WHITBY FREE PRESS. WEDNESDAY, MAY 6,1987. PAGE 31. w S PORTS Juniors look for big year JOHN FUSCO picked up the two club and the Jean Dopp Memorial prestigious trophies at this year's Trophy as the most valuable player. Brooklin Redmen awards banquet. He He also received a watch from Balfour ,was the recipient of the Gerry Gray 'anada. Free Press photo Trophy as the leading scorer for the W arriors prepare The Whitby Warriors will get their junior A lacrosse season un- derway on May 8 when they face off against St. Catharines. Returning for his second year behind the bench is coach Paul Rycroft, who is expecting this year's team to challenge last year's eventual Minto Cup winners Peter- borough. But before the season opens, Rycroft has to pare the team down to 23 players. "There is a lot of competition for a few spots this year," said Rycroft, who is the Town of Whit- by's deputy director of planning. He said there are four or five openings contested by 10 or 15 players. While Rycroft deemed 1986 "a rebuilding year" when the team had 13 rookies, the Warriors are expected to be a more experienced team this year with all13 returning. Two Whitby veterans, Bill Callan and Dave Sachko are also returning for their last year of play. Two Whitby products who played for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League, Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk, are eligible to play for the Warriors. "We have been talking to them but right now they don't know if they will play," said Rycroft. Rycroft said Nieuwendyk is returning to Cornell University in New York state where he will be finishing his studies until July. He does not know Roberts' plans. "But they are both welcome to play with us." Last year, Whitby finished third in the six-team league, one point behind St. Catharines. They eventually lost to St. Catharines in the 1986 playoffs. "We still have to get our power play and special teams working cohesively," said Rycroft assessing the team's performance to date. The team is comprised mainly of players fron Whitby, Oshawa, Ajax and Pickering, age 17 to 21. Looking at the league, Rycroft expects Peterborough to be the team to beat, while St. Catharines and Etobicoke will also be strong. "We will be fairly competitive .this year, perhaps in the top two," said Rycroft. Whitby's talented junior basebail team will be moving up one notch in competitive level as it seeks a second straight provincial championship. "We're going A (level) this year," says manager Dean Keating, "I've got six players graduating after this year (to senior) and this will be like a challenge to them." Only one player, Tony Sorichetti, has graduated from last year's B squad which had a team batting average of .325 and finished with a league record of 13 wins, five losses, good for first place, and an overall record of 30 wins, 13 losses and a tie for the season. And a few new players are vying for a position in the lineup: "We've got some good prospects," says Keating of his team. Pitching is good; he says, but he'd like to see more "consistency." Greg Iannarilli, a right-hander, leads the pitching corps along with Scott Burnett and Rob Lightle. Another. newcomer is Rob Rook of Oshawa, who will replace Brian Grylls, now living in Kitchener as he attends the University of Waterloo. Grylls is a "premier" third baseman, says Keating, and some arragement might yet be made to have him play in some games. Meanwhile Burnett is theteam's leading hitter, batting for a .475 average last year. Burnett wasnt only the top hitter at last year's On- tario championship, he also threw one-hitter in the final game to easily win selection as most valuable player. But Keating says it's the con- tribution, game in and game out, of his other steady players such as second uaseman Doug McCorkell, right fielder Steve Gibson and cen- trefielder and leadoff hitter Ian Parsons, which makes the team successful. Parsons, for example, will hit from .250 to .275 but has the highest on-base percentage on the team. Whitby didn't play in the elimination tournament last year, an event held by the Ontario Baseball Association to determine which team will go to the provin- cials tournament. But Keating plans to field his team in that event this year. The championship won by his team last year was in the tour- nament held by the Eastern On- tario Baseball Association. Chief league rivals for the Whitby team this year, as last year, will be Peterborough along with Oshawa, which plays about 10 games against the local league and remainder against Toronto teams. The local, or Eastern Ontario league, includes Whitby, Ajax, Peterborough, Kingston, Belleville, Bowmanville, Little .Britain, Port Hope, and new this year, Orillia, Stouffville and Newmarket. Team members are 17 to 20 years of age, a level that includes juvenile age players. Keating says his team has the depth and ability to match most A teans. "We can hold our own," he says. "I think we're going to be strong." SEE PAGE 38 Van Patter is national champion Heather Van Patter of Whitby was recently part of a doubles team that won the Canadian champion- ship for under-16 girls. Van Patter, a Gr. 9 student at Henry Street High School, teamed with Beth Richardson of Brantford to capture the title. "It was an experience," said Van Patter, 14, who also holds four On- tario titles. She practices at Harwood Secon- dary School in Ajax, as a member of the Harwood Regional Badmin- ton Club. Club coach Wayne King predicts his prize student will Primeau wins three Wendy Primeau of the Whitby Iroquois Swim Club claimed three gold medals for girls 13 and 14 in the 50, 200, and 400 freestyle events at the Mutual Life Invitational meet held in Waterloo last weekend. Primeau also placed second in 800 freestyle, 400 individual medley, and 100 freestyle. Leslie Dowson won the 50 freestyle, and the 400 freestyle, placed second in the 200 backstroke and received a bronze for the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke, for the 10 and under girls. In the same division, Suzanne Dainty won the 200 breaststroke, placed second in the 100 breaststroke, and third in the 100fly. For boys 11 and 12, Scott Currie won the 100 backstroke and the 200 backstroke, placed second in the 200 individual medley, and third in the*1000 fly. Mark Kelly, for boys 13 and 14, won the 50 freestyle and placed third in the 100 freestyle. In girls 15 and over events, Julie Leswick won the 200 backstroke and placed second in the 100 backstroke. The relay team of Neil Balan, Sandy Mark, Rick Marsh and An- drew Dowson won the 200 medley relay, and placed second in the 200 freestyle relay, for boys 10 and un- der. Molly Morrice claimed two silver medals for both the 100 backstroke and the 50 freestyle, and was third in the 200 backstroke for girls 10 and under. In boys 10-and under, Neil Balan won bronze for the 400 SEE PAGE 38 someda . go ar in badminton com- petition. *In Winnipeg. he points out, Van; Patter was ninth overall out of all competitors under-19. She also won the Ontario championship last year for girls under-14. . Van Patter added the LOSSA and DYSAA high schools titles a few weeks ago in singles and placed fif- th in the Ontario school champion- ship April 25. That's an impressive showing against older, under-19 competition. Her partner Richar- dson, also 14, was third in the On- tario competition, won by Robin Hermitage of Kitchener. Van Patter likes both singles and doubles. She finds that singles demands much more "mental toughness," as compared to doubles play in which she and Richardson can discuss strategy. Concentration is her strong suit, says coach King. Van Patter says she would like to improve her speed and strokes as she trains for next season. The badminton season is now over until next fall but Van Patter will continue her training, three to four hours a day, four to six days a week. Meanwhile King, coach at the Harwood club established 11 years ago, left early this week for China as part of an exchange visit