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U.S. Women’s Goalball Team Claims Gold in Sweden
By Nicole Jomantas // U.S. Association of Blind Athletes // May 30, 2005
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – The U.S. Women’s Goalball Team successfully defended its title for the third consecutive year winning the Malmo Ladies’ InterCup, May 29 in Malmo, Sweden.
Led by the defensive skill of center Nikki Buck (Paw Paw, Mich.) and solid throwing by starting wings Jennifer Armbruster (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Asya Miller (Battle Creek, Mich.), Team USA went undefeated in pool play before shutting out the Netherlands, 3-0.
Buck proved her consistency, blocking 65 shots in the game while Armbruster, the tournament’s leading scorer, posted all three goals.
The Americans continued their dominance in Sweden as they defeated European powerhouse Finland, 8-1. Armbruster and Miller combined for seven goals while Buck turned in another outstanding performance in shutting out the Fins before turning over the center duties to new team member Jackie Barnes (Vernon Hills, Ill.) for the last six minutes of the game.
Barnes and wing Lindsay Sloan (Wauconda, Ill.) were playing in their first European event with Sloan tallying three goals in a pool game against Great Britain.
“I was very pleased with the play of the two newcomers Barnes and Sloan in their first European event,” said Head Coach Ken Armbruster (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
The first major international event since the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, the Malmo Ladies InterCup is touted as the top women's invitational goalball tournament in the world.
"The competition at Malmo is second only to the Paralympics and our performance here was everything I had hoped for,” Ken Armbruster said. “It is hard not to be pleased when your starting center (Buck) does not surrender a goal and she is backed with the two leading scorers in the tournament (Miller and Jennifer Armbruster).”
The next international competition for the U.S. Women’s Goalball Team is the International Blind Sports Association Pan American Games, September 3-11, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
For more information, contact Nicole Jomantas, USABA Communications Director, at (719) 630-0422, ext. 10 or njomantas@usaba.org
USABA, a member organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee, is a non-profit organization that provides training for blind and visually impaired athletes for competition in nine sports. USABA members range from blind children developing sports skills to elite athletes who train for competitions such as the Paralympic Games, the world's second largest athletic competition that draws more than 4,000 disabled athletes.
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