Thursday, June 18, 2015

CANADA'S TEAM FOR PAN AM GAMES



The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Tennis Canada have announced the names of six athletes who will  represent Canada at the TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games from July 10 to 26 at the Canadian Tennis Centre, recently renamed the Aviva Centre. The team was determined based on the ATP World Tour and WTA world rankings as of June 1, 2015.
The women’s roster will feature rising star, 18 year-old Françoise Abanda, of Quebec, Canada’s No. 2-ranked singles player Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa (see photo above) and Sharon Fichman of Toronto. Dabrowski and Fichman, who regularly play together at Fed Cup, will represent Canada in the women’s doubles event.
Philip Bester of BC, Peter Polansky of Thornhill and Brayden Schnur of Pickering form the men’s team. These three players have won 21 professional-level singles titles between them. Brayden Schnur is currently a top-ranked NCAA Division I athlete at the University of North Carolina. Polansky holds the highest-career ranking of the trio at world No. 122. Bester and Schnur will represent Canada’s in the men’s doubles. Bester and Dabrowski  will compete in the mixed doubles draw.

Sharon Fichman (see photo here) is particularly thrilled to be competing in the games. “It always means so much to me to represent Canada and being able to play for my country at the Pan Am Games in my own hometown will be an even bigger honour. Being on the pro tour means I rarely get to spend time at home, so the chance to compete at such a big event in front of my friends and family is so special. I’m very excited for the summer and hope to make everyone proud!”
Canada will field the largest team in its Pan American Games history with over 700 athletes expected to be named to the Team at the Games in Toronto. With TORONTO 2015 providing a “Home Games” experience, as well as a number of qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, these Games will offer a tremendous experience for Canada’s high performance athletes.