McMaster rowing heads to nationals after earning medals at OUA championships
For current fifth year student Sarah Cushnie, the rowing team is not where her McMaster athletic career began. Cushnie began as a cross country athlete, but two seasons ago she made the transition to the rowing team, and has since become the captain of the women's team.
“The transition was actually pretty smooth. So the reason I initially switched is because I was having a lot of injuries as a runner. So one of my forms of cross training was to get on the rowing machine on the erg. I really loved it and I also excelled at it,” said Cushnie.
As captain, her focus has been on making the entire rowing program a more cohesive one and bridging the gaps between the novice, junior varsity and varsity teams within the program.
A more cohesive environment seems to have helped the team excel this season. From the novice level to the varsity level, the rowing team achieved great results throughout the regular season, building momentum ahead of the Ontario University Athletics championships.
This year’s OUA championships were hosted in St. Catharines on Oct. 24. And Oct. 25. The competition saw the Marauders women's team capture multiple medals. Sarah Oresnik and Brooke McCoy earned a bronze medal in the lightweight women's pair event. Cushnie and Nathalie Hilbert won a silver medal in the open women's double event.
These impressive results set the Marauders up for a great push at this year’s Canadian University Rowing Championships on Nov 2. and Nov 3. in Victoria, BC. While the event may be a source of pressure, Cushnie sees it as a way to celebrate.
“Nationals is more just a celebration and it's normally like a bonus, but it's about kind of admiring the hard work and using that to appreciate the fun and the joy of the sport in a competitive environment,” said Cushnie.
Nationals is more just a celebration and it's normally like a bonus, but it's about kind of admiring the hard work and, and using that to appreciate the fun and the joy of the sport in a competitive environment
Sarah Cushnie, Women's Team Captain
McMaster Rowing Team.
The exciting weekend at nationals was also a busy one for the team. But despite the busyness of the weekend and the travel, the women's rowing team continued with their mindset of viewing being at nationals as a bonus. Cushnie recalled the gratitude she felt being able to spend her time with her soon-to-be-graduating teammates.
"I was sharing a hotel room with Kate [Panzica] and Natalie [Hilbert] because it was just like the open-weight women in one room and both of them are graduating this year. So for me it was really nice to have that opportunity to really connect with them on a formal trip one last time before they leave," said Cushnie.
As Cushnie took to the first race of the weekend with her partner, she did not fell much external pressure on herself, being already happy with the results of the season. Though with this being Cushnie and Hilbert’s final race weekend, a sense of optimism filled Cushnie.
“It was just like me and Natalie knew that we were fit. We knew that we rowed well together and that we looked at it like it was our last chance to compete because she’s leaving [Hilbert]. But we also kind of treated it more as like we're doing this for us, not for anyone else,” said Cushnie
It was just like me and Natalie knew that we were fit. We knew that we rowed well together and that we looked at it like it was our last chance to compete because she’s leaving [Hilbert]. But we also kind of treated it more as like we're doing this for us, not for anyone else.
Sarah Cushnie, Women's Team Captain
McMaster Rowing Team.
After this race, the 2024 season came to an end for Cushnie and the rest of the rowing team. But the growth of the rowing team is something Cushnie is determined to continue through the off season. She’s aiming to build an eight person boat team to race in competitions.
After a successful season, the growth of the women’s rowing team will be one to keep an eye on. Cushnie’s work will hopefully bring the team to the next level come next season, continuing the team's pattern of success this year.
After only winning two games in the previous season, the McMaster fast pitch team believes they have revamped and have the depth to compete with the best
Coming into this season, the McMaster women’s fast pitch team hopes to improve upon its previous season of loses and near misses.. The team was only able to pick up two wins in the 2023 season, with multiple of their losses coming down to just a one point difference.
To achieve an overall better record throughout this year's season, the team has expanded its roster from 17 players in the previous year to 25 players in the current season. Shannon Critchlow, the second year team captain, elaborated on why this was done.
“This year we decided to take more players because there were a lot of injuries last year, and people with injuries were playing which is not fantastic. But now we have a really big team which is nice, we can train those people. And we only have one graduating this year, so we’re a fresh team with a new start,” said Critchlow.
This year we decided to take more players because there were a lot of injuries last year, and people with injuries were playing which is not fantastic. But now we have a really big team which is nice, we can train those people. And we only have one graduating this year, so we’re a fresh team with a new start.
Shannon Critchlow, team captain, Marauder's fast pitch.
This is in an effort to maintain the health of their players and ensure that those with injuries can rest when needed as well as to create depth and diversity in the team. The fast pitch season is one that can be seen as grueling , with games being played in a back to back fashion meaning games occur right after one another, often with many games in one weekend.
This could be seen in the Marauders' opening weekend game, as the team played in back to back games against York University on Sep. 7. The team’s two opening games resulted in losses for the Marauders, but the team gained vital takeaways to consider for their future games this season.
“I believe the first score was six to two [against York] and the second one was also very close. They were winning ten to three at the beginning, but we came back and we lost 11 to eight. This was with two different rosters, so it shows that both rosters are equally strong, and very well rounded,” said Critchlow.
I believe the first score was six to two (against York) and the second one was also very close. They were winning ten to three at the beginning, but we came back and we lost 11 to eight. This was with two different rosters, so it shows that both rosters are equally strong, and very well rounded.
Shannon Critchlow, team captain, Marauder's fast pitch.
On Sep. 8, the Marauders took on Queen's University. With numerous players able to share playing time in the day prior, the Marauders came into their second game day ready to play hard.
“We wanted to use the first couple of games to see what we needed to work on as a team. Which I think we did well because we came out strong against Queen’s the next day,” said Critchlow.
The team was able to pick up two wins in two games. Their first matchup against the Gaels saw the Marauders come away with a four to three win, while the second game ended with a score of six to four in favour of the Marauders.
As the Marauders progress into the season, the intensity of games and will pick up. They will face the University of Waterloo's Warriors, the Guelph Gryphons and Wilfrid Laurier's Golden Hawks in a three day time span, for which their large roster will be needed.
“Next weekend we have six games, we’re going to be playing Waterloo, Laurier and Guelph. So it will be a lot of traveling with a lot of games,” said Critchlow.
Soon the season will be winding down for the Marauder’s fast pitch team, as they will finish their regular season on Sep. 29. Stay tuned for the results of the coming games.
It’s the biggest margin of victory yet, but this time in an unfortunate Marauders loss for the Marauders women's rugby team
As the McMaster University women’s rugby team entered week five of competition, they geared up to face the Queen’s Gaels. The Gael’s hold the number one spot on the U Sports women's rugby leaderboard and are the reigning national champions. It was obvious from the get-go that it would be a tough match ahead.
Coming into the week McMaster ranked quite highly themselves, having secured the number nine position in the U Sports ranking. They were coming off a 77 to zero win against the Laurier Golden Hawks and looked to provide a real challenge for the Gryphons.
Unfortunately for the Marauders, they weren’t able to provide much resistance in their battle with Canada’s number one, losing by a final score of 96 to three. Following the loss, McMaster was removed from the U Sports top 10 list.
Facing a top ranked team has proven to be a challenge for most teams. The top five ranked teams have yet to be beaten.
Katie Mcleod, the captain of the women’s team, discussed how difficult it can be facing teams like the Gaels and the strategy that goes along with these big games to ensure the team keeps on moving forward.
“We’ve been focusing on setting goals going into games. Not necessarily score focused goals, but systems goals,” said Mcleod.
“We’ve been focusing on setting goals going into games. Not necessarily score focused goals, but systems goals,”
Katie Mcleod, Captain of women's rugby team
She noted her team seemed to know this game would result in a defeat, showing the importance of goal setting to continue measuring progress regardless of the outcome.
“Going into our Queen’s game, we kind of knew it would be a loss,” explained Mcleod.
The game ended going in the way of the Gaels, as was apparently anticipated. Mcleod was the lone scorer for the Marauders.
But why do these scores keep occurring? How do these substantial margins continue to happen game after game and for every team, not just McMaster?
“It comes down to the legacy that teams have developed. Some teams have full time head coaches, which provides for better recruitment,” said Mcleod.
This message seems to ring true, seeing the recent scores throughout the league. It also makes sense that stronger players recruited to only certain schools would lend itself to the creation of uneven scores. Though it looks like McMaster is trying to compete with these top ranked teams with the addition of head coach Chris Jones and his coaching staff.
“Now that we’ve gotten a new coaching staff, I know that recruitment has become something more on the radar. Hopefully in a few years we can be at a higher level,” explained Mcleod.
Looking to finish the season strong, the Marauders women's rugby team will face York and Brock to wrap up the season. It will become very important for the team to keep their focus on the season ahead, despite the prospect of a promising future they may already be looking forward to.
