Sophie stars in Vagliano Trophy triumph
24 July
2005
England’s Sophie Walker played the starring
role as Great Britain & Ireland successfully defended
the Vagliano Trophy, beating the Continent of Europe
13-11 at Chantilly, France.
The 20-year-old international from Kenwick Park,
Lincolnshire, was the team’s leading scorer,
with a maximum four points out of four in the two-day
match, rounding off with a 3/2 victory over Spain’s
Adriana Zwanck.
Close behind her in the scoring table were England’s
Felicity Johnson (Harborne) and Kerry Smith (Waterlooville)
who each notched up three points.
Sophie was making her debut for GB & I and she
said: “It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
It couldn’t have gone any better, either for
me personally or for the team.”
Every member of the GB&I team contributed to
the scoreline and Sophie added: “There was massive
determination to win – and we deserved to win,
we were the better team.
“You can never expect to win, but I think we
all fancied our chances, especially the English because
we had beaten them all at the Europeans.” Sophie
was referring to the European Ladies’ Team Championship
earlier this month when England led the qualifiers
into the championship matchplay flight and eventually
won the silver medal.
The Vagliano Trophy was tightly contested throughout
the match. After the first day’s play the two
teams were tied on six points apiece, and after the
foursomes on the second day the scoreline read 8-8.
Then GB&I powered ahead in the singles, winning
four of the first five matches, courtesy of Sophie
Walker, Ireland’s Tricia Mangan, Kerry Smith
and English champion Felicity Johnson whose point
ensured that GB&I retained the trophy. Ireland’s
Martina Gillen secured the victory with her 2/1 win
over Spain’s Emma Cabrera.
“It’s the first team event I‘ve
won in a very long time and it was nice to share it
with people,” said Sophie. The team celebrated
in style, filling and re-filling the cup with Champagne.
England players prepare for Vagliano Trophy
19 July
2005
Three of the players who helped England win silver
in the European Ladies’ Team Championship will
return to international action next week in the Vagliano
Trophy matches.
English champion Felicity Johnson (Harborne), Kerry
Smith (Waterlooville) and Sophie Walker (Kenwick Park)
are part of the Great Britain and Ireland team which
will take on the Continent of Europe at Chantilly
Friday and Saturday, July 22 and 23.
“I can’t wait,” said Sophie Walker
as she looked ahead to the matches. “We’ll
definitely be taking lots of confidence from the Europeans
into next week’s matches and I think we can
win.”
Great Britain & Ireland are the holders of the
Vagliano Trophy, winning the biannual event by one
point at Co Louth in 2003.
The team, captained by Ada O’Sullivan, is:
Claire Coughlan (Cork), Martina Gillen (Beaverstown),
Felicity Johnson (Harborne), Anne Laing (Vale of Leven),
Heather MacRae (Dunblane New), Tricia Mangan (Ennis),
Kerry Smith (Waterlooville), Clare Queen (Drumpellier),
Sophie Walker (Kenwick Park)
The reserves are:1 Jenna Wilson (Strathaven), 2 Tara
Delaney (Carlow), 3 Naomi Edwards (Ganton), 4 Melissa
Reid (Chevin).
Three England players in Vagliano Trophy team
14 June
2005
Three England players are in the Great Britain &
Ireland team which will take on the Continent of Europe
in the Vagliano Trophy match in July.
They are English champion Felicity Johnson (Harborne)
and England internationals Kerry Smith (Waterlooville)
and Sophie Walker (Kenwick Park).
Two more English players are among the four reserves:
Naomi Edwards (Ganton) and Melissa Reid (Chevin).
All five players are members of ELGA’s Sport
England, lottery-funded World Class training programme.
Great Britain & Ireland are the holders of the
Vagliano Trophy, winning the biannual event by one
point at Co Louth in 2003. This year, the match will
be played at Chantilly Golf Club, France, on July
22 and 23.
The GB & I team, captained by Ada O’Sullivan,
is: Claire Coughlan (Cork), Martina Gillen (Beaverstown),
Felicity Johnson (Harborne), Anne Laing (Vale of Leven),
Heather MacRae (Dunblane New), Tricia Mangan (Ennis),
Kerry Smith (Waterlooville), Clare Queen (Drumpellier),
Sophie Walker (Kenwick Park)
The reserves are:1 Jenna Wilson (Strathaven), 2 Tara
Delaney (Carlow), 3 Naomi Edwards (Ganton), 4 Melissa
Reid (Chevin).
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