travelled to Nashville during the offseason and spent

QUEBEC -- Eugenie Bouchard wasnt thrilled with her play, but she was more than happy with the end result as she helped move Canadian womens tennis to new heights. The Montreal native won both her singles matches in a playoff tie with Slovakia, including the clinching match on Sunday, as Canada advanced to the 2015 Fed Cup World Group. Bouchard, at No. 18 in the WTA singles rankings, beat Jana Cepelova 7-6 (6), 6-3 in front of a spirited home crowd on the campus of Laval University. The win gave Canada a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five tie, and moved the Canadians into the elite World Group for the first time. "I wasnt happy with my level of play in both of my matches, but I am proud that I managed to win them both," said Bouchard, 20. "It was a difficult adjustment for me to switch to hard courts from clay, but sure both victories feel great. "It feels great to know that weve made history here. I played a lot of matches for Canada in the Fed Cup, and I won most of them, so I am proud that I kind of lead this team to the World Group." On Saturday, Bouchard beat No. 137 Kristina Kucova 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1 in a close match, to give Canada a 2-0 advantage, after teammate Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., defeated Cepelova 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Canada will now join the eight best teams on the planet in the World Group. A June 4 draw will determine Canadas next opponent, and whether that tie will be held at home or on the road in 2015. "Its a huge accomplishment in my opinion," team captain Sylvain Bruneau said. "Weve never been there. It all started with last years win over Columbia, then we beat Ukraine, a team that was ranked well ahead of us, then Serbia, and now Slovakia." Joining Bouchard and Wozniak (ranked No. 157) on the Canadian team were Torontos Sharon Fichman (No. 89) and Ottawas Gabriela Dabrowski (No. 199) Fichman and Dabrowski lost to Slovakia Janette Husarova and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 4-6, 7-5, (9-11) in a doubles match later Sunday. After each team took a set, and with the 10-point tiebreak tied 9-9, Fichman missed her final two shots to hand Slovakia the doubles victory. Because Canada had already defeated Slovakia in the tie, the match was simply a formality. Bruneau said playing in the World Group will test Canadas depth. "We have to keep improving," he said. "Eugenie has to play at the level she is capable of, Aleksandra Wozniak needs to stay healthy, and Sharon Fichman -- who is still young at 23 -- can play both singles and doubles for us. We simply need depth, because there are no weak teams in the World Group, and many of the teams that play to qualify for the World Group have players ranked in the top 20." Bouchards win Sunday, particularly her strong second set, was crucial for Canada because she was struggling on Saturday and was very unhappy with her level of play. "I have to play much better, have to find consistency in my game," said Bouchard after her Saturdays win over Kucova. She struggled with that rhythm again on Sunday in a very close first set. Cepelova took a 5-3 lead, but just like during her match against Wozniak, she couldnt finish off points and lost a first set tiebreaker. Bouchard jumped to a quick 5-0 lead in the second set. When it looked like the last points would be just a formality, Cepelova put up a fight winning three games in a row and pushing Bouchard to make unforced errors. Serving for the match, Bouchard settled down and won last four out of six points to seal the victory. "It was a very good match" said Cepelova. "Just like yesterday I had my chances in the first set and couldnt close, but Eugenie was playing very well in those moments putting a lot of pressure on me." "We are very said as a team because we are not going to play in the World Group" added Cepelova. "It was very tough playing without our top three players (Dominika Cibulkova, Daniela Hantuchova and Magdalena Rybarikova) but Canada definitely deserved to win this tie. I think they are going to do very well in the World Group." Cheap Nike React China . HABS HEADED TO CONFERENCE FINAL The Montreal Canadiens scored early in Game Seven, built a lead and protected it well on their way to a 3-1 series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins. While this game or series isnt necessarily a referendum on the value of fourth lines, the Canadiens certainly benefitted from production lower down their forward depth chart. Nike React Discount . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.nikereactwholesale.com/ . Chelsea took until the second half to trouble the leagues bottom team, but Schuerrle then ripped through the defence with ease at Craven Cottage to keep Jose Mourinhos side on track for the title. Nike React Wholesale China .com) - The Chicago Cubs reportedly signed recently-acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler to a one-year contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration. Nike React Cheap . They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone.DUNEDIN, Florida – Brandon Morrow arrived to camp healthy and with a noticeably heavier upper body, but when pressed to reflect upon a miserable 2013 season, he lightened his load by getting some pent-up emotions off his chest. "Really, we pitched like garbage," said Morrow. "Starting pitchers were awful the first month, myself included. None of us were pitching like we wanted to, whether it was just bad luck we were going through at that time or just putting pressure on ourselves." Manager John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker are counting on this year to be different. The club needs R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle to pitch like they did post-All Star Break. J.A. Happ appears a favourite to secure either the fourth or fifth starters spot and must be more consistent. Theres a void at the back end of the rotation which will be sorted out this spring. Morrow is a lock, provided he doesnt get hurt. Staying healthy would mean bucking a troubling trend of the last two seasons. After making 30 starts and throwing almost 180 innings in 2011, arguably his best as a starter in the big leagues, Morrows been limited to just 31 starts over the last two seasons. A strained oblique cost him almost three months in 2012; an entrapped nerve in Morrows pitching forearm ultimately shut him down at the end of May last year. Coaches and players alike lamented Morrows latest injury, feeling bad for a fallen comrade but also disappointed because they viewed the flamethrower as the backbone of the rotation. In fact, last September, Mark DeRosa opined that losing Morrow "killed us." There are questions Morrow, who turns 30 on July 26, can answer only with time. Can he pitch 180 innings? How about 200? While pitchers dont enjoy sole control over their win totals, can Morrow pitch effectively, deep enough into games to blow past his single-season career-high win total of 11? "Theres no question, its important," said Walker of Morrow pitching healthy and pitching well. "Hes definitely someone were counting on to give us quality innings, to give us a good opportunity to win ball games. We need him out there every fifth day. We want him to be a workhorse for us. Thats what we envision for the season." Pitchers completed their medicals on Sundayy and Morrow weighed in at 219 pounds, a full 30 pounds heavier than a year ago.dddddddddddd The change is noticeable. His shoulders are broader. His chest is bigger. "He looks like hes supposed to look," said Gibbons. "Last year, he didnt look like that. He looks like a good, strong, durable pitcher. But the fact that hes out there and he feels good is big for us." Filling out the Rotation As of today, Dickey, Morrow and Buehrle are the Jays top three starters. Working off the assumption that Happ also has a spot, as many as seven pitchers will battle for the fifth job. They are Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Drew Hutchison, Sean Nolin, Marcus Stroman, Kyle Drabek and Ricky Romero. "Somebody is going to rise to the top and somebody is going to, obviously, pitch well enough to take that (spot,)" said Morrow. "Theres like eight guys vying for that position and I couldnt tell you who its going to be but I know all the guys are capable of stepping into that spot." While they both admit there are favourites, Gibbons and Walker wont say who has the inside track. Rogers and Redmond each enjoyed periodic success in the rotation last summer, filling in when the likes of Morrow, Johnson and Happ were hurt. Kratz Catches Dickey Catcher Erik Kratz, acquired in the deal that sent reliever Brad Lincoln to the Phillies, is back with the organization that drafted him. He caught R.A. Dickeys bullpen session on Monday and with the coaching staff leaning against having Dioner Navarro catch Dickeys knuckleball, the honour will go to the man who wins the second catchers job. "Its really all about the reps," said Kratz. "If you step in and catch him perfectly right off the bat, youre probably not trying that hard. Thats really, for me, just a matter of not pushing it too much, not trying to be too perfect. Just trying to sit and wait for it to come to me." Kratz travelled to Nashville during the offseason and spent about a week with Dickey, catching a couple of bullpen sessions. Kratz, 33, is a 64", 255-pound, righthanded hitting catcher. The Jays selected Kratz in the 29th round of the 2002 draft. He made his major league debut with the Pirates in 2010 before moving on to Philadelphia. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '