Elena Joy Neill (née Tice, born 16 November 1997), also referred to as Lena Tice, is an Ireland women's field hockey international. She was a member of the Ireland team that played in the

2018 Women's Hockey World Cup The 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup was the 14th edition of the Women's Hockey World Cup, a field hockey tournament. It was held from 21 July to 5 August 2018 at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London, England. Defending champions ...

final. Tice is also an Ireland women's cricket international. She was a dual Ireland women's cricket and field hockey international by the age of 17. In 2011, she made her senior international cricket debut, aged just 13 years and 272 days. As a result, after

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

's Sajjida Shah, Tice became the second youngest player in the history of cricket, male or female, to make their international debut playing in an official

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

. She also represented Ireland at the

2014 ICC Women's World Twenty20 The 2014 Women's World Twenty20 was the fourth Women's World Twenty20 competition, taking place in Bangladesh from 23 March to 6 April 2014. The tournament was played in the cities of Sylhet and Dhaka – Cox's Bazar was originally intended to ...

. Tice has also won Irish Senior Cup and

Women's Irish Hockey League The Women's Irish Hockey League is a field hockey league organised by Hockey Ireland that features women's teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league was first played for during the 2008–09 season. It replaced the A ...

titles with UCD Ladies' Hockey Club.

Early years and education

Tice is the daughter of George Tice and Scarlett Philips. Her father is from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and is a qualified

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on non-human animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/u ...

who worked as an advisor for Elanco, a multinational food production company. Her mother, like Elena, is a former pupil of St Gerard's School, Bray and has played women's field hockey for the Wicklow Hockey Club senior ladies team in the Leinster League. Tice was born in

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. She moved with her family to

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

when she was four and then to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

when she was six. Because of George Tice's work, the Tice family regularly relocated. When Tice was eight her family eventually settled in Glenealy, County Wicklow, her mother's hometown. Tice has two older brothers -

Patrick Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

, an Ireland under-19 cricket international and Dalton, who has played

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

for

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

at under-19 level. In addition to

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and field hockey, in her youth Tice tried out a variety of sports including

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, rugby union and

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

. Tice attended Aravon School and St Gerard's School and is currently studying economics at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

Cricket

Early years

Tice began playing garden cricket with her father, George, and brothers,

and Dalton. When the family lived in

, Tice began playing for the Austria Cricket Club. When the family moved to

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

she began playing school cricket at Aravon School. Her school headmaster was a member of

Merrion Cricket Club Merrion Cricket Club is a cricket club in Dublin, Ireland, playing in Division 1 of the Leinster Senior League. The club was established as Merrion Wanderers and then Land Commission in 1879, moving to its present ground in 1906. Until 1919, me ...

and Tice also began playing club cricket there. She subsequently went onto represent

at under-15, under-17 and under-19 levels.

Ireland international

Between 2011 and 2015 Tice made 60 appearances for the

Ireland women's cricket team The Ireland women's cricket team represents Ireland in international women's cricket. Cricket in Ireland is governed by Cricket Ireland and organised on an All-Ireland basis, meaning the Irish women's team represents both Northern Ireland and t ...

. She made her WT20I debut on 15 August 2011 in an away game against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

aged just 13 years and 272 days. Two days later, on 17 August 2011, she made her WODI debut, again against the Netherlands, during a

Women's European Cricket Championship The Women's European Cricket Championship was a women's cricket tournament for teams representing European countries. The first edition was contested in 1989. History The first Women's European Championship was held in Denmark in July 1989. ...

match. As a result, after

's Sajjida Shah, Tice became the second youngest player in the history of cricket, male or female, to make their international debut playing in an official

. She also represented Ireland at the

. Along with Louise McCarthy, she holds the record for the highest tenth-wicket partnership in a

Women's Twenty20 International Women's Twenty20 international (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 international is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The very firs ...

, with an unbeaten 23 runs. She made her last WODI appearance for Ireland against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on 14 January 2014 and her last WT20I for Ireland against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

on 22 August 2015.

Field hockey

St Gerard's School

Tice played

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

for

St Gerard's School St Gerard's School is a lay Catholic co-educational independent day school in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. A fee-charging school, it is administered by a Board of Governors as a charitable trust. As of 2019, the student population was about 77 ...

. In the 2015 Leinster Schoolgirls' Senior Cup final she scored the winner against

Alexandra College Alexandra College () is an independent day and boarding school for girls in Milltown, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under a Church of Ireland ethos. History The school was founded in 1866 and takes its name from Princess Alexandra of ...

as St Gerard's won the cup for the first time. She also played in the 2016 final against the same opponents but finished on the losing team. Tice also represented Leinster at under-16 level.

Loreto

Tice played for Loreto during the 2014–15

season. Her teammates at Loreto included Hannah Matthews, Alison Meeke and Nicola Daly. Tice was a Loreto player when she made her debut for the

Ireland women's national field hockey team The Ireland women's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in international women's field hockey competitions, including the Women's Hockey World Cup and the W ...

UCD

Together with Deirdre Duke, Gillian Pinder and

Katie Mullan Kathryn "Katie" Mullan (born 7 April 1994) is an Ireland women's field hockey international player from Coleraine, Northern Ireland. She was captain of the Ireland team that played in the 2018 Women's Hockey World Cup final. Mullan has also won ...

, Tice was a member of the UCD team that won a treble during the 2016–17 season, winning the Irish Senior Cup, the

and the EY Champions Trophy. Tice played a crucial role in securing the league title for UCD when she scored two

penalty corner In field hockey, a penalty corner, sometimes known as a short corner, is a penalty given against the defending team. It is predominantly awarded for a defensive infringement in the ''Field hockey pitch#Penalty circle, penalty circle'' or for a de ...

s to inflict a first league defeat on Hermes-Monkstown. The result saw UCD overtake Hermes-Monkstown on the final day of the campaign. Tice also helped UCD retain both the Irish Senior Cup and Irish Hockey League titles during the 2017–18 season. Tice also played for UCD in the 2018 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup.

Ireland international

Tice represented

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

at Under-16 and Under-18 levels before making her senior debut on 3 November 2015 against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. At the time she was only 17 and was still a student at

. In January 2017 she was a member of the Ireland team that won a 2016–17 Women's FIH Hockey World League Round 2 tournament in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, defeating

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

3–0 in the final. Tice also represented Ireland at the

and was a prominent member of the team that won the silver medal. She featured in all of Ireland's games throughout the tournament, including the pool games against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and

, the quarter-final against India, the semi-final against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and the final against the

Honours

Field hockey

;

Women's Hockey World Cup The Women's FIH Hockey World Cup is the field hockey World Cup competition for women, whose format for qualification and the final tournament is similar to the men's. It has been held since 1974. The tournament has been organized by the Internat ...

**''Runners Up'':

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Women's FIH Hockey World League The Women's FIH Hockey World League was an international women's field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation. The league also served as a qualifier for the 2014 Women's Hockey World Cup, 2014 and 2018 Women's Hocke ...

**''Winners'': 2017 Kuala Lumpur Tournament * Women's FIH Hockey Series **''Runners Up'': 2019 Banbridge ; UCD *

**''Winners'': 2016–17, 2017–18 * Irish Senior Cup **''Winners'': 2016–17, 2017–18 * EY Champions Trophy **''Winners'': 2017 ;

* Leinster Schoolgirls' Senior Cup **''Winners'': 2015: 1 **''Runners Up'': 2016: 1

References

External links

* *
Lena Tice
at

Hockey Ireland Hockey Ireland, previously known as the Irish Hockey Association, is the governing body for field hockey in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is responsible for organising both the Ireland men's national field hockey team and t ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tice, Elena 1997 births Living people Irish women cricketers Ireland women One Day International cricketers Ireland women Twenty20 International cricketers Irish female field hockey players Ireland international women's field hockey players Female field hockey defenders UCD Ladies' Hockey Club players Sportspeople from County Wicklow Alumni of University College Dublin Irish people of English descent People educated at St Gerard's School, Bray Women's Irish Hockey League players Typhoons (women's cricket) cricketers Field hockey players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic field hockey players for Ireland