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www.oakvillebeaver.com 29 Sports Oakville Beaver Skating with a champion SEE PAGE 30 SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 Raiders accept big challenge on the court When the Halton Secondary School Athletic Association reworked the divisions for girls basketball, the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders could have taken the easy road. The new divisional alignment, which is designed to make games more competitive, divides schools into two tiers with the top tier being further divided by school size. The Raiders will be the only AA-sized school competing in Tier 1. Confident in its ability to compete against larger schools, Aquinas will square off against Oakville's Loyola, Iroquois Ridge and Abbey Park, Burlington's Assumption and Nelson, the defending champion, and Milton's Bishop Reding. All are AAA schools. The Raiders are well-armed for the challenge as Aquinas returns several regulars from last year's team that competed at the provincial AA championships, including Jamie Neefs, Alanna Wood, Gillian Knapp and Emily Quinn. "I don't think any game is going to be an easy one," said Raiders coach Mark Maga. "But our girls are tough and they'll fight it out with anybody." The Raiders opened the season Thursday against Loyola and play at Iroquois Ridge Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Oakville's T.A. Blakelock, White Oaks and Kings Christian College will play in Tier 2. BARRIE ERSKINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER RAIDERS READY: The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders will be the only AA-sized school competing in Tier 1 under Halton's new divisional lineups for girls basketball. The Raiders, who made the provincial AA championships last season, have several returning players. Among those helping Aquinas compete against the larger schools will be (from left) Jamie Neefs, Alanna Wood, Gillian Knapp, Emily Quinn and Nicole Mierzwa. Rebuilding Titans show potential in hoops opener By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF It was the game the Holy Trinity Titans hoped to play to end last season. The Titans' senior girls basketball team was within one game of a trip to the Halton final and a meeting with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. However, the M.M. Robinson Rams got in the way, upsetting the Titans in the semifinal. Instead, the Titans had to wait until Wednesday's season opener for their chance to play Notre Dame. The only problem was that it was a much different Titan team that took to the court. All five Holy Trinity starters graduated, as did their first player off the bench. "It's pretty much a new team," said Trinity coach Andrew Saulez. "Even the Grade 12s we have didn't play significant minutes last year. Because we were a new school, the girls who played last year had been playing senior since Grade 10 so they had earned the right to play a lot and we leaned on them." While the Titans were debuting a new starting lineup, the Irish came into the game as the pre-season favourite to repeat as Halton champs, still boasting the likes of veteran Karen Boleska, Nicole Dooley and Team Ontario player Jacklyn Selfe from last year's undefeated team. Although the Titans lost just once in six games at a pre-season tournament at the University of Toronto, Saulez was a little concerned when he saw his team would open the season in the Notre Dame gym. Although Notre Dame emerged with a 30-20 victory, it was a good start for an inexperienced team. "By all accounts that's the best team we'll face," Saulez said. "To lose to them by 10 and be in the game, that's a good start. We're not as polished but that comes from playing a lot of games." Notre Dame's experience showed in the crispness of its passes as well as in the strong pressure it applied on defence. The Titans were also strong on defence, holding the defending champs to 30 points. However, they failed to capitalize on the turnovers they created mainly because they rushed their shots, missing scoring chances that would have allowed them to close the gap further. Alena Luciani emerged as the Titans' leader, scoring 14 points and pulling down defensive rebounds. First-time starters Megan Cordeiro and Amanda Prinsen also showed promise. The Titans will also get some help from four grads from a junior squad that posted a 9-1 record last season, although one of them expected to play a part on the senior squad, Caitlyn Byrne, will sit out the season with a knee injury. Despite the team overhaul, Holy Trinity should still be very competitive in the newly created AAAA Tier 1 division, which also includes Oakville Trafalgar, M.M. Robinson, Georgetown and Christ the King, who the Titans host Monday at 3:30 p.m. -- Herb Garbutt can be reached at sports@oakvillebeaver.com CANLAN ICE SPORTS ­ OAKVILLE FALL/WINTER PROGRAMS Adult and Youth Classes Spaces are Limited! 905-845-6989 REGISTER TODAY www.icesports.com