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StFX X-Women rugby alumnus Ghislaine Landry is a veteran leader on the Canadian national sevens rugby team, set to compete at the Pan-Am Games this coming week in Toronto. Landry played with the X-Women for four seasons from 2006-2009, racking up awards and honors during her time with the blue and white. A two-time CIS player of the year and four-time CIS all-Canadian, Landry was the 2006 CIS rookie of the year in her freshman campaign, helping the X-Women win their first national title. She was a three-time CIS championship all-star, two-time CIS silver medalist and was named AUS most valuable player and StFX female athlete of the year in all four seasons she played. A native of Toronto, Landry was the 2009 AUS nominee for the prestigious BLG award for the top CIS athlete in the country. She remains the AUS all-time career scorer with 352 points. A difference maker on Canada's Women's Sevens Team, Landry made her debut with Canada's Senior National Team in 2011 and had a breakthrough performance at the 2013 Women's Sevens World Cup, finishing second in tournament scoring as Canada earned a silver medal. She was named Athlete of the Week by the Canadian Olympic Committee for her achievements. Landry finished the 2014-15 season first overall in scoring with 301 points, lighting up the World Rugby Sevens Series this season, by winning the scoring race in six tournaments. Her 402 points are the most ever by a player in World Rugby Women's Sevens Series history. The 27 year old Landry leads a strong Canadian squad into the Pan-Am Games. Joining her on the Canadian squad are two more StFX X-Women alumni – Magali Harvey and Sara Kaljuvee. A native of Quebec City, Magali Harvey received her first cap with Canada's Women's Sevens Team back in 2011, and was later on the Canadian side that won a silver medal at the 2013 Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens. She has also represented her country with the fifteens, and was a big reason why Canada finished second at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup. After her strong performance, in which she finished second in tournament scoring Harvey played with the X-Women for three seasons from 2010 to 2012, winning national titles on two occasions, including on home turf in 2012. Harvey was the most valuable player of the 2010 CIS championship where the X-Women also claimed top honors in the country. She was a three-time CIS all-Canadian and AUS all-star and was named a CIS tournament all-star two times. The 2010 AUS rookie of the year is third in AUS all-time career scoring, amassing 303 points in just three seasons with the X-Women. Sara Kaljuvee, from Ajax, Ont., played just two seasons with the X-Women in 2011 and 2012 but made a big impression while she was here, leading her to postpone her studies at StFX to pursue opportunities with the Canadian national team. A 2012 AUS all-star, Kaljuvee received CIS tournament all-star status in each of her seasons playing with StFX and was a key member of their 2012 CIS national championship team. Kaljuvee caught the eye of Canadian sevens coaches with her strong play in fifteens, where she was a member of the team that won the 2013 U20 Nations Cup. After moving out west to join Canada's centralized program in 2013, Sara was named to the roster for Canada's opening leg of the 2013-14 Women's Sevens World Series in Dubai. After suffering an injury, she did not join the team again until the fourth and fifth rounds in Guangzhou and
PREVIEW: CANADA LOOK TO MAKE PAN-AM GAMES HISTORY |
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| Fresh off a Cup Final victory at the Amsterdam Sevens and in the form of their lives, Canada's Women's Sevens Team is looking to become the first nation in Pan American Games history to win a women's rugby sevens gold medal when the tournament kicks off this Saturday. The 2015 Pan Am Games marks the first time rugby sevens will feature on the women's side of the competition, and after a best-ever second-place finish on the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series this past season – highlighted by their memorable championship in Amsterdam this past May – the members of Canada's Women's Sevens Team are determined to continue their winning momentum on home soil. "I think we had a great finish to the Sevens Series season, after a lot of hard work put in by our team," said head coach John Tait. "Winning in Amsterdam was a nice way to finish the year and we'd like to keep building on that form here at home at the Pan Am Games as we ramp up to the 2016 Rio Olympics." With the six-team tournament to be played at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium, Tait has selected a very similar side to the one he chose for the Amsterdam Sevens in May, naming ten returnees to the squad. "It's a tough selection for every tournament, and these Games are no different, because our group has been performing so well," Tait said. "Beyond the 12 players on our Pan Am Games roster, all 20-plus girls we have regularly training with the sevens program have really brought up the overall level of play. Our depth has been an incredible asset." The Ontario duo of Kelly Russell and Nadia Popov are the lone additions to Tait's squad, following their success in Amsterdam. Russell, a Canada Sevens regular since her Women's Sevens Series debut in 2008, is returning from injury, while rookie Popov made her first Series appearance this past season in Sao Paulo, Brazil. "The chance to play at home is really exciting and it's giving us an opportunity for lots of family and friends to watch us play live," said Russell, a native of Bolton, Ont. "Just to have the support from the home crowd will be pretty special. You feed off that excitement when you're on the pitch and we're looking forward to having that advantage here at Exhibition Stadium." Canada will begin their five-match round-robin with three games on Saturday. The host nation will play Colombia (10:05 a.m. ET / 7:05 a.m. PT) in the competition's opening match, followed by tilts with Mexico (1:33 p.m. ET / 10:33 a.m. PT) and Brazil (5:55 p.m. ET / 2:55 p.m. PT) to wrap up Day One. The following day will see Canada face Argentina (10:05 a.m. ET / 7:05 a.m. PT) and main rivals USA (1:33 p.m. ET / 10:33 a.m. PT) before playing their placement match in the late afternoon. "We have some familiarity with the United States, as we've had joint camps with them, and we've seen them quite a bit in the Series. When we play them, it will be a really good battle, and it should be a crowd favourite," Tait said. "Aside from Brazil, the other sides are teams we don't get to see very often, and while we aren't as familiar with them, we're treating this tournament with the same level of preparation that we give to all of our Series stops." Keep tabs on this weekend's action on Twitter by following @RugbyCanada for live updates throughout all matches, and checkhttp://results.toronto2015.org/IRS/en/rugby-7/schedule-and-results.htm for full results. 2015 Pan-American Games Schedule: Day One – July 11, 2015 Canada vs. Colombia – 10:05 a.m. ET / 7:05 a.m. PT Canada vs. Mexico – 1:33 p.m. ET / 10:33 a.m. PT Canada vs. Brazil – 5:55 p.m. ET / 2:55 p.m. PT Day Two – July 12, 2015 Canada vs. Argentina – 10:05 a.m. ET / 7:05 a.m. PT Canada vs. United States of America – 1:33 p.m. ET / 10:33 a.m. PT Final Match TBD Canada's Women's Roster for 2015 Pan American Games: Britt Benn - (Guelph Redcoats) Napanee, ON Hannah Darling - (Peterborough Pagans) Warsaw, ON Magali Harvey - (Club de Rugby Quebec) Quebec City, QC Sara Kaljuvee – (Toronto Scottish) Ajax, ON Jen Kish – Captain (Edmonton Rockers RFC) Edmonton, AB Ghislaine Landry - (Toronto Scottish) Toronto, ON Kayla Moleschi - (Williams Lake Rustlers) Williams Lake, BC Karen Paquin - (Club de Rugby Quebec) Quebec City, QC Nadia Popov – (Aurora Barbarians) Newmarket, ON Kelly Russell - (Toronto Nomads) Bolton, ON Ashley Steacy - (Lethbridge Rugby Club) Lethbridge, AB Natasha Watcham-Roy – (Hull Volant) Gatineau, QC Canada's Women's Team Staff for 2015 Pan American Games: John Tait – Head Coach Sandro Fiorino – Assistant Coach Meaghan Howat – Manager Callum Morris –Performance Analyst Sandeep Nandhra – Physiotherapist Tyler Goodale – Strength & Conditioning |