2010 WUC Golf: CAN Announces Team

A delegation of five coaches and 11 student-athletes will represent Canada at the 13th FISU world university golf championships in Antequera, Spain, from June 7 to 11, 2011.

Humber College’s Ray Chateau will act as head coach and team leader of the Canadian contingent for the third consecutive FISU championships, having held the same positions in 2008 in South Africa and 2006 in Italy. At the helm of the Humber golf program since 2001, Chateau was also head coach and team leader of Canada’s entry at the 2007 Summer Universiade in Thailand, and coach of Canada’s men’s team at the 2004 FISU championships, also in Thailand.

Assisting Chateau in Spain will be University of Waterloo’s Carla Munch and Dave Hollinger, University of Victoria’s Dennis Fedoruk, as well as Durham College’s Michael Duggan. Munch and Duggan were part of the Canadian coaching staff two years ago in South Africa.

The five women who have been selected to compete for Canada next June are Victoria’s Anne Balser of Digby, N.S., Humber’s Danielle Greene of Gananoque, Ont., McGill’s Mélissa Coré of Beaconsfield, Que., UBC’s Jocelyn Alford of Calgary, and Waterloo’s Tiffany Terrier of Kingston, Jamaica.

Balser is the lone returnee from the 2008 FISU championships, where she was the second best Canadian woman with a 31st-place finish, and also represented Canada at the 2007 Universiade, where she placed 42nd. She tied for sixth place at the 2009 RCGA Canadian university college championships in Hamilton.

Greene, who tied for third in Hamilton last May, is a veteran of the 2006 FISU tournament, where she was the top Canadian female with a 35th position as a representative of the University of Toronto.

Coré competed alongside Balser at the 2007 Universiade in Bangkok, where she had the best Canadian result in the women’s competition finishing in 34th position. She was eighth at the 2009 RCGA university college nationals.

On the men’s side, Canada will be represented by Laval’s Mathieu Gingras of Moncton, N.B., Humber teammates Ryan Willoughby of Chelmsford, Ont., and Mike Zizek of Mississauga, Ont., Victoria’s Mitch Evanecz of Red Deer, Alta., Waterloo’s Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., and Montreal’s Philippe André Bannon of Montreal.

Gingras tied for second among Canadian men and for 25th overall at the 2008 FISU tourney. He tied for second place at the 2009 RCGA championships.

Willoughby tied for 46th in Italy in 2006 helping Canada to a fourth-place finish in the men’s standings, the country’s best FISU result to date.

Zizek, who tied for 10th at last May’s RCGA university college nationals, is the lone male returnee from the 2007 Universiade, where he was the best Canadian finisher with a 15th place in the men’s event.

“I look forward to representing Canada with an outstanding coaching staff and the best team we have ever fielded for these championships,” said Chateau. “With Mitch Evanecz, Mike Zizek and Mathieu Gingras, we have a very experienced men’s team that should compete for a medal in Spain. Our women’s team has three returning members in Mélissa Coré, Anne Balser and Danielle Greene, giving Canada the opportunity at a best-ever finish.”

Canada has competed at the FISU World University Golf Championships since 2002.

After they obtained their best result in 2006, the Canadian men finished seventh out of 14 countries two years ago. The women’s team, which took 12th place in a 13-country field in 2008, had its best finish in 2004 with an eighth position.

The United States and Japan are defending FISU men’s and women’s champions, respectively.

Official championships website: www.wucgolf2010.com