Team Ontario Double Medalists at Jr. East Regional Championship
Team Ontario finishes
strong to earn gold and bronze in Halifax.
The Ontario Wheelchair Sports Association sent two squads of five athletes to compete at the 2017 Junior East Regional Championship over the weekend from May 13-14. The 3-on-3 tournament was held at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and showcased some of the top junior talent in Eastern Canada as provinces prepare to compete at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta.
After a full day of preliminary matches that saw eight teams competing in two pools, both Ontario squads went on to contend for medals in Tier 2 on the final day of competition. ‘Ontario Red’, coached by Aidyn Low, faced off against ‘Nova Scotia 3’ in the first match of the Finals and came out victorious with a dominant score of 7 – 2 and a bronze medal. ‘Ontario White’, coached by Kathy Ludwig, saw a gold medal finish against ‘Nova Scotia 2’. The final score was 9 – 6.
| Ontario Red | Ontario White |
| Coach: Aidyn Low Manager: Josh Davies |
Coach: Kathy Ludwig Manager: Josh Davies |
| Vanessa Giancaterini (1.0*) | Sara Black (1.0*) |
| Anthony Protomanni (2.0) | Adel Akhmed (1.0) |
| Joanne Lee (2.5*) | Zoë Hahn (3.0*) |
| Maninder Hothi (2.5) | Natalie Robinson (3.0*) |
| Nick Hill (4.5) | Michael Kilonzo (3.5) |
Three Team Ontario athletes – Vanessa Giancaterini, Zoë Hahn, and Maninder Hothi – were also recognized as Tier 2 tournament All-Stars for their performance throughout the weekend.
Tier 1 saw a podium sweep by the Québec squads with ‘Québec 2’ taking gold over ‘Québec 1’ and ‘Québec 3’ claiming bronze over ‘Nova Scotia 1’. Québec athletes also claimed each of the Tier 1 tournament All-Star awards as well as the Tournament MVP award.
Final Standings
Tier 1:
- Québec 2
- Québec 1
- Québec 3
- Nova Scotia 1
All Stars Tier 1: Woody Belfort (Québec 3), Sylvie Roy (Québec 2), Collin Lalonde (Québec 1), Sandrine Bérubé (Québec 2)
Tier 2:
- Ontario White
- Nova Scotia 2
- Ontario Red
- Nova Scotia 3
All Stars Tier 2: Maninder Hothi (Ontario Red), Vanessa Giancaterini (Ontario Red), Justin Stephens (Nova Scotia 2), Zoë Hahn (Ontario White)
Tournament MVP: Ben Palmer (Québec 2)