SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 31 - The Puerto Rican women’s national team will begin its 2006 Working Plan on Monday, April 17, in preparation for the different international tournaments of the year which conclude with the World Championships in Japan.
Sheila and Karina Ocasio, Eva and Aury Cruz, Vanessa Velez, Tatiana Encarnacion, Alexandra Oquendo and Dolly Melendez will be the first reporting to the training camp at the Volleyball Center of Cupey where they will be working out under the supervision of Jorge Perez Vento, who is the advisor of the Puerto Rican national teams, and head coach Juan Carlos Nunez.
Puerto Rico will play in Pool C against USA, Brazil, Netherlands, Cameroon and Kazakhstan in the city of Kobe. The goal of Puerto Rico is to advance to the second round and then to equal or surpass the 10th-place finish at the 2002 World Championships in Germany.
"As teams are being eliminated from the national tournament, more players will be joining the squad. We are expecting Shannon Torregrosa on April 18," said Carlos Beltran, president of the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation. "On May 1, we hope to have all the players in full training."
Prior to the World Championships, the Puerto Rican team has an agenda that includes the participation as host team at the Fifth Pan American Cup (America's Qualification Tournament to 2007 World Grand Prix) on June 29-July 7, also the Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia in July, and the TV Azteca Cup in Mexico in September.
