RANT N' ROAR - DAY THREE
TEAM NL TENNIS IS A FAMILY AFFAIR
Four of the eight athletes who make up Team NL Tennis team are not only linked by the love of the sport, but also family connections. They are all first cousins, with their mothers being sisters. Teammates Aiden and Liam Drover Mattinen are brothers, and Julia and Peter Drover-Crane are sister and brother.
They all started playing tennis at 3 at Greenbelt tennis club. Aiden and Liam took the elite route. At 12 they were invited into Tennis Canada programs and played tournaments in Austria, France, and the United States. The kids are currently 19, 17, 15 and 13!
Most recently Aiden is playing tennis at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. You can find the list of his accomplishments are in this article! To view, go here https://rpiathletics.com/news/2022/6/15/mens-tennis-drover-mattinen-named-ita-rookie-of-the-year.aspx
Liam is a Canadian National U16 Champion, U18 Double champion and has represented Canada at the Junior Davis Cup in Turkey in 2021. He has been a finalist and winner of several ITF tournaments this year. Liam is also a top three finalist for Sport Newfoundland and Labrador’s Junior Male Athlete of the Year for 2022, which was announced on July 29, 2022.
Julia has played tennis at the provincial and Atlantic level. As well as tennis she is very involved in the arts community in NL as a member of Shallowly Youth choir, a member of Holy Heart of Mary’s Performing Arts program and Mainstage acting company, and well as a performer in many local musical theatre performances.
Peter plays tennis at the provincial and Atlantic level. He is also an avid soccer player who plays PYL for CBS strikers and was a member of the u13 NLSA team who won gold at this year’s Atlantic championships.
These familial connections are made all the stronger because they have grown up within the tennis sports community. It’s just so amazing!
Chef's Corner
It was another big day for Team NL at the Canada Summer Games on the baseball field and in the pool, with Baseball athlete Jaida Lee and Swimmers Thomas Pelley and Chris Weeks adding two more medals for their team. To say that I am proud of all of our young athletes, coaches, managers is an understatement.
Since being named as Chef de Mission I have witnessed their determination and effort to train and prepare for the Games and It is great to see that hard work pay off and be recognized by everyone.
Tomorrow I look forward to another full day of events and competition, including visiting Wrestling to see both the male and female athletes hit the mats, and attend the 13 For 13 Cultural Festival’s Drum Art Presentation at Niagara Place.
BASKETBALL (Male) SEIZES TEAM WIN
Team NL Men’s Basketball had a solid team win this morning against a young competitive Team Yukon, with a score of 94-62. All 12 team members stepped up to work as a collective unit.
Cam Stanford led the way with a double double, scoring 28 points, 13 rebounds. Teammates Mark Tobin and Mile Hann also helped out in a big way. Mark with 14 points and 5 rebounds and Mike Hann with 12pts.
It will be a do or die game versus Team Manitoba Wednesday 5:30 pm at Meridian Center.
Photo Credit: Larry Mathewson, Canada Games volunteer photographer.
Basketball (Female) dominates court
Today at the Meridian Centre, our Women's Basketball Team dominated the court against Team Yukon, with a score 114-16. They played a very strong offensive game with five players scoring in double figures.
Abby Carpenter and Serena Phillips had 23 points each, Chloe Emberley scored 17, and Ava Keating and Sarah Reid had 10 apiece. The team will play again tomorrow but the time and opponent have not yet been decided.
We are very proud of your performance!
Photo Credit: Jeremey Kiers, Canada Games volunteer photographer.
WrESTLING (Female) team remains positive with loss
The Team NL Female Wrestlers had a valiant effort during their match today on the mat number four at the Walker Sports Centre in Niagara. They remain positive, sporting smiles on their faces, despite a loss to Team British Columbia.
Their coaches did a great job of keeping the team upbeat. Good job coaches!
Wresting (Male) gets match win
Team NL Male Wrestling won their first match this afternoon at Canada Games Park. Caden Stock won his match against Yukon Territory with a convincing score of 12-2 and a pin.
Congratulations Caden!
Tennis Team has great day on the courts
Team NL Tennis clinched first place in pool C with a 4-2 victory over Team Prince Edward Island. Newfoundland and Labrador will now advance to play the fourth place team from Pool B for a chance to get into the quarterfinals Wednesday morning 10am at Niagara-on-the-Lake Tennis Club. Liam Drover-Mattinen won 6-0,6-0 and Declan Walsh won 7-5,6-1 as both took their singles matches. Peter Drover-Crane and cousin Aiden Drover-Mattinen won their doubles match by a dominating 6-1,6-0 margin. Clinching first place was Mia Waye and Jasmine Rahman as they battled to a three-set victory taking the match 1-6, 6-4,6-0.
Rugby 7s had hard fought games
Team NL Rugby 7s had a hard fought two games on the pitch today. Despite playing tough and having some good play on field, they came up short 0 – 24 to PE and 0 – 59 to BC. The fast-paced Rugby 7s event will conclude tomorrow.
Team NL schedule will be posted after today’s games conclude and seeding is completed.
BASEBALL WINS FIRST GAME
Team NL’s baseball team got its first victory for Team NL in baseball. Players Ethan Carter and Hudson White each had two RBI, and Braedy Walsh had three hits to lead Team NL to a 9-7 win over New Brunswick at Oakes Field today.
Brady Sheppard pitched a complete game for TeamNL for the victory.
Team NL’s final pool B game is scheduled for Wednesday vs. Team Quebec at 1 pm (EST).
Preliminary matches for our Beach volleyball players
Team NL Beach Volleyball’s male and female athletes Isaac Buckingham & Mark Mercer, Alex Williams and Alyssa Warford, took to the sand today at Canada Games Park for their preliminary matches.
Our men had a tough morning in the sand against ON then found their footing and put up a great match against QC on the feature court this afternoon. Our women added two more wins today, beating NU this morning on the feature court and YT this afternoon.
The men will play an exhibition game early tomorrow morning and then all our athletes will take the well-deserved rest day.