Rachel Charles named to the National A2 Team Programme – Volleyball news
The Farmington Hills, Michigan native Rachel Charles, who is the sophomore libero of Mountain Hawks at the Lehigh University, has been selected for the 2012 U.S. Women’s National A2 Team Programme by USA Volleyball (USAV).
The volleyball sport governing authority, the USAV, has picked out a total of 48 finest players from 34 different collegiate programmes for this summer. Charles has been lucky to find her name on the roster of A2 Team Programme.
“It’s such an honour to be selected to the US National Team. I’m proud to not only represent Lehigh, but the entire Patriot League. It’s something I’ve been working towards for years and I’m very excited to be given this opportunity to show how hard work
pays off. Being chosen for the A2 Program is a tremendous opportunity for me to be playing with the top 48 players in the country,” said Charles.
Lehigh head coach Bob Bertucci congratulated Charles for making it to the roster of National A2 Team Programme. The coach praised her great efforts and contribution to the Lehigh team. He acknowledged that she deserved to be on the A2 Team due to the quality
and class of her game.
The players on the A2 Programme were nominated through the U.S. National Team Open Tryouts, which held in February at the U.S. Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A total of 207 athletes attended the open tryouts and tried to showcased
best of their skills. Nonetheless, only 48 players were shortlisted. The rest of the players with collegiate eligibility will be eligible for the U.S. Women’s A2 program next year.
The 48 selected athletes will start training at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus in June. Initially, the grid of 48 players will be divided into four teams where each team will accommodate 12 players. The teams will undergo individual training and then
their skills will put to test in the A2 Tournament.
The A2 competition will be opened with preliminary robin round, while the semi-finals and final match will be played later on. Finally, the top team from the A2 Programme will get the chance to represent the country in international competitions.
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