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26 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 10, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com 26 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2007 Oakville tennis aces off to nationals By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF They took different routes to get there but two Oakville tennis players will have their eye on the same prize when they compete at the national championships in Mont Tremblant, Quebec. Evangeline Repic and Laura MacMullin will make up one quarter of Ontario's eight-member team for the Canadian under-12 outdoor tennis championships, which begin Saturday. For Repic, this will be her second national competition after turning in a seventh-place finish at the indoor nationals in the spring, while MacMullin will be making her Canadian championship debut. The Ontario team was chosen based on results from the provincial championships. Repic missed the provincials but was given an exemption because she was representing Canada at an under-14 competition in Holland. MacMullin turned in a seventh-place finish to earn her spot on the Ontario team. Coming off provincial indoor titles in both singles and doubles, Repic should be a top contender at nationals. "Evie has a real shot at winning it, if she plays well and to her capability," said Bobby Armitage, the head pro at the Oakville Academy of Tennis. Repic said she has continued to make strides in her shot selection, her strength and making adjustments to different players and their style of play during matches. "I hope to go pretty far," she said. "I've been training a lot so hopefully it pays off." She will also have an advantage over many of her competitors as the nationals will be contested on clay courts, something the 12-year-old got accustomed to during her three weeks in Holland. "It's different. You have to make adjustments to the surface," she said. "You have to put more spin on the ball and you have to go a little slower and be more patient." That trip also gave Repic her first opportunity to represent her country, which she said was a honour. Repic, who will also compete at the under-14 nationals later this month, will again team up with Carol Zhao for the doubles competition -- the same pairing that won the Ontario indoor championship. Doubles competition takes place Saturday and Sunday with singles matches beginning Monday. MacMullin will also play doubles, teaming up with Alex DEREK WOOLLAM / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER MAKING A RACQUET: Evangeline Repic (left and inset) and Laura MacMullin (right) will compete at the Canadian under-12 outdoor tennis championships in Mont Tremblant, Quebec. Doubles play begins Saturday with the singles draw starting Monday. Makashov. In the singles draw, most of the players the 11-yearold be facing will be a year older than her. "It should be a great experience for Laura in the under-12 to be able to play at the national level," Armitage said. MacMullin is looking forward to her nationals debut. "I'm really excited," she said. "It should be a really high level of competition and I'm looking forward to playing against different players. I definitely want to go and play my best." With a year of eligibility remaining in the division, the nationals will serve as a learning experience but MacMullin certainly can't be counted out. She advanced to the quarterfinals at the indoor provincials on her way to a top-eight finish and reached the final of an ACE three-star event in December. MacMullin, who trains 12-15 hours each week, said she feels her game is stronger, though she hasn't been focusing on one particular area. "I've been trying to step everything up a little bit," she said. Armitage said it is quite an accomplishment for the Oakville academy to have two representatives on the Ontario team at nationals. "I'm proud of both of them," he said. "Proud of them and the academy." --With files from Jon Kuiperij A's capture fourth Canadian oldtimers baseball crown By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Tracadie-Sheila, N.S. The A's won back-to-back championships in 1993 and 1994, taking the first-ever 35-and-over Canadian oldtimers championship in Hamilton and then defending their title a year later in Yarmouth, N.S. The A's sealed their latest triumph with the victory over Spring Lake Monday. Four pitchers -- Al Rutherford, Rob Fisher, Dick Winning never grows old for the Oakville A's. The A's blanked the Spring Lake Masters 3-0 in the final of the National Oldtimers Baseball Championships in Red Deer Alberta on Monday It was the team's fourth Canadian title and their first since claiming the 44and-over championship in 2003 in Hames and Greg McEachern combined on the tournamentclinching shutout. It was the A's sixth consecutive victory in four days. Oakville opened the tournament with a convincing 13-3 victory over Medicine Hat Midwest on Friday and followed that up with an 8-0 shutout of the Edmonton Expos and a 9-3 win over Red Deer Printing Place on Saturday. The A's carried their success into Sunday's playoffs, topping the Barrie Red Sox 8-1 before holding off Sask-Alta 8-5 in the semifinal. "Both our hitting and our pitching were good and we didn't make too many errors," said the A's Sam Leonard, one six players to be a part of all four championship teams. "All the teams were pretty strong but those last two were the best ones." Rich Knight, Fisher, Rod Currie, Dave Peyman and Brian Revin have also shared in the four championships. The A's play in about 10 tournaments a year and have been to the national event 13 of the 15 years it has been held. Oakville had chalked up a few tournament victories prior to nationals, winning two 35-and-over tournaments and one 45-and-over event. See photo page 27