FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 1996

MALONEY AND BACH LEAD U.S. TO FIRST EVER 
PAN AMERICAN JUNIOR BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) - The U.S. Junior (Under-19) Pan Am Team
outlasted Hurricane Hortense, and the Canadian Under-19 Team 3-2 to
win their first ever Pan American Junior Championship in San Juan,
Puerto Rico, September 8-14.

After falling in mixed doubles, the U.S. got things rolling as 1996
Under-18 Junior National singles champion Katie Maloney (Miller Place,
N.Y.) defeated Canada's Caroline Spiers 11-2, 11-0.  Then it was
Howard Bach's (S. San Francisco, Calif./Colorado Springs, Colo.) turn
to take center stage.  Fighting leg cramps and 8-13 deficit in the
deciding third game, a gift from above came to Bach in the form of a
power outage at the gymnasium.  Play was suspended for nearly two
hours, and when play resumed, a well rested Bach stormed back to win
the third 17-14, and the match over Canada's Bobby Millroy 15-9, 7-15,
17-14.

Leading 2-1, it was up to the girl's doubles team of Maloney and Karen
Chou (Naperville, Ill./Colorado Springs, Colo.) to close the deal.
The American duo trailed Canada's Lindy Van Riker and Caroline Spiers
15-7 in the first, but battled back to easily win the next two games
15-8, 15-9; sealing victory for the U.S.  

"This was a tremendous performance by our Juniors," said USA Team Head
Coach Steve Butler (Colorado Springs, Colo.).  "It has definitely set
us on the right track."

Bach also had a strong performance in the individual competition, as
he took gold in Under-19 boy's singles, and silver in Under-19 boy's
doubles with partner David Welch (Marblehead, Mass./Colorado Springs,
Colo.).

"I prepared well and stayed focused throughout the tournament and the
shots just came to me," said a triumphant Bach.  "I've played the best
badminton of my life the past two weeks , and hopefully there is much
more to come."

The 1996 Junior Pan American Championships consisted of an U-19 team
competition (Best of 5 in boy's singles, girl's singles, boy's
doubles, girl's doubles, and mixed doubles) as well as an individual
competition in five age groups (Under-13, Under-15, Under-17, and
Under-19).  The following is a rundown of Junior Pan American team
champions by year:

1988:  Canada
1990:  Guatemala
1991:  Guatemala
1992:  Peru
1994:  Guatemala
1996:  United States

U.S. Summary - 1996 Pan American Junior Badminton Championships

Team Competition Final - U.S. def. Canada 3-2
U.S. athletes listed by (Hometown/Current Residence)

Mixed Doubles - William Millroy and Lindy Van Riker (CAN) def. David
Welch (Marlblehead, Mass./Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Karen Chou
(Naperville, Ill./Colorado Springs Colo.) 15-11, 15-7 Girl's Singles -
Katie Maloney (Miller Place, N.Y.) def. Caroline Spiers (CAN) 11-2,
11-0
Men's Singles - Howard Bach (S. San Francisco, Calif./Colorado
Springs, Colo.) def. Bobby Millroy (CAN) 15-9, 7-15, 17-14 Girl's
Doubles - Maloney and Chou def. Van Riker and Spiers (CAN) 7-15, 15-8,
15-9 Boy's Doubles - Andrew Debacka and William Millroy (CAN) def.
Bach and Welch  15-7, 15-10

Indivdual U.S. Scores

Under-19 Boy's Singles Gold Medal
Bach def. A. Debacka (CAN) 15-8, 15-11

Under-19 Boy's Doubles Gold Medal
B. Millroy and W. Millroy (CAN) def. Bach and Welch 13-15, 15-6, 15-8

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(FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT PAUL PAWLACZYK, USBA
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR AT 719-578-4808, E-MAIL: USBA1996@aol.com)