Wheelchair Basketball Players from UA Chosen for Osaka Cup Competition

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The United States and Canadian National Wheelchair Basketball Teams have announced their selections for the 2007 Osaka Cup competition and six student athletes from The University of Alabama have been chosen to represent their respective countries at the international wheelchair basketball tournament.

Selected UA players include: Mary Allison Milford, Stephanie Wheeler, Alana Nichols, Anna Kleen and Desiree Miller, who will play for the U.S. National Team, and Karla Tritten who will play for the Canadian Team.

The Osaka Cup will be held in Osaka, Japan, Feb. 12-18. The International Wheelchair Basketball Tournament will include the national teams from Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States. Some of the best players in the world will be competing in the tournament that serves as an international warm-up for the Paralympics qualifying tournaments to be held this summer. The U.S. and Canadian teams will travel to Rio, Brazil, in an attempt to qualify for the 2008 Paralympics Games in Beijing, China.

Milford is a junior and an honors student majoring in public relations. Wheeler, Nichols and Tritten are graduate students in the department of kinesiology. Miller and Kleen are sophomores majoring in sports and exercise science. All six students play for the UA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team.

The 5th-ranked Crimson Tide women are in the middle of their fourth season and currently have a record of 18-7. The team plays against women’s teams from across the country in order to qualify for the Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball tournament in Warm Springs, Ga., March 1-4.

For more information about the UA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team, contact Brent Hardin at 205/348-5109 or Margaret Stran at 205/348-7991. The team’s schedule and roster are listed on their Web site at www.uads.ua.edu.