Devils aiming for third straight podium at IWBF U25 World Championships

The Australian Devils tip off their IWBF Under-25 World Championships campaign on May 23, aiming to equal or better their silver medal winning performances from the previous two tournaments.
Having named their team earlier this month, the Devils have departed for Suphanburi, Thailand where they will be one of eight teams vying for the Championship. The majority of the Australian team has experience in the WNWBL with the likes of Maryanne Latu, Jess Cronje, Georgia Bishop-Cash, Mary Friday, Isabel Martin and Taishar Ovens a part of the national league for several years. Developing athletes Lauren Hardbottle, Sarah King, Victoria Simpson and Teisha Shadwell, all aged 16 or under, will be joined by the most experienced player on the roster in Australian Glider Annabelle Lindsay who competed in last year's World Championships and has spent the past season with the University of Texas Arlington. “This is an exciting time," said Devils head coach Stephen Charlton. "We have a young team of exciting athletes that we believe have fantastic opportunities in front of them." The Gliders (silver medalists in 2011 and 2015), will take on the USA (2011 gold medalists), Germany and Turkey in the group stage between Thursday-Saturday but every team advances to the Quarter-Finals on Sunday. The Semi-Finals will then be held on Monday with the medal games on Tuesday. Head of Wheelchair Basketball Leigh Gooding. “This is a young developing group, and a fantastic squad of young women that will do us proud," said Head of wheelchair basketball, Leigh Gooding. "They will need to come together very quickly in the early rounds, in what is sure to be a testing environment to make a run at a medal, but we are confident with the personnel we have selected.” Live stats for the tournament can be found via the official website here while live streams will be available via the IWBF YouTube channel. The Australian Devils team for the 2019 IWBF U25 World Championships:
NAME CLASSIFICATION STATE
Georgia Bishop-Cash 4.0 Queensland
Jess Cronje 4.0 New South Wales
Mary Friday 1.0 Western Australia
Lauren Hardbottle 4.0 Western Australia
Sarah King 3.0 Queensland
Maryanne Latu 2.5 New South Wales
Annabelle Lindsay 4.5 ACT
Isabel Martin 1.0 Victoria
Taishar Ovens 1.0 Western Australia
Victoria Simpson 1.0 New South Wales
Teisha Shadwell 4.5 Victoria
STAFF ROLE STATE
Stephen Charlton Head Coach Western Australia
Sarah Graham Assistant Coach New South Wales
Dave Hegarty Assistant/Technical Queensland
Bonnie Kerr Physiotherapist Victoria
Jane Kyle Team Manager Queensland
Steph Snell Physiologist ACT
The Australian Devils schedule for the 2019 IWBF U25 World Championships (all times AEST): May 23: Devils vs. Germany at 7pm May 24: Devils vs. Turkey at 6pm May 25: Devils vs. USA at 8.15pm May 26: Quarter-Finals May 27: Semi-Finals May 28: Medal games

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