Dec. 18, 2006
LAS VEGAS - UNLV freshman women's golfer Melissa Mabanta was one of 16 individuals named to the 2007 Royal Canadian Golf Association's National Junior Golf Team, the RCGA announced on Monday. This will be her second year on the squad.
The National Junior Team is designed to aid Canada's up and coming golfers in all areas of their game. As part of the program the National Junior Team will also have several training opportunities to interface with National Amateur Team and gain valuable international playing experience.
Headlining the crop of 16 talented juniors is the 2006 Juvenile Boys Champion Mathieu Rivard of Granby, Que., and Sue Kim of Langley, B.C. who was a top competitor at the 2006 World Junior Championships in San Diego.
Rivard, 17, earned top billing on the 2006 CN Future Links Order of Merit as well as collecting the 2006 Juvenile Boy's crown and a sixth place finish at the Canadian Junior Boy's Championship. At the provincial level, Rivard notched an eight-stroke victory at the Quebec Junior Boy's Championship and also won the season-opening Quebec Junior Tour event in Bromont, Que. The 2007 season will mark Rivard's second year as a part of the National Junior Boy's squad.
Kim had a spectacular 2006 season winning the CN Future Links Western Championship and finishing as a runner-up at both the CN Future Links Pacific Championship and British Columbia Junior Girls Championship. On the national stage the 15-year old finished 13th against Canada's best amateurs in the Royal National Women's Amateur Championship. In June, Kim was one of Canada's top competitors at the World Junior Golf Championship finishing 13th while last May against a field of mainly professional golfers she finished sixth at the CN Canadian Women's Tour event in Victoria, B.C.
Joining Kim on the Junior Girl's team as returnees are Brittany Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Mabanta of Langley, B.C. New faces include Laura Hildebrandt of Ancaster, Ont. Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont., Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Richmond Hill, Ont., Ashley Smith of Calgary, and Nicole Vandermade of Brantford, Ont.
Returning to the Junior Boy's team along with Rivard are CN Future Links Ontario champion Matthew Hill of Brights Grove, Ont. and CN Future Links Pacific Champion Eugene Wong of North Vancouver, B.C. as well as Jean-Philippe Paiement of Quebec City, Que. Nicolas Archambault of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., Kevin Spooner of West Vancouver, B.C., Jean-Hubert Trahan of Lachenaie, Que. and Dustin Zhang of Calgary round out the newcomers joining the program.
"This is an exciting crop of young golfers who are the future of golf in Canada," said Doug Roxburgh, RCGA Director of High Performance. "Our vision is to help these athletes prepare for future opportunities by giving them the necessary coaching, training and sport science support to help them concentrate on developing their games to yield top results."
The 2007 season will mark the second year of the National Junior Team program which is designed to offer athletes a year-round environment that incorporates state of the art coaching and sport science expertise. The intent of this aggressive program is to aid Canada's top junior players in all areas of their development to produce the best golfers in the world.
The 2007 coaching and support team remains intact with Henry Brunton returning as the boy's team coach and Dean Spriddle returning as the girl's team coach. Derek Ingram will continue as the assistant boy's coach while Robert Ratcliffe of Parksville, B.C. has been hired as the assistant girl's coach. Ingram and Ratcliffe will also serve as assistant coaches to the National Amateur Team program.
World renowned sports psychologist, Dr. Dana Sinclair who has worked with several Olympic and professional sports teams will return to aid the team as a sport science consultant in the area of mental management while Dr. Greg Wells, an Exercise Physiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children and the Canadian Sport Centre in Toronto, will manage the performance enhancement team and each athlete's strength and conditioning program. Both are also involved with the National Amateur Team program.
The following are the athletes selected for the 2007 National Junior Golf Team:
JUNIOR BOYS
Nicolas Archambault, St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que.Matt Hill, Bright's Grove, Ont.Jean-Philippe Paiement, Québec City, Que.Mathieu Rivard, Granby, Que.Kevin Spooner, West Vancouver, B.C.Jean-Hubert Trahan, Lachenaie, Que.Eugene Wong, North Vancouver, B.C.Dustin Zhang, Calgary, Alta.
JUNIOR GIRLS
Brittany Henderson, Smiths Falls, Ont.Laura Hildebrandt, Ancaster, Ont.Sue Kim, Langley, B.C.Jennifer Kirby, Paris, Ont.Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Richmond Hill, Ont.Melissa Mabanta, Langley, B.C.Ashley Smith, Calgary, Alta.Nicole Vandermade, Brantford, Ont.
ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing close to 400,000 members at over 1550 clubs across the country. Some of the RCGA's core services include the Rules of Golf, handicapping and course rating, support of turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum and CN Future Links, Canada's national junior golf program. In addition, the RCGA conducts Canada's most prestigious golf championships. The Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women's Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while six regional junior championships, 10 national amateur championships and the CN Canadian Women's Tour showcase the best of Canadian golf. For more information please visit www.rcga.org.
