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22 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2007 Ridge students claim medals at OFSAA badminton meet By Herb Garbutt go on to win the B flight silver medal. Relegated to the C flight because of the loss, Rook started his first in a string of comeWhen Greg Rook lost the opening set of a backs. He won three straight matches, defeating best-of-three in the gold-medal match, he had Dylan Cadenhead, Dinesh Kulanathan and his opponent right where he wanted him. Rook made a habit of comebacks at last Dan Gignac to reach the gold-medal game. Rook wasn't the only one to weekend's Ontario Federation of "He's got a very return to Iroquois Ridge with a School Athletic Associations medal. The girls' doubles team of (OFSAA) badminton champi- good mental Katie MacDonnell and Ali Okihiro game and he onships, and the boys' singles C won the C flight silver medal. flight gold-medal game was no sticks with his The draw didn't do MacDonnell exception. game plan." and Okihiro any favours. They met The Iroquois Ridge Grade 11 the fourth-seeded team of Brittany student dropped the opener 15-12 Iroquois Ridge Hogan and Kayla Odorizzi in the to Jonathan Nelson but squared coach Tim Coe, opening match of the tournament. the match with a 15-10 victory in referring to Greg Rook Hogan and Odorizzi won and went the second set. on to claim the A flight bronze. The comebacks weren't done MacDonnell and Okihiro won three straight yet, though. Rook faced match point at 15-14 but rallied to take the next three points for a matches after being relegated to the C flight. They topped Christine Berini and Wendy 17-15 victory and claim the gold. It was the second straight trip to OFSAA for Lagros 15-7, 15-13, rallied for a 16-18, 15-5, Rook. Ridge coach Tim Coe said Rook doesn't 15-11 triumph over Molly Bartlett and Kristin Moen, and then defeated Ruchi Maliduwa let anything rattle him and doesn't panic. "He's got a very good mental game and he Liyanage and Juliana Wu 15-6, 15-13 to make sticks with his game plan," Coe said. "He's also the C flight final. However, Bridget Jeffray and Sara Jones would deny Ridge a second gold by got a good fitness level." Rook certainly needed some stamina. Not winning 15-12, 15-2. Iroquois Ridge's Christine Cochrane also only did the gold-medal match go the dismade it to OFSAA, making her second straight tance, but Rook had to play five matches just trip to the provincial tournament in girls' sinto get there. After defeating Brian Kwok in his opening gles. She lost both her matches, falling to match, Rook lost to Mark Wong. Wong would Jessamine Chang and Ivy Fok. OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF BARRIE ERSKINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER OFSAA MEDALISTS: Pictured left to right, Iroquois Ridge students Katie MacDonnell, Ali Okihiro and Greg Rook all earned medals at the recent provincial high school badminton championships. Dawson, Sting hoping to clip 'Hawks in today's NLL final This time, Dan Dawson says, it's all business. The 25-year-old and his Arizona Sting will play for a National Lacrosse League championship today in Phoenix, the Sting's second Champion's Cup appearance in three years. Arizona fell 19-13 to the Toronto Rock in the 2005 final, and Dawson is determined to avoid a similar result when the Sting lines up against the Rochester Knighthawks (a 4 p.m. eastern start). "It's been two years in the making. Two years ago, going into Toronto, we were a young team, starstruck, just happy getting there," said the Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association product, who finished second in NLL regular-season scoring and was named a first-team all-pro earlier this week. "This time, we're supposed to be here and we feel it's our time. We've put in so much hard effort for this, hopefully this is the year we can do it." It won't be easy against the Knighthawks, the class of the NLL this season with a 14-2 mark. In fact, Rochester would be hosting the Champion's Cup had its home arena not previously been booked for a circus. "It kind of fell into our lap. Hopefully it's destiny that we win this Cup," Dawson said. "They're the best team in the league by far -- 10-0 at home and their only two losses were on the road. We'll have our hands full." To handle the Knighthawks, Dawson said, the Sting (9-7) will have to limit the opportunities of league most valuable player John Grant Jr. and find a way to solve Rochester netminder Pat O'Toole. Dawson might have an easier time doing that than he did against Rock goalie Bob Watson in the 2005 final. Dawson played that contest with a sprained shoulder, an injury suffered in the final shift of his previous game, and was unable to lift his arm above shoulder level. Dawson's mother, Julie, and sister, Ashlynn, will be in attendance today. Ashlynn, interestingly, will have her allegiances tested as her boyfriend, Bill Greer, suits up for Rochester. "(Ashlynn) will be wearing a Sting jersey," Dawson said. "She's known me longer than this guy. We're blood." The game will be televised across the U.S. on the VERSUS Network and shown on tape delay (7 p.m.) in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet. -- Jon Kuiperij O BO NO LI K N E · Free Golf Clinic · Wine & Cheese ~ All Ladies Welcome Monday, May 28 from 4 p.m. LADIES NIGHT KICKOFF! · Monday to Thursday · Early Bird (Weekdays before 8:30am) · Twilight (Everyday after 3pm) · Friday to Sunday & Holidays $68 $50 $50 $78