Sophomore swingman Kristen Mann and junior center Lindsay Taylor of the UCSB women’s basketball team have been invited to try out at the 2003 USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials, held May 22-25 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

There were only 60-64 athletes invited to participate in the event to find the best amateur talent that the United States has to offer. Two separate squads of 12 active players and three alternate players will be selected, making room for nearly half of the invitees to actually make one of the squads.

One team will compete in the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from Aug. 2-9. Debbie Ryan, head coach at the University of Virginia, will lead this group into the international arena. The other group, coached by Ohio State University Head Coach Jim Foster, will guide his players at the FIBA World Championship for Young Women, held July 25-Aug. 3 in Sibenik, Croatia. The latter team is limited to athletes born on Jan. 1, 1982 or later.

“This is a great opportunity for Lindsay and Kristen to compete against some of the best players in the country, and then – potentially – the world,” UCSB Head Coach Mark French said. “It’s reflective of the talent level we have in our program if USA Basketball is interested in grooming two Gauchos for international competition.”

– Nexus Staff Report