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The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 7, 2006 - 31 Syer serves up OFSAA tennis title Loyola student second provincial champion in school history By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF After cruising through four matches at last week's Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) tennis championship to reach the final, Michael Syer found himself trailing for the first time. Down 5-3, he thought about nothing but winning the gold medal. "I just kept fighting," said the Grade 11 Loyola student. "Losing never crossed my mind." Syer came through with the service break he needed and held his own serve to tie the match. He would deliver another service break on his way to an 8-6 victory, making him the provincial high school champion. "You always think about doing well but I really had no idea what to expect," said Syer, who was competing at OFSAA for the first time. He was certainly familiar with his opponent, Aamer Javed, in the final. The two have played doubles together at the last two Ontario championships. Javed had a strong service game but Syer was equal to the task with an outstanding return game. Coach Gary Laurin said Syer made good use of his backhand down the line and didn't let his opponent use his strengths. "The other guy was a power hitter but Mike did a good job of returning serve and keeping the ball in play. He kept him behind the baseline and didn't let him come in to attack," Laurin said. As if capturing the OFSAA gold wasn't special enough, Syer got to play the final on centre court at the Rexall Centre in Toronto, where the likes of Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters have claimed championships. "It was really amazing," Syer said. "The atmosphere was great. It was very professional. We had line judges, umpires. It's one of the best tennis experiences I've had." Dominates tourney's top seed Although the semifinal may have lacked the drama of the final, it may have well been Syer's best match of the tournament. Playing top-seeded Arren Skandarajah, who is 15th in the Ontario U18 rankings, Syer turned in a dominating performance to win 8-2. "That was the best I saw him play all week," Laurin said. Syer, who is ranked 50th amongst juniors in Ontario but who was as high as No. 4 in the U16, cruised through the opening day of competition. He took his first match 8-2 and the next 8-3. He was leading his third match 2-0 when his opponent retired due to injury. The victory made Syer Loyola's second OFSAA champion. Swimmer Franco Salimano was the first, winning the 100-metre backstroke in 2004. The Regional KEVIN HILL / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Municipality of Halton ACE: Loyola student Michael Syer became the second OFSAA champion in school history by winning last week's provincial high school tennis championship in Toronto. Longhorns blanked in opener It wasn't the type of start Karl Kustor and the Oakville Longhorns were looking for. The Longhorns fell 26-0 to the Sault Ste. Marie Steelers in Northern Football Conference action Saturday at Bronte Athletic Field, the season-opener for both squads. It also marked Kustor's first game as Oakville head coach, following a lengthy playing stint with the senior club. Sault Ste. Marie scored all of its points in the second quarter, 18 of them coming from running back Josh Gauthier. Gauthier scored three touchdowns in the frame and finished the contest with 64 yards on eight carries. Dan Seymour was Oakville's most productive offensive player, running the ball 12 times for 44 yards. Oakville will next host the Tri-City Outlaws Saturday at Bronte, a 6 p.m. start. KITCHENS BATHROOMS WALL UNITS FREE ESTIMATES CUSTOM DESIGNS CUSTOM FINISHES QUALIFIED DESIGNERS Halton's Landscape Needs Your Talent And Ideas Open Houses on the Durable Halton Plan: Building our Future Landscape What Halton Region looks like and how it functions depends on you. Your contributions are needed to help us build the Durable Halton Plan. This Plan will be our blueprint for building Halton's sustainable and healthy communities well into the future. It will determine where and how we grow, and what we protect. This is your opportunity to help shape Halton's landscape for the next century. The Durable Halton Plan will respond to the Provincial Growth and Greenbelt Plans, help us meet provincial requirements and ultimately, assist us in developing the next Official Plan. To help us plan for the future together, Halton Region will host open houses to provide Halton residents and businesses with the opportunity to get involved and learn more about the Durable Halton Plan. Let's shape Halton's landscape together. Please join us to plan our future at one or all of the Open Houses listed below. Open House Schedule 6:30 p.m. Open House · 7:00 p.m. Presentation Oakville Halton Regional Centre, Cafeteria 1151 Bronte Road Halton Hills The Gallery Georgetown Cultural Centre 9 Church Street Milton Hugh Foster Hall 53 Brown Street Burlington Multi-Purpose Room Appleby Ice Centre 1201 Appleby Line Wednesday, June 14 Tuesday, June 20 Wednesday, June 21 Thursday, June 29 Cabinet Concepts 905-632-0029 Unique EXPERIENCED INSTALLERS Doing It Right Since 1976 Background information is available at www.halton.ca/DurableHalton. For more information, please contact Jane Clohecy, Director of Planning & Transportation at 905-825-6000 ext.7966, or toll-free at 1-866-442-5866, or email jane.clohecy@halton.ca. 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville, Ontario L6M 3L1 Tel: 905-825-6000 · Toll Free: 1-866-4HALTON · TTY: 905-827-9833 · www.halton.ca 4150 South Service Road, Burlington www.uniquecabinetconcepts.com