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Colwood tournament honours Juan de Fuca lacrosse favourite

Whalers girls among gold medallists at 14th annual Travis Bateman event
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Victoria Esquimalt ball carrier Matt LeVecque, left, takes on Juan de Fuca defenders Seth LeBlond (front) and Phoenix Eaves in the A2 division gold medal game of the Travis Bateman Memorial Novice Lacrosse Tournament at Juan de Fuca Arena. The Eagles went 5-0 overall and won the final 9-2 over the host team Sunday afternoon.

Juan de Fuca’s novice girls team got a big effort when it mattered most at the Travis Bateman Memorial Lacrosse Tournament.

The West Shore girls, downed 5-3 by Burnaby in round robin action Saturday at the Juan de Fuca Arena, flipped the result in Sunday’s final, winning gold with a solid 5-1 victory over the mainland squad. Juan de Fuca reached the final with a 9-2 win over Cowichan Valley in the morning semifinal.

Victoria-Esquimalt dominated the novice A2 boys division, beating the host Whalers team 9-2 in Sunday’s final after downing Peninsula 15-1 in the morning semifinal. The Eagles went 5-0 overall at the tournament and had beaten JdF 8-3 in round robin action.

Juan de Fuca, second-place finishers in the division after posting a 2-1 record, beat Nanaimo 8-3 in an early Sunday morning semifinal game. Nanaimo went on to defeat Peninsula 7-2 for third place.

In the novice B boys division, Cowichan Valley B2 topped the 11-team field with a 7-2 win over Juan de Fuca B1 in Sunday’s championship game. The Whalers, who finished second in Red Pool play with a 2-1 record, edged the Cowichan Valley B1 team 7-6 in one semifinal, while Cowichan B2 beat Blue Pool winners Langley 9-2 in the other semi.

Juan de Fuca had three teams competing in the division.

The 14th annual tournament honours the memory of Travis Bateman, a Juan de Fuca minor lacrosse product who went on to star for the Victoria Shamrocks intermediate team, winning a provincial gold medal with them in 2002. He died in 2003 from injuries sustained in a car accident, when he was playing for JdF junior B team. The tournament was instituted the next season.

editor@goldstreamgazette.com

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Victoria Esquimalt ball carrier Matt LeVecque, left, takes on Juan de Fuca defenders Seth LeBlond (front) and Phoenix Eaves in the A2 division gold medal game of the Travis Bateman Memorial Novice Lacrosse Tournament at Juan de Fuca Arena. The Eagles went 5-0 overall and won the final 9-2 over the host team Sunday afternoon.