Australia seeded second at world teams

18 Nov 2010 - Squash Australia

Australia have been seeded second behind England for the Women’s World Teams Squash Championship in the New Zealand city of Palmerston North from November 29-December 4.
The Australians, featuring comeback queen Sarah Fitz-Gerald (pictured), former world number one Rachael Grinham and New South Wales pair Kasey Brown and Donna Urquhart, are seeded to meet defending champions Egypt in the semi-finals.
The biennial event, featuring 16 nations, will be staged for the 17th time since 1979.
Australia, champions on eight occasions, last won the title in 2004 but this year are one of the firm favourites for the crown.
Fitz-Gerald, who has won five individual world titles and five team titles, retired from the WISPA World Tour in 2003, but has remained incredibly fit and still plays in the A Grade men's competition in Melbourne.
The 41-year-old led her country to success in the 2002 championships alongside Grinham, while Grinham was the team number one in their 2004 title victory.
The Amsterdam-based Grinham, currently ranked five in the world, last played for Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, but had made herself unavailable since then due to a falling out with officials.
Brown has played in the last two championships, but has improved immensely in the past 12 months and is now ranked seventh in the world.
World number 17 Urquhart was in the 2008 Australian team, which finished sixth.
Australia have been drawn in Pool B along with Ireland, India and Japan.
Malaysia have been seeded fourth, with hosts New Zealand named as fifth seeds.
 

Pools (prefix denotes seeding)

Pool A: 1-England, 8-Netherlands, 9-USA, 16-Austria
Pool B: 2-Australia, 7-Ireland, 10-India, 15-Japan
Pool C: 3-Egypt, 6-France, 11-South Africa, 14-Mexico
Pool D: 4-Malaysia, 5-New Zealand, 12-Canada, 13-Hong Kong