The cornerstone of most championship teams is strong depth and players that can be subbed in who will deliver a great performance. This is especially true for the men’s cross country team, led by veteran runner Sergio Raez-Villanueva. With a bevvy of talented players on the roster, the team’s potential is sky high.
At their first meet of the year in Buffalo, the Marauders sat most of their veteran players to give them rest in preparation for a meet which took place this past weekend on the 21. This allowed many of the younger runners a chance to shine, which they most certainly did.
“Veterans and rookies alike, we always say at the end of the day once you’re on the start line it’s all up to you. Sometimes the veteran doesn’t have a good day but the rookie steps up and really helps. We’ve seen that happen before, never count the rookies out or anyone for that matter. It really comes down to how people are feeling and we help each other as a team and that’s why we’re a team in cross country,” said Raez-Villanueva, star of the cross country team.
Placing second overall at the meet, standout players like the aforementioned Raez-Villanueva, Sam Nusselder and Taylor Cornwall posted the top three finishes for McMaster at the Buffalo meet. All together their depth helped them place second overall and only one point behind the hosts, the University of Buffalo Bulls.
“Sometimes people aren’t having a good day and sometimes where it matters you can’t do it for some reason or another, maybe you’re a little sick but then there’s someone else who can take that charge and what’s nice about this team is that we have that depth that when someone is not feeling that well there’s someone who can take charge and help us get back to the place that we need to be in,” Raez-Villanueva added.
Their depth has gained recognition at the national level as they are ranked first in the country, after previously being ranked third at the start of the season. Even though this is very high praise, it is not something the team chooses to focus on.
“You never want to get too confident with rankings and such we don’t want to get into our heads. Within ourselves we always talk, the rank is just there for show sometimes. Sometimes it’ll tell you you’re doing worse some days better but in the end, we’re always training hard, we’re always putting in our best effort it doesn’t matter what they’re saying out there or what people are predicting,” Raez-Villanueva added.
The marauders look to build off a highly successful season last year where they graced the U sports championship podium for the first time in six years. They also got gold for the first time since 1964 at the Ontario University athletics championships last year. All together the cross country team is looking to repeat and have another historic season this year.
By Eamonn Vallely, Contributor
Chris Chan is a 21 year old, fourth-year integrated science student from Vancouver, British Columbia. He also happens to be one of the most valuable players on the men’s ultimate frisbee team this year, especially after stepping up to the role of captain. Chan is approaching his new title with great mindfulness and targeted goals for the upcoming season.
For the first time this year, the men’s ultimate team has recruited a coach, Troy Booth, a very experienced frisbee player from Brisbane, Australia. This takes a load off of Chan’s back. In the past, captains often assumed the additional responsibilities of being a coach. Despite Chan being a very experienced and well-rounded player, having a couple more hands on deck, including his co-captain Torja Istiaque, offers Chan the chance to focus on the leadership aspect of his job.
Chan explained how much he values Istiaque as a co-captain. Istiaque has what Chan described as a macro-understanding of the game, something that Chan believes he himself lacks. Chan refers to macro-understanding as the ability to see a dilemma and its solution in the context of all factors that impact a game. He described how Istiaque can recognize the solution without overthinking it.
“For me personally, I’ve tended to always focus on very small parts of the game so for example, If I see something going wrong on the field or something [that is] not working out I’ll start thinking about every little thing and every reason why. But for him, he might just be like oh we need to switch this up in our system,” Chan said.
The team recently implemented a mindfulness training routine before games and practices. This idea is based off a book Chris has been reading, by George Mumford, called The Mindful Athlete.
“Re-focus on the present moment so you’re not thinking about varying distractions, so we can play to our fullest,” Chan said as he described the mindset in the book.
Chan’s passion for Ultimate is unwavering and real. This is evident in the way he describes the game and his goals. Chan has a set of objectives, as any leader should, and even though there are only three chances at competitions throughout the season, Chan’s goals are not simply based around a win.
“I don’t want to focus only on results. It’s not about finishing top eight, I just want our team to reach its full potential. I’ve found [that] if you place your focus on results it never turns out well,” Chan mentioned.
Chan believes the pathway to excellence is through treating every practice with the same intensity as a game. If the goals of a team are solely based around numbers, it is difficult to address the pathway to that success. The motivation is to be the best they can be.
The leadership role of captain comes with a unique set of responsibilities. For example, after a tough loss, the captain has to maintain composure and a positive attitude. Chan is fully aware of this and tries to approach every challenge with the concept of improvement. Captains and coaches will discuss attributes of the game the team needs to work on and consciously implement them in practices.
Chan would describe himself as a competitive person who believes that in order to compete at the highest level you have to have a fierce mentality on the field: to be relentless, mindful, selective and smart with your energy.
“I think you have to be if you ever want to compete at the highest level every time you step on that field you’re not thinking oh maybe I’ll go out and play well. You’re going out with the mentality of I’m going to destroy my matchup,” Chan added.
Chan has many goals related to ultimate, not all of which are necessarily confined to McMaster University. Ultimate frisbee is a relatively small sport in Canada, meaning there is a lot of room to ascend to higher skill levels and leagues. Chan strives to obtain a position on a professional ultimate team like Furious George from Vancouver or the GOAT ultimate squad from Toronto. Both of these teams represent some of the best ultimate players in Canada and the pinnacle of high-level disc.
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After falling to the Queen’s University Gaels for the Ontario University Athletics Forsyth Cup, the McMaster men’s volleyball team are headed to the U Sports Men’s Volleyball Championships, but not exactly where they would like to be.
For the first time in seven years, the Marauders are heading to nationals, not as OUA champions. Although surely grateful that they still get to compete at the national level, the disappointment is still there. After a change in OUA men’s volleyball structure, the men’s team had to play their final game on the Gaels’ home court, despite being the number one seed.
The close matchup saw the Marauders and Gaels play five sets. After ending the first set 19-25, the Marauders bounced back strong, winning the second and third set 25-19 and 25-23, respectively. Unfortunately, the Gaels were in the comfort of their own home and were able to outscore the Marauders in both the fourth and fifth set, 16-25 and 13-15.
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This result landed the Marauders ranked seventh place going into nationals in Quebec City this weekend. Not only is this McMaster's lowest seed at the national tournament since Mac hosted in 2007, but their first opponents are also their longtime rivals, British Columbia’s Trinity Western University Spartans.
The number two seeded team has faced Mac several times in the national playoffs, and for the last four years, they have outplayed Mac. For First Team All-Star left side Andrew Richards, this is the last Canadian university volleyball championships he will ever play in. So hopefully the Marauders will be able to shake the curse and come out victorious against the Spartans.
First serve is scheduled for this Friday at 6:00 p.m.
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[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="233" gal_title="Love in Maroon 1"]
When Rachel Woock was in her first year at McMaster, she immediately fell for Matt Quiring. The tall blonde basketball player was on her mind for quite some time but like most men, Quiring was too oblivious to notice. Putting her feelings aside, the two remained friends for a while until a falling out stopped them from speaking to each other for a month. It was not until the men’s volleyball North American Challenge last year that they broke their silence and put aside their differences. A month later the two started dating and the pair has been inseparable ever since. Part of what makes them work as a couple is being student-athletes. Being able to understand where the other is coming from because they both play a sport where such a strong team component has been key in their relationship. Another thing that has kept them together is their faith. As Christians, figuring out that they were on the same level spiritually has been really encouraging for the couple. When asked what advice they would give other student-athletes in relationships, they encourage them to be vulnerable. Frustrated after a loss? Let the other know, so it does not affect your relationship. Accepting who the other is but also being willing to change as they grow, is all part of what makes this couple work.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="231" gal_title="Love in Maroon 2"]
Starting off as friends in their first year, Steph Roberts and Anthony Bontorin would always see each other on residence, at the gym and around campus. It was during the summer of second year when the two both stayed in Hamilton that they began to hang out more seriously and eventually became official. The two bonded over their sports and being able to understand each other's schedules as student-athletes. Although Bontorin suffered from an injury that has prevented him from playing, he is still a huge part of the men’s football team and is often just as busy as Roberts. Despite their schedules, the two make time for each other and support one another. Roberts even credits Bontorin’s role in supporting her during her breakout year a big part of her success. Being with someone who knows exactly what being a student-athlete entails is something the couple cherishes. With sports being a year-long and time-consuming commitment, both Bontorin and Roberts are happy they have found each other in the process.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="229" gal_title="Love in Maroon 3"]
The first time Jay Anyimadu and Krystal Henry-Mathieu met each other, they were both Marauders receiving treatment after getting injured playing their sport. They saw each other for three weeks while at treatment, but that was all. Fast-forward to last year, when Henry-Mathieu replied to Anyimadu’s Instagram story, he kept the conversation going and they soon realized how much they had in common. The two no longer played for the school, as Henry-Mathieu had a career-ending injury and Anyimadu had moved on the Junior Canadian Football League, but their student-athlete mindset remained the same. Although she is retired, Henry-Mathieu was one of the few people who he could relate to. This past fall during his first season with the Junior CFL, Anyimadu was named Defensive All-Canadian and his team, the Hamilton Hurricanes, were named the Ontario champions. Through it all, Henry-Mathieu was right by his side cheering him on, even when it was cold, because not only does she love the sport, but the things that make him happy, make her happy.
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The McMaster swimming team will be heading to the University of British Columbia for the U Sports Swimming Championships on Thursday, Feb. 21 through Saturday, Feb. 23. After competing at the Ontario University Athletic Championships this past weekend, the women’s team finished with 545 points as a group, beating out Western University for second place for the first time since 2007. A large part of the team’s success is thanks to Isabelle Lei’s silver medal in the 200m individual medley and bronze in the 400m freestyle. Lei also helped win three medals in team relays. On the men’s side, Mitch Muizelaar took home the team’s only gold medal, repeating as OUA champion in the 1500m freestyle. The qualified Marauders will be competing during nationals this weekend.
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The McMaster wrestling team will be heading to Calgary for the U Sports Wrestling Championships, hosted by the University of Calgary on Feb. 22-23, 2019. The Marauders, who medaled during the OUA championships, will be attending the national competition. On the men’s side, Ameen Aghamirian, who was previously named U Sports Athlete of the Week, was named the OUA's Most Outstanding Male Wrestler, and first-year Trystan Kato took home the men's Rookie of the Year award. While for the women, Ligaya Stinellis and Joelle Vanderslagt each took home a silver medal.
The cross-country team will take their talents indoors this reading week for the OUA Track and Field Championships, which will take place at the Toronto Track & Field Centre on Feb. 22-23. The team completed their outdoor season with great success, and have been competing in indoor meets ever since in preparation for these championships. The medalists of the meet will move on to compete at the national level for the U Sports Championships at the University of Manitoba on March 7-9.
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Ameen Aghamirian, Men’s Wrestling
This weekend, the McMaster wrestling team attended the Ontario University Athletics Wrestling Championships and, for the fourth year in a row, the men took home silver overall. Aghamirian’s dominance on the mats earned him national recognition, as he was U Sports Male Athlete of the Week.
Congratulations to Ameen Aghamirian, our U SPORTS Male Athlete of the Week! 🤼♂️
Félicitations à Ameen Aghamirian, l'athlète de la semaine masculin de U SPORTS! 🤼♂️
🔗 EN: https://t.co/lK7hWCGOAs // 🔗 FR: https://t.co/neIdzK39lW pic.twitter.com/CFkke2MPeV
— U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) February 6, 2019
Aghamirian helped his team by winning gold in the 82 kg weight class. He defeated the Lakehead University Voyageurs’ Brody Evans and the York University Lions’ Jasman Gill due to technical superiority, and beat the University of Guelph Gryphons’ Simon Chaves 6-1.
This victory took him to the divisional final where he defeated the Western University Mustangs’ Brandon Amboto by tiebreaker after a 5-5 match due to a higher number of takedowns. His efforts from the weekend led him to be named McMaster’s Pita Pit Athlete of the Week. Next up, Aghamirian and the Marauders prepare for the U Sports championships on Feb. 22-23.
Stinellis made Marauders history after taking home the OUA Rookie of the Year earlier this season. The Pita Pit Athlete of the Week is the first female wrestler to win the award since it began in 2008. Stinellis took the 48kg weight class by storm, pinning all three of her opponents: Voyageurs’ Megan Smith, Lions’ Gurleen Tak and former medalist, Western’s Christine Grafe. In the finals, she, unfortunately, was pinned by the Gryphons’ vet Natassya Lu, and walked away with a silver medal. Her efforts helped the Marauders place fifth overall and secured her spot at the U Sports Wrestling Championships.
This weekend, the men’s volleyball team’s victory had two co-stars leading it. The duo helped lead the Marauders to a 3-1 defeat over the University of Waterloo Warriors on the road. Both Richards and Passalent finished the game with 16 kills, with Richards adding four aces and one block assist to the stat sheet, and Passalet adding two aces and two total blocks. The defeat bumped the men up to fourth place nationally, improving to a 10-2 OUA regular season record. Up next, the team will host the Nipissing University Lakers and the Lions for their final home matches of the regular season. The Saturday, Feb. 9, will be a special Pride celebration, followed by a showdown with York the next day.
Gates was once again an on-the-court leader this weekend in Mac’s 65-41 defeat over the Western Mustangs. With a game-high 19 points and 8 rebounds, putting her just two shy of a double-double. The 2018 OUA Rookie of the Year has been performing extremely well this season and is on track to being named an OUA all-star. The victory helped the team move up to third place in the U Sports national rankings, and first place in the OUA West, clinching a playoff berth. Gates and the Marauders will head to Algoma University this weekend to take on the Thunderbirds.
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On Jan. 20, the McMaster men’s volleyball team narrowly avoided a division-shaking upset at the hands of the bottom-of-the-division Brock University Badgers. After managing to survive the close five-set match, the Marauders found themselves ranked fifth in the country, holding onto their spot atop Ontario University Athletics West division.
A large reason why the Marauders were able to survive the Badgers was thanks to right side Matt Passalent, who recently returned from a torn labrum that had kept him out since preseason. Passalent’s six aces, 18 kills and team-high 25 points helped the Mac men stay undefeated in the new year.
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“It's so good to be back with the guys,” Passalent said. “When you're not doing something for a really long time it makes you really miss it and you can almost take it for granted when you have really tough weeks. It really made me hungry to get back.”
Passalent first returned to action just in time to help the Marauders in two key wins over top-10 teams. The 2018 OUA all-star combined for an impressive 25 kills and 31 points in his debut over the Jan. 12-13 weekend in Burridge Gym. There was a reason why Passalent was named an all-star last year, and his presence was missed in the Marauders’ rotation.
“Just working hard for three years, every day practicing, going to lift,” said Passalent on his all-star campaign. “It's definitely a grind and it's not an easy thing to do at all. I would also say just having my teammates there, it makes it a lot easier to go to a late practice or workout when you have your best friends with you.”
“I'd say we just have a really good bond and culture on our team and the guys always get along and we're all brothers,” Passalent added. “I would say that's a big reason of just why it's so fun to play for this program.”
Passalent has deep ties to McMaster’s volleyball program, going back to his childhood. He was introduced to volleyball through his family, who all played the sport, and he began to play in a Hamilton house league around eight years old.
Being in the Hamilton community, it was a natural progression to get involved with McMaster volleyball as Passalent began to make a name for himself, catching the eye of Mac head coach Dave Preston at a young age.
“Mac's always had a really good program for the last like 12 years,” said Passalent. “I started going to their summer camps… for like six or seven summers straight, and then I'd kind of developed a bond with Dave. Then I didn't really have any doubt that I was going to go to Mac. I mean, it's in my hometown, both my parents went here, so it was definitely the right choice for me.”
Now in his fourth year with the team, Passalent noted how much his role has changed since first donning the maroon and grey.
“Being a fourth-year, I'm kind of more of a leader now,” Passalent said. “I'm a guy I think the younger guys look up to and I like to take some of them under my wing. And obviously, now that I'm a fourth-year, I'm becoming more depended on game-wise, like more load, more volume. So that's definitely changed over the four years of what my role is on the team.”
4️⃣ @mcmasteru programs are ranked in today's new @usportsca Top 10s!@macwbball leads the way, matching a season high by rising to 3️⃣ #GoMacGo pic.twitter.com/AV1psYwbDt
— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) January 22, 2019
Rounding the corner into the final sprint of the regular season, the Marauders have their sights set on returning to the U Sports Championships once again, which will be held at Laval University this season. After hosting the tournament last year and finishing with a bronze medal, the Marauders know it won’t be an easy task to repeat as OUA Champions.
But before the team can even think about making a trip to Quebec City in March, they still have six regular season games to play. The remaining games begin with two tough weekends ahead, with a trip to a hostile Waterloo University coming on Feb. 2. The following weekend, the Marauders will be hosting back-to-back games against Nipissing University and York University, where Passalent will surely play an integral role in the team continuing their winning streak.
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Taking place on Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. at Ron Joyce Stadium, this exhibition between the McMaster Marauders and the Saskatchewan Huskies involves similar storylines for both. Each will want to show the ability to contend on a national scale despite coaching changes.
The Marauders team continues to set their sights high with the Vanier Cup being the end-goal. While it is easy to get caught up in immediate results, the priority and gameplan will continue to be consistent success set up by phenomenal recruiting. One finals appearance will not be good enough.
“[Head coach] Greg Knox has now gotten through the interim year, and he’s done a great job with recruiting class … ranked second in the nation, so that’s good news,” said Glen Grunwald, Director of Athletics and Recreation.
Despite a 6-2 record last season and a narrow loss to Laurier in the OUA semifinals, an extensive amount of changes were made to the staff in order to better contend for the national championship.
On Quinlan specifically, Grunwald noted how he is able to serve a multi-purpose role and undertake the full responsibility of the job.
“He’s obviously a legend, and that helps with recruiting as well as coaching existing student athletes. I think he’s got the whole package, and we’re happy and very thankful that he’s back where he belongs.”
Knox also noted that the new structure and changes means that the full-time staff has doubled.
For this team, the expectations should be high despite the growing pains that may be needed to introduce faces new and old to the program.
On the other side of this game, the Huskies are looking to start a new era. Coming off a 5-3 season and a loss in the Canada West semi-finals, their storyline is mostly based off of a single staffing adjustment.
The departure of head coach Brian Towriss, having lead the team for 33 seasons, the national record in wins by a university football coach at 196, nine Vanier Cup appearances and three championships, left an attractive spot open.
The new coach, Scott Flory, played with the team during three Vanier Cup appearances and two championships from 1994 to 1998 before a 14 year career in the CFL. He then served as the elected president of the Canadian Football League Players’ Association.
“I knew early in my professional career that I wanted to be a coach and get into coaching. To come back here and have the opportunity to do it here is definitely a dream come true,” said Flory back in March.
Both teams have something to prove and questions to answer. While it may not be a regular season game, it will represent the off-season’s progress and serve as the first indicator for each teams’ long-term success or failure.
May 31 – Women’s lacrosse
Brandan Sweeney, who served as an assistant coach with the McMaster men’s lacrosse team since 2011, was named the head coach of the women’s lacrosse team.
He formerly served as the head coach of Queen’s team starting in 2004 while completing his master’s degree. Winning the OUA Coach of the Year award in 2005, the first Gaels coach to win the honour, his success continued for multiple years there and for a season with the University of Washington.
After obtaining his PhD from Queen’s in 2010, he returned to McMaster in 2011.
“It’s been a decade since my last head coaching post at the OUA level, and I’m looking forward to the unique challenge that it brings,” said Sweeney.
His priority and mindset seems to be centered on creating a positive student-athlete environment for his team to succeed in no matter what success might mean to them.
“For some, it’s winning, and winning is ideal. But why do many people play? They play for the team-building and to learn and develop, and for many, that’s part of their learning alongside their studies. We want to build a successful program where we learn how to be competitive and how to work hard, but also how to work as a team and develop those relationships and leadership capabilities.”
He will also serve as the head coach of the Hamilton Bengals U19 girls field program.
June 12 – Men’s volleyball
The men’s volleyball team, defending OUA champions, added two new names to their staff. The first is Ian Eibbitt, who has served twice as the head coach of the Team Ontario U18 program and returns to the provincial staff in 2017 for the Canada Games. The second is Aytac Kilic, former Turkish national team player, who has nearly two decades of experience as a player and a coach.
“We continue to provide tremendous resources to help develop our student-athletes and help them reach their potential,” said head coach Dave Preston.
June 19 – Women’s basketball
It was announced that the women’s basketball team would be participating in the Buddha Light International Association Cup tournament from July 25 to 30 at the Kaoshiung Arena in Taiwan.
Organized by the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, the tournament features eight women’s teams and eight men’s teams with representatives from the USA, Australia, France, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and China.
“Being exposed to very different styles of play from all the different countries will be exciting. I believe that as much as they will gain from the on-court experience, our team will also gain so much from the trip itself and being exposed to a different culture,” said head coach Theresa Burns.
This comes one year after the men’s basketball team participated in the men’s tournament there and achieved first place.
June 23 – Nike
Glen Grunwald, the Director of Athletics and Recreation, announced a new partnership agreement for McMaster athletics with Nike. This comes after the five year exclusivity deal signed in 2012 that made McMaster the first Nike school in Canada. Local distributor T. Litzen Sports in Dundas will continue to be the main servicer of the agreement.
“It is crucial that we have the support of great corporate partners, and it doesn’t get much bigger than Nike. We have done some amazing things over the life of this partnership, and I am confident even more is on the horizon,” said Grunwald.
In addition, T. Litzen Sports is donating a new scoreboard with video capability for the Burridge Gymnasium. It will be installed in the fall in time for the start of the 2017-18 varsity sports season.
June 27 – Men’s volleyball
It was announced that the men’s volleyball team would welcome the Ohio State Buckeyes team for two matches on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22. The last time they played was in Burridge Gym on Dec. 30, 2016 where the Marauders won the single match 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 32-30).
Ohio State has won the last two NCAA national championships, and the Marauders have won the last five OUA titles. Since McMaster’s first trip to Columbus in 2014, they have won three of the five matches played.
“I can’t think of a better way to help prepare ourselves to compete for a National Championship in our own gym next March,” said head coach Dave Preston.
Special thanks to Fraser Caldwell, Sports Information Director, Bill Malley, Media Coordinator, and the rest of the staff at the Department of Athletics and Recreation for the information and quotes for all of the dates featured.
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The results speak for themselves. After being added as an assistant coach in 2010 to the Ryerson Rams, the team achieved consistent Ontario University Athletics Final Four and Quarter-Finals appearances. The Rams continued to surpass high expectations when he served as interim head coach in 2015-16 to win the Rams’ first Wilson Cup title as OUA champions.
U SPORTS, known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport at the time, awarded him the Stu Aberdeen Trophy as Coach of the Year. Tatham is the only Ryerson coach in its program’s history to be awarded the honour.
He then took a professional development leave from Ryerson for the 2016-17 season to become an assistant coach with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League, affiliated with the Boston Celtics. They reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in its short history before losing to the eventual champions, the Raptors 905.
While McMaster has had a successful program in the past, Tatham’s hiring brings a new hope to return to the upper echelon of Canadian men’s basketball programs.
“Patrick has established himself as one of the rising stars among all Canadian basketball coaches and we are looking forward to his building on the great tradition of McMaster Marauder basketball,” said McMaster Director of Athletics and Recreation Glen Grunwald.
This tradition and established history of the program at McMaster is something that Tatham mentioned is on the forefront of his mind.
“I think that anytime you get an opportunity you get an opportunity to leave your mark on a program, especially one like Mac, it’s a no brainer. I can’t even use excited anymore, I’m so elated.”
Tatham also cited Joe Raso, who served the Marauders as the coach from 1992 to 2010 and achieved 12 national championship tournament placements, as a source of inspiration.
Since then, Amos Connolly led the team to a 151-66 record over his seven-year tenure as Head Coach, and received the OUA West Coach of the Year award in 2014 after leading McMaster to a third place finish in the conference. He will remain in the program as a Recruiting Coordinator and Player Development Specialist.
“Changing roles, while it may be unconventional, provides me the opportunity to stay connected to this great program in a way that lines up with my strengths and goals as a coach,” said Connolly.
This ability to recruit is evident when looking back at what he helped accomplish for the program. First-year players Adam Presutti and Rohan Boney won OUA West Rookie of the Year honours in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Presutti also won the Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy as U SPORTS Rookie of the Year as McMaster’s first-ever winner of the award.
“Hands down, there’s an OUA championship or at least an OUA final four birth in the next three years. There’s no ifs, ands or buts, that’s a must.”
Patrick Tatham
Head coach
Men's basketball
Though the team had a disappointing season last year, they finished with an 8-11 conference record, became plagued with injuries to top players and failed to make the OUA Final Four, Tatham acknowledged the positives he has to work with.
“The foundation of the men’s basketball program is rock solid…. I think it’s all set up in the right way now.”
Connor Gilmore, who earned a spot on the OUA First-Team All-Star list, and David McCulloch, the team’s minutes leader and a model of consistency, will both return for their fourth years. Tatham steps into his role with a young roster that wants to succeed on a provincial and national level.
Tatham’s resume, the program’s former pedigree and the current state of the team should come with high expectations. Though the team has not achieved an OUA final four since the 2013-14 season, Tatham responded with enthusiasm when asked about his expectations over the next three years.
“Hands down, there’s an OUA championship or at least an OUA final four birth in the next three years. There’s no ifs, ands or buts, that’s a must.”
Moving forward, Tatham will also be working with Canada Basketball as the assistant coach for the Cadet Men’s National Team over the next two summers.
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Correction: Connor Gilmore announced in late April that he will be transferring to the University of Ottawa.
