Eight members of the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club were named to the travelling roster of the B.C. senior women's provincial rugby team.
Head coach Pat Fleck announced the 24-player roster for the National Women's League Finals at Laval University in Quebec City scheduled for June 28 through July 1.
The B.C. roster includes four graduates off last year's provincial under-20 program as well as three additions from the u-23 provincial side that went undefeated en route to a Tier 2 national title last year.
Devon Luca of Burnaby Lake, Sagal Kahin (Meraloma Rugby Club) and United Rugby Club products Jozie Kola and Paniz Pahlavanlu will make the step up from u-20.
Former u-23 captain Jesse Olynyk of Velox will make the jump to the senior team this year, as will Sarah Byers and Christina Burnham fron Simon Fraser University Rugby.
"Olynyk, Burnham and Byers all played well at the U23 level last year and have continued to impress at the senior camps. Olynyk has already played with the senior provincial team so she's no stranger to this level of competition," said Fleck in a prepared release.
The squad will be balanced with veteran leadership from 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup participants Kim Donaldson, Corinne Jacobsen and Julia Sugawara from Burnaby Lake, Marlene Donaldson from Velox and Brittany Waters from Meraloma.
"A number of our forwards form a strong leadership group with experienced players like Marlene (Donaldson) in the front row, and we have some proven backs like Julia Sugawara and Brittany Waters who consistently play well when they represent B.C.," Fleck added. "We will be looking to those players to lead some of our younger players on the field."
Burnaby Lake backs Emily Young and Jocelyn Barrieau and forwards Alicia Noger and Carlolyn McEwen were also named to the team.
Of the 24 selects named to the traveling roster, 13 participated in the Women's Adidas Premiership final this past May which saw the Velox Valkyries edge Burnaby Lake 20-14.
The B.C. senior women will be looking to improve on their third-place finish at the 2011 NWL finals where they fell 17-16 in the semifinals to eventual champs Alberta, and defeated Quebec 41-20 in the consolation final.
B.C. has won previous national championships in 2007, '08 and 2010.
With preparations now underway for the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup to be hosted in France, Canadian players will be looking to prove themselves at this year's national competition, a key scouting ground for Rugby Canada national team selectors. The NWL Finals are the premier domestic competition for women's rugby in Canada, run annually and seen as a vital step on the pathway for aspiring national team players.
Third-seeded British Columbia will open their campaign against second-seeded Ontario on Thursday, June 28. The winner will go on to play the loser of top-seeded Alberta against fourth-seeded Quebec on Friday morning.
Unlike in recent years where an opening day loss would result in missing out on the championship final, this year's tier one structure as been altered to give teams another opportunity to rebound from a loss and still play for gold. The winners of Friday's matches will advance to the championship final on Sunday to contest for a national title.
Tournament website: www.nwlrugby.com
BC Senior Women - 2012
Name - position (club)
Jocelyn Barrieau - Wing/Scrum Half (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Christina Burnham - Scrum Half (Simon Fraser University)
Sarah Byers - Lock (Simon Fraser University)
Amanda Campbell - Fly Half (Velox Valkyries)
Kim Donaldson - Hooker/Prop (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Marlene Donaldson - Prop (Velox Valyries)
Jessica Dovanne - Wing/Centre (Velox Valkyries)
Sarah Gordon - Fly Half (Bayside Athletic Association)
Corinne Jacobsen - Prop (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Shannon Kane - Back Row (Velox Valkyries)
Sagal-Marie Kahin - Lock (Meraloma Rugby Club)
Jozefina Kola - Centre (United Rugby Club)
Hilary Leith - Prop (Capilano RFC)
Devon Luca - Scrum Half (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Carlolyn McEwen -Prop (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Alicia Noger - Lock/Back Row (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Jesse Olynyk - Back Row (Velox Valkyries)
Paniz Pahlavanlu - Back Row/Back (United Rugby Club)
Samantha Robb - Back Row (Velox Valkyries)
Stevi Schnoor - Centre (United Rugby Club)
Julia Sugawara - Fly Half (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Natalie Tam - Wing/Scrum Half (Velox Valkyries)
Brittany Waters - Full Back/Centre (Meraloma Rugby Club)
Emily Young - Wing (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
