Kaitlyn Krizmanich and Caleigh Whitaker

Steve Marshall and Sam Schachter

Ontario’s Kaitlyn Krizmanich and Caleigh Whitaker represented Canada at the recent U21 Jr Worlds in Blackpool, England where they made it through to the Quarterfinals. Krizmanich and Whitaker, lost to No. 8 Jazmin Machado and Summer Ross of the U.S., 21-13, 21-16. The Ontario pair went 2-1 in the round robin section of the tournament to finish second in the pool.

BC’s Steve Marshal and Ontario’s Sam Schachter also made it through to the Quarterfinals where they had a close battle with the Australians. Final scores were 20-22, 21-15, 12-15.  They did extremely well in the round robin series finishing first in their pool.

photos: fivb.org

Sam Schachter sets partner Steve Marshall

Temperatures are a little warmer today in Blackpool, England, site of the U21 FIVB Junior World Beach Championships as pool play finishes up for the 24 men’s and women’s main draw teams as they play their final two pool play matches after which the field will be reduced to 16 to begin the single elimination final phase of the event on Saturday.

Canada’s men’s team of Steve Marshall and Sam Schachter completed their pool play today with a convincing victory over Great Britain’s Cook-Smth 2-0 (21-11, 21-13). They finish top of their pool with a 3-0 record and will move on to the next round of play.

Our women, Kaitlyn Krizmanich and Caleigh Whitaker handled first-ranked Smith-Grimson from Great Britain easily this morning winning 2-0 (11-21, 14-21). But later succumbed in their final pool play match to Netherland’s van Gestel-Meppelink 0-2 (13-21, 13-21). Krizmanich-Whitaker who will finish second behind the Netherlands will also move on to the 16 team single elimination round tomorrow.

photo:fivb.org
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Beach at Blackpool

The SWATCH FIVB Junior World Championships will be staged September 15-20 as England will host the Beach Volleyball event for players under the age of 21 for the second-straight year in the seaside town of Blackpool.

A total of 74 teams (39 men, 35 women) representing 30 nations will be heading to England for the championship event and the start for both men and women will be qualifying tournaments on Wednesday, Sept. 16 to determine the final four positions in the 24-team main draw. The 24-team main draw for each gender will include two days of pool play Thursday and Friday and two days of single-elimination bracket play Saturday and Sunday. The medal matches for both genders will be played next Sunday, Sept. 20.

The Canadian teams of Kaitlyn Krizmanich and Caleigh Whitaker, and Steve Marshall and Sam Schachter will commence play on Thursday in the main draw as they were the winning teams in the beach selection tournament played earlier this summer. Our second teams of Jennifer Cross and Kristina Vlcek, and Daniel Dearing and Garret May will both be competing in the qualifying tournaments today vying for one of four positions available in the main draw. The teams will be accompanied by the recently appointed national beach coach, Lennard Krapp.

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photo: NationalGeographic.com

The tandem swept through nine matches over the three-day event, including two wins against May and Gorman, a pairing that dominated the age group all summer on the association tour.

“They beat us all year and (also) in the Ontario final, so it made it all worth it,” said the six-foot, one-inch Nusbaum, who is entering Grade 11 at Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School in Aurora.

In the gold medal match, Nusbaum and Nuguid rebounded from an opening set loss to score a tense a 15-21, 23-21, 15-12 victory.

The victory was one of five division titles claimed by teams with connections to the Aurora Storm Volleyball Club.

“I was on top of the world and couldn’t believe what just happened,” Nusbaum said, recalling the moment of victory. “We got beat up in the first set. I was thinking, ‘We can’t go through all this and lose again’.”

It was the second national title in three years for Nusbaum and Nuguid. They also won the U14 title in 2007, but went their separate ways last summer.

“We started practicing together again this year,” said Nusbaum, a five-year veteran of club play for the Storm. “It’s like there is a chemistry between us. We use emotion to win. We make a good combination.”

The duo hooked up three years ago when Nuguid, who lives in Pickering, approached Nusbaum at an association tour indoor tournament.

“I had never played (beach) before that intensely so I thought I would try it,” Nusbaum said. “We’re very emotional guys when we get fired up and yelling at each other. We know where on the court the other guy will be. That makes it a lot easier.”

It was a good weekend overall for Storm members and graduates.

Sharon’s Caleigh Whitaker (just back from the Canada Games in PEI) and her partner, Kaitlyn Krizmanich of Guelph, captured gold in the women’s under-21 division with a 21-18, 21-10 victory over Alex Mingay and Allie Grand, of Toronto, in the title game of their final tournament outing prior to competing at the world U19 championships this month in Blackpool, England.

Meanwhile, first-year teammates Julie Longman (Newmarket) and Jaime Fryer (Pickering) followed up on their Ontario provincial title as they surrendered just one set in winning nine straight matches to capture the U14 title.

Melissa Humana-Paradis and Victoria Altamaire won the women’s U18 crown.
On the boys side, Cole Grossinger (Richmond Hill) and Cole Jordan (London) combined to capture the boys U14 title in a three-set final.

John Cudmore, YorkRegion.com

The victory means that Schachter qualifies to represent Canada at the U21 FIVB World Championships in Blackpool England in September.

Schachter, who is heading into his second year at Laurier, has a very successful first season in the Purple and Gold. He was named men’s volleyball team rookie of the year and was awarded the WLU Rich Newbrough Rookie of the Year.

The left-side was also named OUA rookie of the year, and was given an all-star to both the OUA and CIS all-rookie teams.

Schachter, along with fellow Golden Hawk Cam Wheelan, are both currently training with the National Beach Volleyball program.

CordWeekly.com

19U-21U 2009 Qualifying Teams

21U WOMEN
Kaitlin Krizmanich-Caleigh Whitaker (ON)

19U MEN
Garrett May-William Sidgwick (ON)

19U WOMEN
Victoria Altomare-Melissa Humana-Paredes (ON)

Women's 2009 Beach Provincial Team

The August long weekend represented the final three days of training for the 2009 Beach Provincial Team. This year’s program included a five weekend long, Canada Games Team selection process that resulted in the teams of Dianne Burrows/Caleigh Whitaker and Adam Podstawka/Reid Hall winning the opportunity to represent Ontario in the beach volleyball competition at the Canada Games, August 16-21, in PEI.

The program also included three additional weekends of high-level training. Given the weather we’ve been exposed to this summer, Team Ontario is well-prepared to play in any inclement condition. As part of the training and preparation process the athletes attended several presentations specifically tailored for high performance, beach volleyball athletes including: a seminar and skin assessment by Dr. Sandy Skotnicki-Grant, Dermatologist; a nutrition presentation by Trionne Moore; a doping lecture by Dr. Doug Richards; and a media training session by the Canada Games Organization. Also, Lennard Krapp, Head Coach of Canada’s National Beach Team, invited the Provincial Team to participate in training sessions with National Team athletes. These additional, high-intensity training opportunities proved to be an invaluable experience for Provincial Team athletes and coaches alike.

“Training with the provincial team this summer has been one of the highlights of my summer. We got a chance to train and compete against all the top athletes from our province. The group this year had a ton of experience and was so much fun to be a part of. In fact, I can’t believe that all of our training is finally over and provincials and nationals are upon us! The provincial team has been a great way to further develop my skills as well as to grow individually as a beach volleyball player by getting to play with everyone else on the team. I had a truly great experience with the provincial team this summer and I wish the program the best of luck in the future!” Tori Cowley, Team Ontario Athlete

Ontario’s Beach Provincial Team program has existed for 3 years. A key objective of the Team Ontario – Beach program is to establish an athlete identification process and training environment that helps to develop and prepare Ontario athletes for international competition.  Ontario is fortunate to have a large and talented pool of athletes who are committed to the training requirements of a high performance, beach athlete.   As a result of this commitment you can expect to see many of Team Ontario’s Beach athletes competing on the World Stage this summer. The following is a list of International competitions that our athletes/coaches will be attending:

Kate Eckhardt – Mauzury Open – FIVB World Tour event- Stare Jablonki, Poland Aug 3-8
Melissa Humana-Paredes & Victoria Altomare – U19 World Championships – Alanya, Turkey Aug 19-23
Rebecca Crosier & Alexandra Hudson – U19 World Championships – Alanya, Turkey Aug 19-23
Angie Shen – Coach U19 World Championships
Karen Pak – Coach U19 World Championships
Kaitlyn Krizmanich & Caleigh Whitaker – U21 World Championships – Blackpool, England Sept 16-20
Laura Inward – Coach U21 World Championships

We wish all athletes success at this year Provincial and National Championships.

Complete list of Team Ontario 2009
Athletes:
Becky Billings
Tori Cowley
Landis Doyle
Kate Eckhardt
Melissa Humana Paredes
Victoria Altomare
Alexandra Hudson
Kaitlyn Krizmanich
Caleigh Whitaker
Dianne Burrows
Alanna Kirchner
Rebecca Crosier

Angie Shen – Assistant Coach
Karen Pak – Assistant Coach
Laura Inward – Head Coach

Kaitlyn Krizmanich comes to Guelph after concluding a stellar club and high school career with local volleyball clubs and Waterdown District High School. “I am excited to be coming to the University of Guelph. I am looking forward to the Arts and Science program and being a part of the Guelph Gryphons Women’s Volleyball team” commented Krizmanich.
The 5′10″ outside hitter has seven years of club volleyball experience with both the Waterdown Raiders Volleyball Club and K-W Predators Volleyball Club during which she helped the team to multiple podium finishes both provincially and at the Eastern National Championships. At Waterdown DHS, Kaitlyn has excelled as a multi-sport athlete and honor roll student. On the volleyball court, she has helped win five SOSSA championships, culminating mostly recently with a third place finish at the OFSAA championships this past March. As a member of the Team Ontario Provincial Beach team, Kaitlyn also has extensive beach volleyball experience including four consecutive years of top two provincial finishes and, most recently, a National Bronze medal at the Canadian 18U Championships in 2008.

“We are very excited to be adding Kaitlyn to our squad in the fall” commented head coach Paul Funk. “She is a spectacular athlete and has already experienced competition at a high level which will most definitely help our team progress. In addition to her volleyball abilities, Kaitlyn is a tremendous student who carves time out of her busy schedule to take part in community-building events as well. I am very glad that she has chosen to become part of our university community at Guelph.”

Chloe Deutscher will come to Guelph in the fall following a great volleyball career in both Saskatchewan and British Columbia. She has six years of club experience under her belt starting in Saskatoon as a seventh grader culminating with a city championship and provincial team selection in Grade nine. Moving to Kelowna in Grade 10, Chloe has played three years at Kelowna Senior Secondary School and the Kelowna Volleyball Club including numerous tournament all-star and MVP awards and a couple of Okanagan Valley championships. The 5′7″ setter will be enrolled in the Biological Sciences program with an eye towards medicine in her future.

“Chloe is a tremendous athlete and has a lot of passion for the sport,” said Coach Funk. “Her foot speed and jumping ability really help her to excel on the court and I look forward to seeing her progress as a setter. Academically, she is a strong student and I am very happy that Chloe has chosen the University of Guelph to pursue her future career goals.”

Michelle Pino
Media Relations Communications Officer
University of Guelph, Department of Athletics
Guelph Gryphons