Congratulations to Heather Borsos and Joe Lloyd!

• Simcoe.com Brad Pritchard Jun 16, 2011
  

Banting tennis duo serving up excellence

Tennis anyone?. Grade 10 Banting Memorial students Heather Borsos and Joe Lloyd are rising tennis stars. Recently, Borsos won silver at OFSAA while Lloyd won the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association regional title. Brad Pritchard photo

ALLISTON - Banting Memorial High School is a force to be reckoned with on the tennis court thanks to Grade 10 students Heather Borsos and Joe Lloyd. Both walked away with a medal apiece during their tournament runs this past season.

Borsos won silver at this year’s provincial OFSAA tennis tourney, while Lloyd won the boys junior title at the Georgian Bay Secondary School Association (GBSSA) finals.

Borsos, who won the girls GB junior title last year, felt comfortable enough this time around to compete against senior players at OFSAA held in Toronto. It turned out to be a wise decision.

“Overall (OFSAA) was much tougher than the GBs,” Borsos said. “The first series of games weren’t so bad but it got more challenging near the end.”

Borsos, who was recently named the high school's junior female athlete of the year, said a gold medal was well within her grasp during her final battle against a Grade 12 student from Port Hope. However, she said adverse weather threw her off kilter and she lost 8-3.

“It was really windy that day, you could tell by looking over at the picnic tables,” she said. “I think if I had the chance to play her again on a day that wasn’t as windy, things would have been different.”

Unlike Borsos, Lloyd opted not to compete at the senior level, but based on his performance at the GBs held in Collingwood, he could have easily been a contender. Close to every game he racked up considerably more points than his opponent. He won the GB junior championship game 8-2.

Lloyd said he’s been focusing much more on tennis since coming to Banting two years ago.

“I’ve been playing off and on for a while now, I really love the sport,” he said. “But the school has definitely been helpful focusing me.”

Lloyd is a regularly seen working on his court presence in Alliston and Tottenham, and down in Markham at indoor facilities during the winter months. He’s also passionate for hockey, but he admits tennis will demand more of his time over the foreseeable future.

The same can be said for Borsos, whose eyes light up with ambition when asked about where she plans to be as a tennis player when she graduates.

“I’m already looking at scholarship opportunities in the U.S.,” she said.

Borsos and Lloyd said many thanks goes out to their coach Matt McKnight who dedicated much of his time to mentor the pair both on and off the court