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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday August 23, 2008 - 73 Target practice at U.S. Open Dan Haslett hopes to be on target this weekend at the U.S. Open. The 48-year-old local resident won't be battling the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Ana Ivanovic or Serena Williams. Rather, he'll be competing for the right to play with some of tennis' elite, the reward for winning the Valspar Paint Performance Challenge. The challenge, to be held tomorrow at New York's USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, will test the hitting accuracy of eight contestants. Each participant will have 60 seconds to hit as many targets as possible -- 30 seconds for forehand shots and 30 seconds for backhands. Haslett earned his spot by winning the regional challenge at the Rogers Cup recently in Toronto. He hit six targets on the back courts at Rexall Centre to advance to the regional final, where he outlasted three other competitors in a tiebreaker. Two targets are located on the service line, two on the baseline, and two more in between. "I do like targets," Haslett said when asked if the contest appealed to his strengths as a player. "If you're a serve and volley player, coming to the net, I like that. It gives me an opening to aim for." With balls being fed every 1.5 seconds or so, there isn't much time to pick your spot. "It's all repetition," said Haslett, who has played tennis for 35 years but never took a lesson. "What I found I had to do was try to aim for the same spot all the time, and hopefully the ball goes there. A lot of it is luck more than skill." Haslett was going to the U.S. Open anyway, as a fan. This year's event will be the fourth U.S. Open he's attended. Last year's Valspar Paint Performance Challenge winner got to play a doubles game with Federer and Williams. Haslett is hoping for a similar opportunity this year. "I love getting autographs. I'm still one of those people," said Haslett, who plays out of Wallace Park Tennis Club. "I'm still kind of a kid at heart. It's fun for me." -- Jon Kuiperij LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER TENNIS ACE: Dan Haslett, pictured practicing this week at Wallace Park Tennis Club, will compete in a skills challenge at this weekend's U.S. Open in New York. Soccer players enjoy Olympic feel at Ontario Summer Games By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF They had all tasted success on the soccer pitch, but this time was a little different. "This was a little more special," said Oakville's Gloria Lee after she and Alex Johnson and Lori Israelian helped Brampton's Brams United Blaze U15 win the Ontario Summer Games gold medal. "It's pretty big because of all the other sports. It's like a mini-Olympics." The fact that they won their gold medal while the Olympics were being contested in Beijing only added to the atmosphere around the tournament. "It's definitely something we're going to remember for a long time," Israelian said. And just in case there was need for any more incentive, Brams United's opponent in the final was Mississauga's Dixie Dragons, Johnson and Israelian's former team. Dixie had its own moti- vation to beat Brampton after Brams United topped Dixie to win last year's Ontario Cup. In the Ontario Summer Games final, Brampton scored in the first half to take the early lead but Dixie scored the equalizer -- the first goal allowed by Brams United in the tournament. Despite good pressure by Brams United, the Dixie keeper helped keep the game tied until Brampton scored with 15 minutes to play. That goal would hold up the rest of the way. "We worked really hard," Johnson said. "This was our main priority for the season." Brampton won all three of its round-robin games before blanking Pickering 3-0 in the semifinals. The three Oakville teammates will go their separate ways once Brams United's season is over as they will become rivals during the high school season. Israelian attends Oakville Trafalgar, Johnson goes to White Oaks and Lee is a student at Iroquois Ridge. CHRIS KORNACKI / OAKVILLE BEAVER BLAZING: Local soccer players Gloria Lee, Alex Johnson and Lori Israelian (left to right) recently helped Brampton's Brams United Blaze U15 win gold at the Ontario Summer Games. WHO DOES IT... 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