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The
Dominican
Republic,
runner-up
in
the
2003
Pan
American
Cup,
go
to
this
year
edition
as
one
of
the
three
NORCECA’s
Women
teams
qualified
for
the
Summer
Olympic
Games.
USA
and
Cuba
are
the
others.
The
Dominicans
grabbed
their
Olympic
ticket
after
finishing
with
a
3-0
perfect
record
without
losing
a
set
during
the
South
American
Continental
Championship
last
January
in
Caracas,
Venezuela.
In
the
Venezuelan
capital,
the
squad
of
Jorge
Garbey
rolled
over
Argentina,
Venezuela
and
Peru,
three
of
the
ten
teams
that
will
be
participating
in
the
event
to
be
played
in
Mexicali
and
Tijuana,
Mexico
on
June
18-26.
The
champions
of
the
2003
Pan
American
Games
returned
to
their
country
after
a
combined
training
period
with
the
French
team
in
Montpelier,
France,
and
are
confident
of
finishing
as
one
of
the
top
four
squads
in
the
Mexican
event.
The
Dominicans
began
their
Olympic
Preparation
playing
in
the
Yeltsin
Cup
in
Russia
back
in
April
where
they
finished
in
fourth
place.
They
lost
to
Cuba
in
four
sets
in
semifinals
and
were
defeated
by
Azerbaijan
in
five
sets
in
the
match
for
the
bronze
medal.
During
the
World
Cup
in
Japan
last
November,
Dominican
Republic
finished
in
10th
place
with
victories
over
Argentina,
Egypt
and
Poland,
the
European
champions.
In
the
2003
Pan
American
Cup
in
Saltillo,
Mexico,
the
Dominicans
lost
to
USA
in
the
match
for
the
gold
medal
(25-23,
25-18,
25-17)
after
scoring
a
stunning
victory
over
Cuba
in
semifinals
coming
from
two
sets
down
to
prevail
24-26,
23-25,
25-21,
25-16,
25-17.
It
was
the
first
triumph
for
the
Dominicans
over
Cuba
in
31
years.
Milagros
Cabral
was
elected
the
MVP
of
the
event
and
also
the
best
attacker
and
Evelyn
Carrera
was
the
choice
as
best
libero.
The
Dominican
squad
will
consist
of
Annerys
Vargas,
Rosalin
Angeles,
Yudelkis
Bautista,
Cindy
Rondon,
Evelyn
Carrera,
Alexandra
Caso,
Sofia
Heredia,
Juana
Savinon,
Bethania
de
la
Cruz,
Milagros
Cabral,
Juana
Gonzalez,
Francia
Jackson,
Laritza
Reyes,
Prisilla
Rivera,
Cosiris
Rodriguez,
Kenia
Moreta,
Dahiana
Burgos
and
Johanna
Luna. |
