The Guelph Gryphon women's basketball team welcome five more talents to their roster for the 2011-12 season. The team's newest additions include Jessica Boelhouwer a guard from Burlington, Ont.; Camille Gardiner a forward from Kitchener, Ont.; Barbara Inrig-Pieterse from London, Ont.; Kate MacTavish a forward from Kitchener, Ont. and Dana Van Balkom a guard from Hamilton, Ont.
Jessica Boelhouwer is a 5'9" shooting guard from Notre Dame Secondary School in Burlington. In her four years at Notre Dame, she has helped the Fightin' Irish win four Halton Championships. Her teams appeared in two OFSAA Championships, winning a silver medal in 2009. She is a two time Halton all star and was Notre Dame's Athlete of The Year in 2009. Boelhouwer was a member of the U15 Ontario Provincial Team that travelled to British Columbia in 2009 and won a National Championship. At the club level she has won many OBA Division1 medals including gold in 2009. She is a multi sport athlete who has won numerous OFSSA medals.
"We are fortunate to have Jess coming to play at Guelph," said Guelph head coach Tom O'Brien. "She is a very athletic guard who can really shoot the ball. I really don't think she has reached her potential and when she does she will be a real force to reckon with."
Boelhouwer will be enrolled in the Honours Science Program.
"I am very excited to be a part of the Guelph Women's Basketball Team," commented Boelhouwer. "I feel that I will achieve my potential as a player and make a significant contribution to the growing success of the team. Also, the location of Guelph will make it easy for my parents and my younger sister Maddy to see us play. My love of the sciences attracted me to Guelph. The program fits my interests perfectly."
Camille Gardiner is a 5'10" post/forward from Cameron Heights C.I. in Kitchener where she was enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Program. While at Cameron, she was coached by Kevin Brooks and Renee Day. This past year the team reached the WCSSAA and CWOSSA AAA semi-finals. She also played in the WCSSAA All Star game. This past year Gardiner played with fellow Gryphon recruit Kate MacTavish on the K-W Lightning junior club team. The Lightning finished third in the OBA Junior, Division1 Championship this year, this team was coached by Brian Henry and former Waterloo Warrior Michelle McCrory.
"Camille is an undersized post player. The thing that impressed me when I watched her play was her toughness," said head coach Tom O'Brien. "There have been a number of very good small posts in our league and I believe that Camille will continue that tradition. She is an excellent student as is evidenced by her high school program."
Camille will be enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce Program at Guelph.
"Guelph had a combination of everything I was looking for in a school. The campus is beautiful and the school environment seems so great and friendly," commented Gardiner. "Along with the growing Bachelor of Commerce program I will also be able to pursue my interest in Biology. I was convinced that Guelph was the right school for me. Coach O'Brien is so enthusiastic about and invested in the Guelph women's basketball program. The team's guiding principles demonstrate the qualities needed for success. Together, this is exactly the kind of basketball program and team I want to contribute to – committed and hard working."
Barbara Inrig-Pieterse has been the starting point guard for London's South Collegiate Institute senior team for all four of her high school years. In her first year with SCI her team made it to the WOSSA finals under coaches Don Coleman and Chris Bogart. In subsequent years the team has been coached by Sam Sidler, Denise Strachan, Mike Milne and Chris Potter.
At the club level, Barbara has played the last five years as the starting guard/forward for Peter Lambert's OBA team London CYO (formerly London Titans). In each of the past seven years in the OBA Championships, London has been Division 1 semi-finalists, winning bronze on four occasions. In 2007 the team won gold in the Eastern Canadian Championships in Montreal. Last year they won the Battle of The Border Tournament held in Michigan where Ingrig-Pieterse was placed on the tournament's "Select" team. This past year, she has been the starting point guard for CYO. The team finished second in the Division One OBA Junior Championships.
"Barbara has been coached by some excellent coaches over her high school and club career," said head coach Tom O'Brien. "Both of our current point guards are going into their third year which will help Barbara progress at this level and give us a future at the point guard position. Barbara is one of many players who did not play in the JUEL league this year for various reasons. A number of these players including, including Barbara, will very good CIS players."
She will study Human Kinetics at Guelph.
"I have chosen Guelph because of the excellent Science programs. After visiting the university I was impressed with the mid-size of the campus and the overall comfort level. It felt like a home away from home. I especially enjoyed meeting and scrimmaging with the basketball team. They were very welcoming and made me feel like I was a part of the team. I felt very comforta
ble with Coach O'Brien and the value he places on education. I like the direction that the team is taking and I really feel that I can contribute to its success."
Kate MacTavish is a 5'10" forward/guard from Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate in Kitchener. While at KCI, she was coached by Nick White who led the team to one WCSSA Championship in 2009 and three WCSSAA silver medals in 2007, 2008 and 2010. In 2009, the Raiders won the CWOSSA AAA Championship and went on to win the antique bronze medal as well as the OFSSA Fair Play Award. MacTavish is a two time MVP of her team and this past year was a WCSSAA first team all star.
At the club level she has played the past four years with the K-W Lightning program and was coached by Brian Henry and former Waterloo Warrior Michelle McCrory this past season. Last year the team finished second in the OBA Championship and this year the Lightning finished second in the OBA Junior Division 1 Championships.
"We are very happy to have Kate study and play at Guelph," said Guelph head coach Tom O'Brien. "She is an athletic wing player who can really shoot the ball. Kate flew under the radar of many coaches which ended up being a good thing for us. She is an excellent student who should be a very good CIS player."
MacTavish will study Bio-Medical Science at Guelph.
"I want to attend Guelph because it is such a welcoming and beautiful campus. It is a highly ranked university academically. Basketball completes the package for me and I can't wait to play for Coach O'Brien," commented MacTavish.
Dana Van Balkom is a 5'8" two-three player from Hamilton who attended Thomas More High School where she was coached by Blaize DiSabatino and Lou Turco. The team won the Hamilton City Junior Championship in 2007 and she captained the team who won the silver medal the following year. That same year Van Balkom was named the MVP. She was the captain of Thomas More this past season and the team was ranked fourth in the province.
Van Balkom has played all of her club ball for Hamilton Transway and has been coached by former Gryphons Larry Angus and Rich Weslowski. She also played for Si Khounviseth the current Brock Badger coach. Currently she is playing for the Transway JUEL team who are coached by another former Gryphon, Anne-Marie Ssemanda.
"Dana has played for some of the best school and club teams in the province so she has benefitted from great coaching," said Guelph head coach Tom O'Brien. "She will bring a defensive presence to our team which is something we need. With her experiences of being the captain of her teams she will also bring leadership to the Gryphons."
Van Balkom is enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce program.
"Guelph was one of the universities I looked at early on and when I visited the campus there was a great welcoming atmosphere. I am looking forward to joining the Gryphon basketball team next year. I was pleased to discover that Coach O'Brien has a true passion for the player and that cares about his players both on and off the court."
