Scotland coach Gordon Shepherd has selected a squad of 18 players for the Champions Challenge at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre, April 27 – May 4.
The Scots are drawn in pool A against Belgium, India and Korea, while pool B comprises Ireland, South Africa, Spain and USA.
The winner of the tournament will be promoted to the FIH Champions Trophy.
Shepherd said: “We have a good blend of youth and experience in the squad. It was very difficult to pick the team for Champions Challenge as all the players have been extremely competitive during the early stages of full-time training. I’m happy with the strength of the squad.
“It’s going to be a tough tournament as a lot of the competing teams are using it to prepare for the forthcoming World Cup in the Netherlands. However, we have had excellent preparation going into the tournament and are capable of a strong performance.
“We know that every team is ranked higher than us but we have always performed well in the Champions Challenge over the years, coming third and fourth recently. We always set out to compete against the higher ranked nations and we are aiming for a top four finish.”
The Scots will go into the tournament on the back of three warm-up matches against Wales at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre this weekend.
“Wales will be a fair test in the warm up matches”, said Shepherd. “They are constantly improving and will be competing at Glasgow 2014. Certainly difficult set of matches but I am looking for the team to gel and for solid performances”.
Scotland Senior Women: Nicola Cochrane (Edinburgh University), Vikki Bunce (Dundee Wanderers), Morag McLellan (Clydesdale Western), Alison Bell (Grove Menzieshill), Rebecca Ward (Dundee Wanderers), Catriona Ralph (Clydesdale Western), Sarah Robertson (Edinburgh University), Linda Clement (captain, Grove Menzieshill), Ailsa Wyllie (Grove Menzieshill), Leigh Fawcett (Grove Menzieshill), Rebecca Merchant (Edinburgh University), Nikki Kidd (Canterbury), Susan McGilveray (Clydesdale Western), Nicola Lloyd (Canterbury), Nicola Skrastin (Clydesdale Western), Emily Maguire (Reading), Aileen Davis (Clifton), Amy Gibson (Old Loughtonians).
Games vs Wales at National Hockey Centre
April 19 2pm Scotland v Wales
April 20 2pm Scotland v Wales
April 21 12pm Scotland Development v Wales