Sports Oakville Beaver The Oakville Aquatic Club (OAK) recently concluded another successful club swimming season with strong showings at national events. OAK won both the overall team championship and the men's team title at the Canadian Age Group Championships in Calgary, a week after placing second overall at the Canadian Summer Nationals senior championships in Edmonton. Earlier in the season, OAK also won team titles at the Central Region team championships and Ontario Junior Provincial Championships. One of the club's alumni, Tera Van Beilen, also represented Canada at the Olympic Summer Games in London. National age group meet At the national age group meet, OAK's men racked up 1,658 points, more than twice the amount of its nearest competitor. OAK's women added 629.5 more points as the club finished with 2,287.5 points overall, nearly 900 more than second-place Calgary Cascade Swim Club (1,411). OAK men's 15-17 relay teams broke two national age-group records that had stood since 1988. The unit of Omar Mahmoud Arafa, Evan White, Gamal Assaad and Bryce Kwiecien-Delaney finished the 4x50-metre freestyle relay in 1:34.52, eclipsing the previous standard of 1:35.93. Peter Serles, Arafa, White and Kwiecien-Delaney completed the 4x50m medley relay in 1:45.53, bettering the old mark of 1:46.72. Individually, Mack Darragh (four gold, two bronze) and KwiecienDelaney (four gold, one silver, one bronze) led the way with six medals each. Arafa collected one gold, three silver and a bronze at the meet, with Luka Tomic (two gold, one silver, one bronze) and White (two gold, two silver) earning four medals apiece. Other individual medal winners SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012 23 Memorable season ends well for OAK included Maggie Copland (two silvers, one bronze), Ali Baki (two silvers), Annie Harrison (one silver, one bronze), Marni Oldershaw (two bronze), Mackenzie Hamill (bronze) and Emily Ramier (bronze). In relay, OAK's men's 13-andunder team of Marcelo Gamio, Tyler Altenhof, Tomic and Baki won both the 4x200m freestyle and medley relays. Bronze medals went to the women's 12-andunder 4x200m freestyle team (Sarah Cauvel, Christina Ji, Nina Tomic, Copland), the women's 13-14 4x200m freestyle squad (Kristen Olvet, Annika Grewal, Alexandra Fabugais-Inaba, Anaka Will-Dryden) and the women's 15-18 4x200m medley team (Rebecca Gibson, Sharalynn Missiuna, Harrison, Oldershaw). Also earning points for OAK with top-eight finishes were Perrie Armstrong, Mitchell Gour, Lauren Lalumiere, Matthew Mac, Julia Matusczak, Olivia Mae Sinclair, Olivia Strevett and David Whiteside. National senior championships In Edmonton, OAK earned 603 points to finish second to Vancouver's Pacific Dolphins Swim Club (842.5 points). Edmonton Keyano Swim Club was third with 533.5 points. Darragh (gold in men's senior 200m butterfly, bronze in 400m individual medley), Oldershaw (bronze in women's senior 200m individual medley) and Arafa (bronze in men's senior 50m backstroke) were OAK's individual medallists at the meet. Arafa, White, Assaad and Kwiecien-Delaney set another national age group men's relay record, this time in the 15-17 400m medley event. Victoria Munro, Reid Scarrow and Mika Spencer were among the OAK swimmers to post top-20 individual finishes and earn points for their club. ON TARGET: Tasha Beaudoin (pictured in action from last season) helped the Oakville Lady Hawks under-15 girls' field lacrosse team earn Division B silver at the recent provincial championships. Two other Lady Hawks teams won medals at the allOntario tournament, with the U13 team claiming Division A bronze and the U19 squad earning Division C gold. OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO Girls' lacrosse has 'now arrived' By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR Girls' lacrosse in Oakville continues to grow, both in popularity and provincial stature. Three Oakville Lady Hawks rep teams recently earned medals at the Ontario field championships in Oshawa. The under-13 squad earned bronze in Division A, the U15 team claimed silver in Division B and the U19 club -- winless a year ago -- won gold in Division C. Compare this season's haul to the one medal earned by Lady Hawks clubs last year (a Division C bronze from the U15 team), and it's clear the Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association (OMLA) girls' program is headed in the right direction -- fast. "I think we've now arrived," OMLA president Michael Varanesi said of the program, which is in just its third year of existence. "We've definitely proven ourselves to the rest of (Ontario women's field lacrosse). Not only have we arrived, but we're a growing organization and they're going to hear more from us in the future as we continue to develop our competitiveness, our skill level and our depth." Varanesi attributes the rapid ascent of girls' lacrosse in Oakville to coaching and an increasingly-competitive attitude. "Before, we might have been more focused on the fun and enjoyment aspect," he said. "This year... we brought in more (people) with significant experience in the game to help coach our girls. That's paid off with us being more competitive." Balanced scoring carries U13 team Balanced scoring might have been the biggest factor in the success of the U13 Lady Hawks. Eleven different players scored at least one goal each during the provincials, helping Oakville overcome losses in two of its first three games to rally for bronze. Following a 10-4 win over Orillia and losses to Brampton (10-6) and Oshawa 1 (9-7), the Lady Hawks romped to a 15-2 win over Kitchener-Waterloo 1 in the semis and an 11-3 victory over Orillia in the bronze-medal contest. Claire Mills scored four goals and added two assists in the bronze-medal game. Kaitlyn Ashmore and See Passionate, page 25