keeping our vision. The group is very balanced, as we selected athletes from all areas of the development spectrum,” said interim head coach Julio Sainz.
“As I promised, we looked at our local talent and found good athletes based here in the U.S. who form our local competition. Also, we felt it was important to allow experienced players to begin passing their knowledge and experience to the up-and-coming generation; therefore, the group has a combination of talent that not only will help us with our immediate task of qualifying for Worlds, but will help with the future outlook of our program. I am confident we will be able to represent our country well.”
U.S. Women’s National Team (Preliminary Roster)
Name |
Age |
Club |
City/State of Residence |
Binta Carvalho |
30 |
Boston Team Handball Club |
Chicago, Illinois |
Bruna Lima |
29 |
Boston Team Handball Club |
Quincy, Massachusetts |
Cecile Brown |
20 |
Iddretslaget ROS |
Oslo, Norway |
Christine Marie Kaffka |
23 |
Army West Point Team Handball |
Scott Township, Pennsylvania |
Eden Nesper |
16 |
TV Hannover Badenstedt |
Hanover, Germany |
Elizabeth Hartnett |
30 |
Rogue Handball |
Fullerton, California |
Emilie Johansson |
20 |
|
Linköping, Sweden |
Emily Myrmo |
20 |
Bærum Topphåndball |
Gjettum, Norway |
Emma Ready |
17 |
Vikhammer HK |
Malvik, Norway |
Gabrielle Martin |
17 |
Handball Quebec Team & Celtique Handball Club |
Montreal, Canada |
Isabela Da Cruz |
15 |
Boston Team Handball Club |
Belmont, Massachusetts |
Jennifer Fithian |
37 |
Rogue Handball |
Concord, New Hampshire |
Julia Taylor |
31 |
Draveil Handball |
Bretigny-sûr-Orge, France |
Karen Schultze |
22 |
ASV Schwarz-Rot 06 e.V. |
Aachen, Germany |
Kathy Darling |
39 |
Rogue Handball |
Colorado Springs, Colorado |
Maria Vallone |
30 |
Rogue Handball |
Rochester, New York |
Marissa Faulkner |
19 |
Team Handball Academy |
Lake Barrington, Illinois |
Mckenna Smet |
31 |
|
Ashburn, Virginia |
Moa Liberty Bengtsson |
17 |
Kärra HF |
Gothenburg, Sweden |
Nicole Andersen |
24 |
A.S Cannes-Mandelieu Handball |
Cannes, France |
Ria N Browne |
25 |
New York City Team Handball Club |
Brooklyn, New York |
Sanna Wheeler |
19 |
Oppegård IL |
Norway |
Sarah Gascon |
39 |
Rogue Handball |
Auburn, Alabama |
Shani Levinkind |
30 |
|
Colorado Springs, Colorado |
Sif Skov Christiansen |
19 |
Hillerød Håndbold Klub |
Hillerød, Denmark |
Sophie Fasold |
27 |
TSV Nord Harrislee |
Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany |
Teasia Stewart |
23 |
Army West Point Team Handball |
Pikesville, Maryland |
Zoe Lombard |
29 |
Rogue Handball |
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
About USA Team Handball
USA Team Handball (USATH) is the U.S. National Governing Body for the Olympic discipline of Team Handball, and is responsible for the development of grassroots programs, preparation of national teams for international competition - including the Pan American and Olympic Games - as well as the day-to-day oversight of the sport of team handball in the United States. The mission of USATH is to develop, promote, educate and grow the sport of team handball at all levels domestically, and to enable U.S. athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence to win medals in international and Olympic competition. USATH is a member of the International Handball Federation, the North American and Caribbean Handball Confederation, and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For additional information, please visit usateamhandball.org
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