US Team Handball Women's National Team

On May 23rd the US Women’s National Handball Team (WNT) will head to Sao Paulo, Brazil to compete in the 2005 Pan-American Championships. The team is being lead by Head Coach Christian Latulippe, a native of Quebec with over eighteen years’ experience coaching handball, and a total of twelve Canadian national championship titles. In order to qualify for the 2005 World Championships, which will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia this December, the WNT will need to place among the top three out of the six teams in the continental region (USA, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, and the Dominican Republic). This will be the first major international competition for the WNT since the establishment of their year-round residential training program at SUNY Cortland in August 2004.

Sixteen women have been selected to represent the WNT at the Pan-American Championships; of these, six have prior experience in international handball competition, including former Olympians Kristen Torpey (’96) and Dawn Lewis (’96). While these may be the first international matches for many of the players, the WNT has spent the last nine months training together and playing games in both the Quebec League (Circuit Quebecois) and the Northeast Team Handball Conference (NETHC) in preparation for this competition. From October through April of this year, the WNT played 41 games, ending the season with an overall winning record and being named champions of the NETHC. Of this, coach Christian Latulippe says, “The season started off a little rough, especially with so many players who were new to the game. However, by the end of the season, things were looking much better; we had a key win in the Quebec League and also ended up taking home first place in the NETHC. There is no doubt that these games were an important part of our development as a team.”

Team handball is currently played by over 19 million players in 150 countries, and has been an Olympic sport for women since 1976. It has been described as a combination of soccer, basketball, and water polo, and teams are comprised of a goalie and six court players whose objective is to put a ball in their opponent’s goal using only their hands. The players on the Women’s National Team include a mix of local talent and players from all over the United States. Ilona Szotyori, a SUNY Cortland student and New York native, will be the youngest member of the WNT representing the USA in Brazil. The other players range in age from 18 to 36, and include Division I volleyball, basketball, softball, and rugby players, professional soccer players, and nationally recognized lacrosse and track athletes. It is an eclectic group for sure, but one filled with great potential. “Overall, we have an inexperienced group of players,” says Head Coach Christian Latulippe. “Still, the level of athleticism is higher than it has been in years. Moreover, the new players will be supported by several older players who know what to expect, and will hopefully be able to step up and lead us to a medal. This tournament will be an eye-opener for a lot of the young ladies, and a good opportunity to observe the level where we need to be in two years, when we return to Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) to play for a spot at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.”

Official roster for the Women’s Pan-American team:

Once in Brazil, the WNT will play five games, of which they must win three if they want to secure a qualification for the World Championships. The games will begin on May 25, 2005 and continue through May 29, at which point medals will be awarded to the top three finishers. The last time the US faced these teams was in 2003, when they competed against them twice: once in Brazil for the Pan-American Championships, and then again in the Dominican Republic during the Olympic qualifiers (Pan-American Games). Although the US placed fourth in both competitions, there is hope that this year, the WNT will come home with a medal.

The last year has been a challenging one for the WNT, but it has also been filled with great strides. The residential training program has gotten off to a strong start and the program continues to grow and develop under the support of both the USA Team Handball Federation and SUNY Cortland. “In the past few months we’ve added some great athletes to our program,” says Latulippe, “However, we need more young women who are ready to step up, so we can develop the internal competition necessary to drive the progress of the players toward our Olympic goal. We are always looking for new players who are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to be part of an Olympic dream.” If there are any athletes who would like to know more about joining the WNT program, please feel free to contact Christian Latulippe directly.

The US Women’s National Handball Team would also like to invite members of the community to attend open practice sessions on Friday, May 20th at 7pm and Saturday, May 21st at 5pm in the Lusk Field House on SUNY Cortland campus. Everyone is encouraged to come out and support the ladies as they complete their final practices before heading off to Brazil. For further information about team handball or the Women’s National Team, please visit their webpage at www.usateamhandball.org. To follow the schedule and results of the WNT at the Pan-American Championships, please see: http://www.brasilhandebol.com.br/compet/2005/pan_ad_fem