S Sports By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012 17 Swimmer primed d for f trials l after f stellar ll CIS showing h Tera Van Beilen is obviously thrilled about her performance at the Canadian university swimming championships, and with good reason. The University of British Columbia swimmer's three gold medals and a silver -- by the slimmest of margins -- earned her the Canadian Interuniversity Sport rookie-of-the-year award. But even if she doesn't come right out and say it, the CIS championships were never the focus of her season. "(Olympic) trials are just 22 days away and these are my last races I'll do before trials, so it's good to do well in them," Van Beilen said after her triple-gold performance. Twenty-two days. Not three weeks. Twenty-two days. Does it sound like someone might be X-ing days off the calendar like a kid waiting for Christmas? More than the medals and awards, it was her times that brought Van Beilen the most pleasure at the national university meet. She set personal best times in the 100-metre and 200m breaststroke as well as her medley relay split time. "My times were way faster than anything I had done before," said the former Oakville Aquatics Club member, who cut more than a second off in both individual events. "I hadn't set a personal best time since 2009 at the Canada Games," That Van Beilen established personal bench marks at the Canada Games wouldn't have come as a surprise to her UBC coach, who says the King's Christian Collegiate graduate has an ability to deliver when it matters most. "She's an amazing competitor. She's driven. The tougher the environment, the better she is," said Tom Johnson. "She didn't panic when preliminaries didn't go that well. When titles were on the line, she was motivated." The gold medalist at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010, Van Beilen began the CIS championships with a victory in the 100m, posting the best time (1:05.89) by a Canadian since 2009. If that year figures prominently in record books, it's because it was the last year before polyurethane suits -- which improved swimmer's buoyancy in the water and led to a raft of records worldwide -- were banned. Annamay Pierse, a finalist in the 200m breaststroke at the Beijing Olympics, is the only Canadian woman to ever post a faster time in the 100m. "That's a monster swim for her," Johnson said. "It's an indicator of what she can do." The next day, Van Beilen swam the 200m and narrowly missed MAKING A SPLASH: Oakville Aquatic Club product Tera Van Beilen won three gold medals and a silver at the recent Canadian university swimming championships, earning the national rookie-ofthe-year award. JAMES HAJJAR / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER adding another gold, finishing four one-hundredths of a second behind UBC teammate Martha McCabe, a bronze medalist in the event at last year's world championships. "I train with her every day. She's tough to beat; the 200 is her specialty. The last 50 (metres) we were about the same. I've been working on finishing and getting my hands out of the water (to touch the wall), but she's probably the best at that," Van Beilen said. "Which is unfortunate," she added with a laugh. Van Beilen's clocking of 2:23.06 was more than three-and-a-half seconds better than the time that earned her a fourth-place finish in the event at the World University Games in August, where she earned a silver medal in the 50m. Van Beilen won gold in the 50m on the final day of the CIS championships, beating McCabe, and then helped UBC's medley relay team take first. The 18-year-old said it was a good boost of confidence heading into what she considers the biggest races of her life. "(The Olympics) are the goal I've been dreaming about since I started swimming. I've dreamed about (Olympic trials) every night. I wake up with my heart racing, but it's a good kind of nervous. The swim meets where I get nervous are the meets I perform well." Whether or not it happens this year, Johnson has no doubt Van Beilen will achieve her goal one day. "At her age, to get into that t arena where you're starting to compete internationally -- and she's done really well in those events -- and now competing to get on the senior A team, it looks like she's on track. (Making the Olympic team) is a great opportunity, and if not, she has to realize she's on a good track," Johnson said. "I don't think we've seen the best of her yet." TAB girls g win Tier 2 hockey y title Even only a couple years removed from a was the first of the season for Iroquois Ridge Halton Tier 1 title, T.A. Blakelock Tigers (12-1-3). girls' hockey coach Ron Larose never Blakelock built a 3-0 lead in Tuesday's thought his team might go final on goals by Jenn "We were a .500 team undefeated this season. Newman, Madison Field and "We were a .500 team last last year... We didn't Cassidy McPherson. Iroquois year... We added a couple see that we'd be much Ridge tightened the game Grade 9s (this season) but we with markers by Maddie of a different team didn't see that we'd be much Warner and Hannah Bale, of a different team," he said. (this season)." but Tigers goaltender Jenna But the Tigers were. Georgeopalous ensured the Blakelock finished off an T.A. Blakelock girls' hockey Trailblazers couldn't get the unbeaten campaign Tuesday coach Ron Larose equalizer. at Glen Abbey Recreation "We had a little lull, five or Centre, edging the Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers six minutes when we got a little bit lethar3-2 in the Halton Tier 2 final. The Tigers gic, and they took advantage of that. ended the season with an overall mark of Eventually they got their good (players) 14-0-2 (including playoffs), while the loss See Tigers, page 20 OAKVILLE MINOR BALL HOCKEY LEAGUE (MEETING ROOM `C') Saturday, March 10, 2012 2:00pm-4:00pm Program offered for kids ds aged aged ag ed 4-17 17 10 games includes regula gula gul u ar se ul season s eason so and playoff games ames es Limited dental & medical dica cal ca a all in insuranc insurance iins nsurance ns nsu n nsuran surance s su sura sur suran suranc ura ur ance a nc ce e Fun, safe and make k new ke ew wf frie friend riend riends e GLEN ABBEY RECREATION CENTRE REGISTRATION A AT www.oakvilleminorballhockey.com or call 905-580-5794 For more information visit