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24 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2008 Shepley intent on moving on up Pro golfer already assured spot on LPGA Tour next season By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Three rounds of golf are all that stand between Jessica Shepley and everything she's been working towards the last four years. Going into this weekend's final event on the Duramed Futures Tour, Shepley currently sits sixth on the money list. Though the LPGA announced at the end of last month that it would be extending membership to the top 10 golfers on the tour's money list instead of just the top five, Shepley is still intent on reaching her original objective of finishing fifth or better. "I'm not settling for (top 10). It's a great feeling to know I had a goal at the beginning of the season and that goal is still in play," she said Thursday from "It's a great feeling Albany, N.Y. as she prepared for the ILOVENY Championship, to know I had a goal which began yesterday (Friday). at the beginning of It's still a possibility, thanks to the season and that a third-place finish at the goal is still in play." Gettysburg Championship two weeks ago that saw her move up Jessica Shepley three spots from ninth to sixth. She now sits just $714 back of Song Yi Choi, who holds down fifth spot. Shepley finished two-under for the tournament and only three shots back of fellow Canadian Samantha Richdale, earning more than $6,000 to push her season total to $36,909. She hopes to carry that momentum into the final event. The 25-year-old said she is feeling confident in all aspects of her game and enjoys playing the Capital Hills at Albany course. However, she is not putting any additional pressure on herself just because it is the final tournament. "Obviously there's a little more to it, but every tournament is important. I've known all year that it could come down to a few hundred dollars," said the Iroquois Ridge grad. "I just have to play a shot at a time and play aggressive when the opportunity arises." The top-five still remains an important milestone in that the top five players will receive higher priority for entry into LPGA events than players ranked six through 10. Given the money available in Albany, Shepley is all but guaranteed a top 10. She has more than an $8,500 cushion over 11th place and with only first and second place finishers receiving more than that, the five golfers behind her would have to finish one through five, in a specific order, to knock her out of the top 10. As for moving up, Vicky Hurst and Mindy Kim have locked up the top two spots, leading the rest of the field by more than $26,000. But another top-three finish could move Shepley as high as third. That would cap Shepley's finest season as a pro, which has seen her earn four top-five finishes in 16 events on the top women's development tour. BACK TO BACK: Members of the Burloak Canoe Club gather around the national club sprint canoe-kayak championship trophy last weekend in Nova Scotia after successfully defending as Canadian champs. Nicholson leads Burloak to repeat By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Two years ago, when Mallorie Nicholson won five gold medals at the Canadian Sprint Canoe-Kayak Championships, then-Burloak Canoe Club head coach Scott Oldershaw called it an awesome performance and said, "You can't do too much better than that." Nicholson proved him wrong last year by winning six. She did so again last weekend by earning seven golds at the nationals in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Each one of those wins proved to be valuable as Burloak defended its national title by edging the host Banook Canoe Club by 21 points, 676655. While Burloak dominated last year, winning by more than 300 points, this year it led by a single point with three races left. It looked like it would come down to the senior men's war canoe race, where Burloak was squaring off against two Banook boats. But Emily Bird and Nicole Wong "went above and beyond," according to Nicholson, to finish third in the juvenile girls' C-2 and provide some breathing room. The war canoe crew then went out and won its race to seal a second consecutive title for Burloak. Helping put Burloak in that position was Nicholson, who swept both the junior and senior C-1 200-metre, 500m and 1,000m for the second year in a row. This year, she added to her gold medal haul by teaming up with Kaylynne Parkes, Natalie Thomson and Tanya Thomson to take the open women's C-4 200m. The 21-year-old also won a silver as a member of the senior women's C-15 crew. "We needed every point we had," Nicholson said. "The canoe guys did an awesome job cleaning up, the midgets who were coming to their first (nationals) making finals, it all made a difference in the end." Nicholson, who won't be eligible for junior races next year, has managed to stay at the top despite balancing the demands of training with a near fullcourse load at the University of Toronto. "I have a hard time getting all my work done for school in general," the third-year peace and conflict studies student said. "I find training to be a good escape. If I'm stressed, I go for a long run. It helps me maintain my sanity." That in turn helped Burloak maintain its national title. The club was also helped by the return of its four Olympians -- silver medalist Adam van Koeverden, Brady Reardon, Mark Oldershaw and Chris Pellini -- who arrived in Nova Scotia less than 24 hours after getting back from Beijing. They contributed to eight more victories for the club, including the important war canoe win that closed the nationals. Van Koeverden swept the K-1 500m and 1,000m and teamed up with Pellini to take the K-2 1,000m. Reardon and Chris Mehak joined them for a victory in the K-4 1,000m. Oldershaw won the C-1 500m, teamed with Aaron Rublee to take first in the C-2 200m, and joined Jamie Andison, Scott Fisher and Mark Klevinas to win the C-4 1,000m. Andison, a member of the national development team, and Kevin Lohrenz took first in the C-2 1,000m. All of those paddlers were also members of the winning C-15 crew that also included Paul Bryant, Hunter George, Adam Oldershaw, Cory Rublee, Marco Tschan and captain Rob Sargent. Rob Clarke and Jacob Sosna won the juvenile K-2 1,000m and Geoff Clarke won the junior K-1 500m. Lizzy Bates and Marianne Fraser won the junior women's K-2 500m. Burloak's juvenile women's C-15 crew also earned a gold medal. That team consisted of Emily Bird, Alanna BrayLougheed, Abigail Haines, Jacqueline Hanson, Brianne Long, Marsha McLeod, Delaire Nicholson, Tessa Oldershaw, Morgan Oliver, Ali Smith, Amelie Sparling, Natalie Thomson, Nicole Wong, Rebecca Yoshida, and was captained by Mark Oldershaw. · See page 25 for a list of silverand bronze-medalists TRAFALGAR GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB Resident & Associate Memberships Available If you love golf, you will love Trafalgar Golf & Country Club! 18 New Greens · Family Oriented Practice Facilities · No Capital Assessments Join for 2009 & play the remainder of 2008 905-878-2303 www.trafalgargolf.com 2009 MEMBERSHIP SALE SEPT 1-21 GREAT DEALS FOR 2009 CALL TODAY!