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Appleby grad anchoring soccer show GHAC CHAMPION: Oakville Trafalgar student Jack Nenniger prepares to return a shot during the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference badminton championships last week in Milton. Nenniger won the GHAC men's singles championship to earn a spot at next week's Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations tournament. HERB GARBUTT / OAKVILLE BEAVER 17 · Thursday, April 29, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Oakville sending four athletes to OFSAA badminton tourney Jack Nenniger displayed his determination last year when he played in the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference badminton championships with a cast on his arm. Having broken his left arm in a snowboarding accident, the thought of skipping the GHAC tournament never crossed his mind. "It throws off your balance a bit, but not much," the Grade 12 Oakville Trafalgar student said. "At least I didn't think it did." Though he came into this year's tournament healthy, Nenniger still needed to summon that determination to win the GHAC boys' singles title. He had defeated Pearson's Le Nguyen twice in the Halton championships, including a victory in the secondplace match. Nenniger looked to be on his way again last week at E.C. Drury in Milton, taking a quick 6-0 before Nguyen came back to take the opening set. Nenniger bounced back to even the match with a tight 21-18 victory in the second set. Midway through the deciding set they were tied at 12 before Nenniger pulled away for a 21-16 win. "He is very consistent," said OT coach Mark Mamo. "And he shows great sportsmanship -- that's what the other coaches always say. This is great for him." The victory was an important one, as Nguyen found out the hard way. Despite reaching the final, he had to play King's Christian Collegiate's Matt Girgis for the second berth at the upcoming provincial championships. Girgis, who won the Halton title earlier this month, avenged an earlier loss to Nguyen with a 21-11, 21-12 victory. "I just tried to take it one game at a time, one point at a time," said Girgis, who had to take the long way through the draw after the loss to get a second chance at the OFSAA berth. In their earlier meeting, Nguyen edged Girgis 21-19 in the opener. Girgis then dominated the next set 21-3 but he couldn't keep the momentum as Nguyen came back with another close 21-19 victory. "That was very discouraging," said the Grade 11 student. "I got a bit overconfident (after the second set) and made some mistakes. I wasn't clearing far enough and his smash is the best I've seen." In the rematch, Girgis forced his opponent to move more than in their earlier meeting. "He liked to stay in the middle and take quick steps," he said. "I just tried to move him as much as I could and make him tired." Rematches were also the order of the day in the girls' singles where Iroquois Ridge's Natalie Rook backed up her win in the Halton championship by beating Loyola's Natasha Wong 21-10, 21-16 for the GHAC title. Wong would secure her OFSAA berth with a win over Bishop Reding's Nicole Plociennnik in the second-place match. Alex Vickers and Christine McAllan of Oakville Trafalgar just missed advancing. They finished third after falling to Georgetown's Haley Besworth and Sarah Chapin, a duo they had beaten at Haltons. OFSAA will be held May 6-8 in Stratford. -- Herb Garbutt Lara Baldesarra grew up spending her at 10 a.m. and ends around 9:30 p.m., once time the same way many local youth do once the daily live show has been filmed. She's the sunny weather hits: loving and playing pretty much glued to her desk every day soccer. researching and writing her stories and "I was involved in every sport under the highlights, editing and trying to stay on top sun when I was a kid," said the 25of any soccer news. year-old Appleby College graduate. "I've always been passionate "I played football, basketball, about soccer. I might have been the swimming, gymnastics, baseball only little girl that wanted to watch and everything else. But soccer classic soccer matches in black and was always my first love. It was the white with her dad," said sport I excelled in the most and the Baldesarra, a former University of one I was the most passionate Toronto economic geography stuabout." dent who never dreamt of pursuing Baldesarra moved to Oakville in a sports reporter job. 1999 so she could attend Appleby. Baldesarra graduated from U of Lara Baldesarra "Besides the school being a T in 2008. She quickly joined great place, the (town) was also a great place Rogers TV as a sports host as well as the to grow up," she said. "Downtown Oakville colour commentator for the Canadian was an amazing place to hang out and run Soccer League. She worked as an intern on into people. The waterfront festival is a sum- TSN's Off The Record with Michael mer staple, which I still try to attend every Landsberg until she caught her biggest year. And Glen Abbey is always good to play." break. Just this past December, she audiShe will always remember her time in tioned for Fox's new soccer show, based out this town and she still enjoys kicking a ball of Winnipeg, and was a hit. around when she gets the chance. But her She made the move to southern childhood passion has been tweaked a bit. Manitoba in the middle of the winter. Baldesarra is currently an anchor and During her first few months, her biggest reporter on the Fox Soccer Report, North focus was staying warm. Now, with the sunny America's most-watched daily soccer show. weather back again, she spends her days off She says the job is a dream come true, walking around and exploring her new home. except for the fact that she misses her life in And, perhaps, looking for a game of pickOakville and all of her friends and family. up soccer. A normal day at work for her now begins -- Daniel Perry, Special to the Beaver Join for Golf, Stay for Life To be a member at the Oakville Golf Club is to be a part of an exclusive community. A place to make and sustain enduring friendships. Trial Memberships Your friends wonder what you are waiting for... Experience the private club difference. Experience Oakville Golf Club. 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