The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Gymnasts take provincial title in final competition together by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Sports By Herb Garbutt Burlington Post staff 17 | Friday, July 19, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" DeFazio signs on with Canucks While many players toiled at NHL prospect camps in the first week of July, hoping to make an impression and earn a contract, Brandon DeFazio could only sit and wait. It turned out DeFazio had already done enough to catch the eye of an NHL team during his second pro season. The Vancouver Canucks came calling, signing the 24-year-old last Friday. "It came out of the blue to be honest," DeFazio said. "I heard I wasn't going to be resigned (by the New York Islanders), so I'm fortunate and excited to be going to a great NHL team." DeFazio had 11 goals and 14 assists in 69 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League last season but the 6-foot-1, 215-pound winger also has an edge to his game, as his 139 penalty minutes would attest. With the Canucks moving their farm team to Utica, N.Y., it's most likely DeFazio will be returning to the state where he played his college hockey. He led the Clarkson University Golden Knights in scoring in his senior year before a successful stint with the ECHL 's Wheeling Nailers at the end of the season. That earned him an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he scored 11 goals in his first full season in the AHL. The former Oakville Blade believes he's improved through his two seasons in the AHL, but knows he can't be content. "I think I've taken steps to be a better If breaking up is hard to do, it must be even more difficult after you've accomplished plenty in your short time together. "In the time we had, we did really well," 17-year-old Jamie Patrick says of his tenure with his acrobatic gymnastics teammate, 11-year-old Taylor Saunders. Five months after teaming up for the first time at Gymnastics Mississauga, the two Oakville residents finished the competitive season by winning provincial gold in the mixed pairs 11-16 age (17+) division. Despite the disparity in age, the two quickly developed a chemistry that was essential for partners training together for 25 hours a week. "I'd never talked to Taylor before that day in December," Patrick says. "You do need to get along. Imagine working with someone you really don't like for so many hours in the gym. You could really butt heads." Unfortunately, they won't have the chance to realize their true potential as a duo. Patrick, who was part of the Canadian men's fours group that finished fourth at the 2010 world championships, recently graduated from White Oaks Secondary School and is quitting the sport to focus on his communications studies at Carleton University. It leaves Saunders, a Holy Family elementary school student who was the 2012 provincial champion in the women's trio division, leaning towards a return to an all-girls team next season. "If another guy comes in, then maybe..." the third-year gymnast says of the decision whether to remain in mixed pairs or go back to women's trio. "I really like both (formats)." While Patrick retires from the sport, Saunders hopes to take the next step in her acrobatic gymnastics career this summer by attending a training camp in Russia. The two-week camp will be conducted by Saunders' coach at Mississauga, former longtime Moscow circus performer Ren Torosyants, the 2013 recipient of the Ontario Coaching Association's Trail Blazer Coaching Award. "They could really help me a lot with skills and teach us Jamie Patrick balances partner Taylor Saunders as they coma lot of techniques," Saunders says. Saunders is currently fundraising for the trip. Anyone pete at the provincial acrobatic gymnastics championships. interested in supporting her financially can do so by visit- The Oakville duo won the provincial mixed pairs division in what was their last competition together.| Andrew Patrick ing bit.ly/1bcu5BW. -- Special to the Oakville Beaver Brandon DeFazio, who had 11 goals and 14 assists with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League, was signed by the Vancouver Canucks last week.| CMP Designz -- Special to the Oakville Beaver pro," he said. "I try to from year to find things I can get better at so I can be the best I can at that facet of the game. I believe even if you're good at something, you can still work at it." As for the Canucks training camp, DeFazio said he'll play the style of game that caught the Canucks' attention. "I just want to come in and prove myself. It's not always the guys that get drafted that make it," he said. "This will be my third (training camp) so obviously I'll be a little more comfortable but you're always a little nervous heading into camp with a new team." There will be some familiar faces in camp with him. The Canucks signed Kellan Lain in March and drafted Milton's Jeremy Price in 2009. All three train together in the off-season and this year they will all do so with a common goal. OAK wins sixth straight Ontario title Anaka Will-Dryden led a parade of 11 multiple-medal winning swimmers, claiming two golds and two silvers as the Oakville Aquatic Club (OAK) claimed its sixth straight Ontario long-course championship. Will-Dryden also made two other finals, placing fourth and sixth, to help OAK earn points. The club finished the meet, held July 4-7 in Brantford, with 2,733.5 points. That easily outdistanced the runner-up, Toronto Swim Club, which had 2,257. Kristen Olvet won a gold, silver and bronze medal and turned in a fourthplace finish while Alexandra Fabugais-Inaba also returned home with a complete set of medals. Bryce Kwiecien-Delaney turned in five top-five finishes, picking up a gold and two silver medals. Matthew Mac earned three silver medals and also placed fifth. Olivia Strevett and Grant Harding each won a gold and a silver medal and Strevett also made one more final. Evan White made five top-eight finishes, picking up a gold and a bronze medal. Connor Wilkins also won a gold and a bronze and made two more finals. Also winning multiple medals were Ali Baki, who earned two silvers and had a fifth-place finish, and Gamal Assaad, who won a silver and a bronze medal. Other medal winners included See Relays on p. 18