AJGA TOLDO GROUP EASTERN CANADIAN JUNIOR QUALIFIER
ClubCorp Qualifier Series
Beach Grove Country Club
Windsor, Ontario
June 23, 2002

SIEKMANN TOPS A COMPETITIVE FIELD TO QUALIFY IN CANADA
Bader and Uphaus qualify in a shortened round

WINDSOR, Ontario - With the onset of summer, play heated up at the Toldo Group Eastern Canadian Junior Qualifier, as Ryan Siekmann of Dublin, Ohio, took the top spot in the Boys Division with a 3-under-par 69 Sunday. In the Girls Division, Amanda Bader of Lima, Ohio, earned top honors with a shortened round of 3-over-par 62.

Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the Toldo Group Eastern Canadian Junior Qualifier allowed 11 juniors, nine boys and two girls, the opportunity to "play their way" into the 54-hole championship event.

Playing in a round which featured sun, rain and exhausting humidity, Siekmann toiled to qualify for his first AJGA event.

"I played pretty well today," Siekmann said. "This course setup was great, I putted really, really well and that was definitely the difference today."

Other boys that qualified included Jonathan Pauli of St. Johns, Mich., Daniel Doyle of Rochester, Mich., Dave Markle, Shelburne, Ontario, Eric Meierdierks of Wilmette, Ill., Victor Ciesielski of Cambridge, Ontario, C.J. Gatto of Columbus, Ohio, Andrew Milloy of Lasalle, Ontario and Tristan Lester of Plymouth, Mich.

The Girls Division was concluded after 15 holes due to darkness, and Bader out-dueled Amber Uphaus of Wauseon, Ohio, to claim medalist honors.

"I hadn't been playing well at all," Bader said. "I needed to dedicate myself more to the game. I was playing more than I was practicing, so last week I took some time to really focus myself."

The only two girls to qualify, Bader and Uphaus, both left-handed, are from the same Ohio school district, but had never met prior to the qualifier.

The Toldo Group Eastern Canadian Junior will feature 99 players, both boys and girls, representing 10 states, Canada and Bermuda with 34 participants hailing from Ontario.
The Boys Division is headlined by honorable mention Polo Golf Junior All-Americans, Marc Mazza of Elmira, N.Y., and Chanin Puntawong of Bradenton, Fla. The Girls Division is led by second-team Polo Golf Junior All-American Kelly Husted of Sarasota, Fla., and honorable mention Polo Golf Junior All-American Morgan Pressel of Boca Raton, Fla.

First round tee times will run from 6:30 - 11:27 a.m. Tuesday off the No. 1 tee at Roseland Golf and Curling Club.

For more information on the Toldo Group Eastern Canadian Junior, contact tournament headquarters at (519) 969-5740.

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