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42 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2008 TOP BLUES: Schoolmates since Grade 1, Cailie O'Hara (far left) and Marco Monaco won the University of Toronto female and male athleteof-the-year awards, respectively, earlier this month. O'Hara helped the Varsity Blues win the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) field hockey championship last fall, while Monaco claimed three medals -- including gold in the 200metre breaststroke -- at the recent CIS swimming championships. O'HARA PHOTO BY HERB GARBUTT / OAKVILLE BEAVER; MONACO PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO Longtime schoolmates win top awards at U of T By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Marco Monaco and Cailie O'Hara have to be rooting for one another. Though they compete in vastly different sports, it seems whatever happens for one also happens for the other. The latest intertwining of their athletic careers came last week when they were respectively named the University of Toronto male and female athletes of the year. That two people from the same town would sweep the two biggest athletic awards at Canada's largest university is remarkable enough, but that is just one of many parallels in their sporting endeavours. They have attended the same school since Grade 1. Both were honoured as athletes of the year in elementary school (St. Marguerite d'Youville). At St. Thomas Aquinas, O'Hara was named the high school's top athlete while Monaco was named to the Wall of Fame for his success in sports outside of school. "It was kinda crazy," O'Hara said when she heard Monaco was the U of T's male recipient, continuing the link between their accomplishments. In November, O'Hara and the U of T Varsity Blues field hockey team defeated Guelph to win the national championship. Four months later, Monaco earned his first CIS gold medal by winning the 200-metre breaststroke at the Canadian universi- "It's quite an ty championships honour. There's in British such a great Columbia. He also group of athletes added silver medals in the 50m and and teams that 100m breaststroke. have done well." Both had been dominant in Cailie O'Hara Ontario but had suffered near-misses in their pursuit of national titles. O'Hara and the Blues had won the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships each year since she joined the team, but had settled for three straight bronze medals at nationals. Monaco had won four medals, including a silver in the 200m breaststroke at the 2006 CIS meet, and had claimed 12 OUA medals, eight of them gold. Now the duo will share a place in U of T history. "It's quite an honour," Monaco said. "There's such a great group of athletes and teams that have done well so it's a tremendous honour. Frankly, I didn't think I would win." Despite winning the CIS player of the year in field hockey, O'Hara wasn't clearing space on the mantle either. "I knew I had done well but anytime there's an award like this there are so many other athletes who deserve it," O'Hara said. "You never really know." "I was overjoyed for her," said Monaco. O'Hara and Monaco, who share a Canadian studies class, are now looking to reach the ultimate goal in their respective sports. O'Hara is in Victoria, B.C. where she and the Canadian women's field hockey team will be attempting to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. There is one spot up for grabs in the six-team tournament. Korea, ranked ninth in the world, will be the biggest challenger for the 23rd-ranked Canadians. "They're a really skilled team. It's surprising they haven't already qualified," O'Hara said. "It will be tough competition, but crazy things can happen." While Monaco did not make the Canadian team at the recent Olympic swim trials, his seventh-place finish in the 200m breaststroke did earn him a place on the national B team, which will give him his first taste of international competition at the Tri-Nations Cup in August. "Being an Olympic year, it was more exciting," Monaco said of his success this year. "You know everybody is doing what they can to be their best. To be on a senior national team is a real accomplishment. It says you're actually one of the best. This is the real deal." With two years of eligibility left at U of T, Monaco said he is encouraged by his results this year. "It definitely feels good knowing there is room for improvement, knowing there's room to get better," he said. And the two schoolmates will be rooting for one another to achieve their goals.