McMaster women’s curling team wraps up yet another successful season with a win at the OUA championship, places fifth at U Sports Championships
The McMaster University women's curling team just wrapped up another impressive, and perhaps underappreciated, season. Notably, the team won the 2023 Ontario University Athletics Championships and finished fifth at the national U SPORTS Championships.
Hosted by Ontario Tech University, the OUA Curling Championships took place over Feb. 3 to Feb 5. The championships kicked off with a four-game round-robin on Friday morning followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals.
By the end of the round-robin, the Marauders had a record of three wins and one loss. McMaster went on to win against the Western University Mustangs in the quarterfinals with a score of seven to three and the Queens University Gaels in the semifinals, eight to one.
The championship game came down to a close competition between McMaster and the Laurentian University Voyageurs on Sunday afternoon. After some back-and-forth action, McMaster broke the three-to-three tie in the eighth and final end to win the 2023 OUA Championships.
The OUA title is the fourth in McMaster women’s curling program history. A few Mac athletes received recognition with Evelyn Robert named as OUA first team all-star, while Grace Lloyd and Madelyn Warriner were named OUA second team all-stars.
“We won OUAs in 2020 as well and we had a couple of returning players from that year, and we also have some really talented players that just came in for their first year. So we were really excited going into it and were pretty confident that we could do well. We put in a lot of work practicing and training off-ice as well throughout the season,” explained Warriner.
The team training schedule consists of two hours of on-ice training, dry-land training with McMaster’s high-performance centre for athletes and a weekly open league game at the Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club. Many of the athletes also play on competitive teams outside of McMaster on the weekends.
Following the OUA Championship, team headed to the U Sports Championships in Sudbury, Ontario which took place between Mar. 15 to Mar. 19. The national championships featured teams from Dalhousie University, the University of Alberta and the University of Prince Edward Island.
“It's a bit more of a surprise going into [the U Sports championship] I would say. You're not entirely sure what each specific team is going to bring to the table, but that's kind of what makes it so exciting. You don't really know what to expect and you really just focus on yourself and how you can personally prepare to be the best that you can, so that when you go into it you can perform at your top level,” said Warriner.
The Marauders played a total of seven games at the U Sports Championships. The final record was four losses and three wins against University of Victoria, University of PEI and Toronto Metropolitan University. It’s worth noting that McMaster was unable to clinch a semi-final spot against Laurentian, despite defeating the home team twice in the OUA Championships.
“They had been playing very well all week. We had seen it and it was reflected in their record — they were top of the table. So we knew going into it that we had to play really well if we wanted to beat them and they just had the edge on us that day,” explained Warriner.
“They had been playing very well all week. We had seen it and it was reflected in their record — they were top of the table. So we knew going into it that we had to play really well if we wanted to beat them and they just had the edge on us that day,”
Madelyn Warriner, McMaster Women’s Curling Skip
Ultimately, McMaster finished fifth with University of Alberta taking home the 2023 U Sports championships. However, two McMaster athletes earning All-Canadian honours with Evelyn Robert named to the All-Canadian First Team and Grace Lloyd to the All-Canadian Second Team.
Looking ahead, Warriner and the McMaster women’s curling team have two key goals. To defend their OUA Championship title and to improve on their U Sports performance next year.
The men and women place fourth overall in the standings following strong swims at their playoff meet in London
The McMaster University swim team competed at the Ontario University Athletics championships on Feb. 9 to Feb. 11 at the Western Student Recreation Centre in London. Against 10 other participating schools, both the men and women’s teams placed fourth after tallying 512 and 428 points respectively.
The Marauders were coming off an impressive performance at the University of Toronto Winter Invitational on Jan. 23 after first place finishes from the men and women’s team.
On the opening day of the competition, McMaster finished first in the women’s 4x50m free relay race with a time of 1:46.00. Backed by a team of Hiva Fazeli, Michelle Wang, Leah Russell and Heather Aylward, the Marauders set the competitive tone early to capture their first medal of the OUAs.
Following the women’s race, the men also battled their way to the podium for the 4x50 meter free relay, earning the silver medal behind the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The quartet of Cyrus Drabik, Bijan Ziaian, Josiah Terejko and Cameron Johnsen finished the race with a time of 1:31.60.
To finish off their first day, Johnsen swam a time of 1:01.59 to nab the bronze medal in the men’s 100 meter breaststroke. The time was less than a second off of Graeme Aylward and Gabe Mastromatteo from Toronto, who rounded out the podium with times of 1:01.29 and 1:01.05 respectively.
“This year, I felt really lucky that we were back to that environment that we haven’t been in three years, which was the place just being absolutely electric, so loud during the relays that you can’t even hear your own voice. . . That was just awesome,” said Johnsen.
“This year, I felt really lucky that we were back to that environment that we haven’t been in three years, which was the place just being absolutely electric, so loud during the relays that you can’t even hear your own voice. . . That was just awesome.”
Cameron Johnsen, McMaster Men's Swim Team
On the next day, Johnsen continued his strong performance with a gold medal in the men’s 200 meter breaststroke. Swimming the race in 2:11.98, Johnsen finished just over half a second faster than the former Olympian, Mastromatteo, who settled for silver with a time of 2:12.51.
The men collected another medal in the men’s 4x200 meter free relay. Max Angove, Trevor Laupland, Kevin Baghdassarian and Colin Campbell finished in 7:36.41 and placed third behind the teams from Western University and Toronto.
To round out their OUA outing, the maroon and grey team collected three more medals on their final day in London.
Johnsen’s dominance carried over into the men’s 4x50 meter medley relay, where he finished in second alongside Campbell, Ziaian and Drabik with a time of 1:41.43. The three-time OUA athlete concluded his spectacular showing by inking the bronze medal in the men’s 50 meter breaststroke.
Aylward, Naeva Scott-Bouris, Andie Llyod and Chelsea Zhou secured the team’s final medal of the competition in the women’s 4x100 meter free relay. Their time of 3:55.26 was good for third place and the race’s bronze medal.
“OUA magic is kind of what we call it on the swim team, which is that feeling of swimming for the team, feeling that electric energy from your teammates on the sideline. . . That’s what turns underdogs into champions and that’s what happened this past weekend,” said Johnsen.
“OUA magic is kind of what we call it on the swim team, which is that feeling of swimming for the team, feeling that electric energy from your teammates on the sideline. . . That’s what turns underdogs into champions and that’s what happened this past weekend.”
Cameron Johnsen, McMaster Men's Swim Team
With eight medals across three days, the McMaster men and women teams each finished fourth in the contest overall. The Toronto Varsity Blues finished first in both the men and women’s standings to defend their title as provincial champions.
To wrap up the season, the Marauders traveled to Victoria, BC to take on the national U Sports Championships at the Saanich Commonwealth Place from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25.
Among those who represented McMaster, swimmers with qualifying times included Terejko and Johnsen in the men’s 100m breaststroke, Will Clarke in the men’s 50m breaststroke, Maggie Smith in the women’s 50m backstroke and Scott-Bouris in the women’s 400m freestyle.
After a successful OUA campaign, the men’s soccer team took their game to the U Sports national tournament
After successfully defeating Toronto Metropolitan University in the Ontario University Athletic championship game, the Marauder men’s team looked to continue their impressive win streak at the U Sports national tournament. This year’s tournament was hosted in Kamloops, B.C., where the team would face both freezing weather and higher level opponents.
The OUA finals win was already an impressive feat by the Marauders as coming into the offseason, they were not the favourites to make it to the finals.
“The OUA conference is the toughest in the country for soccer and no one really gave us a chance, especially under the circumstances,” said head coach Chris Markou.
Through defeating the Guelph Gryphons, Nippising Lakers and TMU, the team did the seemingly impossible. They subsequently put themselves in a spot to take on the Thompson River Wolfpack, the hosts of this year’s U Sports National Championship.
Facing sub-zero temperatures, the Marauders would have to face two major obstacles. The first being the new weather, which TRU would be better accustomed to. They would also face an opponent who had much older players, bringing more experience.
“We had the youngest team assembled there,” explained Markou.
The first game of the tournament would see the Marauder side lose to TRU in a disappointing fashion. Following a tie at the end of regulation and a scoreless overtime period the team lost in penalty kicks. A missed shot by Justin Woods caused the team to fall to the Wolfpack team, finishing with a 5-4 score in penalty kicks.
Though the team put on an impressive display overall. The game finished 1-1 with a spectacular free kick goal hitting the back of the net by Miles Green. Other notable performances were put on by Ahmad Mansour, Sam Richardson and Justin Wood.
The Wolfpack ended up building on this early momentum, later matchup against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the final. TRU would go on to win this game by a score of 2-1, taking home the national championship on their home turf. The Marauders on the other hand would head into the consolation bracket as a result of their first-round loss.
The Marauders played the following day against the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes. After a grueling 120 minutes of soccer the day prior, the team was unable to stand up against UQTR.
“We had just played 120 minutes against the host school and then we were back on the pitch for Friday on a quick 16 hour game turnaround for UQTR at 1:30 PM. There is little to no recovery time and we had a few players that physically couldn't carry on the Friday. To be able to mentally pick yourself up from such a close loss to play a consolation match the next day is such a challenge for any athlete,” said Markou.
After a red card was given to centre back Ahmad Mansour, the team lost control of the game. The final score was 5-0, seeing UQTR win and thus, having the opportunity to play a third game to challenge for the fifth place spot in the tournament.
Two disappointing results for the Marauders saw them exit the tournament early. But for such a young team the experience is invaluable.
“U Sport Soccer Championships was a fantastic learning experience for not only the players but for myself and my coaching staff,” said Markou.
Their last game against UQTR marks the end of the team’s season. As a team with a new head coach, and 11 new athletes joining the Marauders, the team will hope to continue their upward growth from here.
C/O Jessica Yang/Production Assistant
Although they finished 6th at the OUA, the McMaster badminton team is full of talent
Every sport at McMaster University is unique in its own way. Each sport has a backstory to it and every team member is talented in their own way. Badminton is just another one of those unique sports that McMaster has to offer. With over 20 competitors on the squad, it has so much to offer in terms of talent and individualism. However, there is one player who has impressed last weekend during the Ontario University Athletics Championships in Waterloo.
Talia Ng is a third-year student currently studying life sciences and is expected to graduate this year. Nonetheless, she has been extremely impressive during this season’s badminton campaign, racking up a handful of awards during the weekend. Her first award came through at the end of the OUA Championships, where she was awarded the OUA MVP and was given all-star recognition. Although extremely impressive, her success did not end there. Just a day later Ng was named as the Marauder of the week along with Alex Drover, a runner on the men’s track team, which concluded a very eventful week for the badminton team.
“Last week was overall a mixed experience for me. I think that as a team we have done our best, but I can't say that I am extremely happy with the outcome. We came sixth out of eight teams, so it simply isn't that great. As for the team, I feel that we are much closer altogether compared to the previous years. They are a great set of people and many of us are very supportive of each other, which is something I feel is really important for us,” said Ng.
Ng is the first female Marauder to receive an OUA Championships Most Valuable Player Award since 2003.
“I am really honored to have received all these awards. They certainly do bring me confidence, even though I didn't really expect it. To be honest, I think that it is unfair in a way because my team has done so much as well last week. We worked as a group together and I think that our team overall deserves the same accolades as I do,” explained Ng.
Transitioning from a university into the world of professional sports can be a challenge, but Ng is ready to take it on. She hopes to continue her athletics journey and pursue further heights in badminton beyond her time at McMaster.
“I am most definitely looking into starting a badminton career after school. My goal is to reach the Olympics someday, but I know that it will take a lot of hard work to get there,” said Ng.
“I am most definitely looking into starting a badminton career after school. My goal is to reach the Olympics someday, but I know that it will take a lot of hard work to get there."
Talia Ng, 2022 OUA Badminton MVP
While the Marauders didn't do exceptionally well last weekend, the enthusiasm and closeness within the team has shown that there is a bright future ahead for the team. Its members can look forward to taking on a new set of challenges in the upcoming year and working diligently to reach their goal.
This weekend, the McMaster wrestling team headed to the York University Open, and two Marauders came home with one more medal than they came with.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqTYOihBL0v/
Rookie Ligaya Stinellis took home her second divisional gold of the season and second-year Simi Jayeoba took home silver. We caught up with the two Marauders after their victorious weekend below:
Ligaya: First year, general social science
Simi: Second year, level one engineering
L: Instead of psyching myself up as I have in the past, I went into this tournament calmer and not as nervous. I just try to be as competitive as possible, and go to the mat and to do what I practice.
S: It was good to compete, and just over the last few weeks we’ve been going to different tournaments, so it’s nice to see actual progress.
L: I went on Facebook, and I was being tagged in a bunch of stuff, but I didn’t realize it was the McMaster Athletics account that I was getting the notifications from. When I checked, I was in shock, but I was super ecstatic. Right away, I told my mom and she too was so excited.
L: I’m actually from Hamilton, and I absolutely adore it. But school wise, I’ve heard a lot of good things about the human behaviour program here at Mac, so academically it checked the boxes. Wrestling wise, I’ve been practicing with the Mac team since high school, so coming somewhere where I was already comfortable was a really big selling point for me too.
S: It’s a great school academically, and the environment here is very welcoming. That was something very important to me, to go to a place where I could feel like it’s another home. The wrestling team was made up of good people and good training, so it seemed like the right opportunity.
L: One thing that always surprises people is that I’ve been doing karate since I was about four years old.
S: I just started knitting. One day last year, I walked into the library in Westdale, and a lady showed me how to knit. I never really started doing it, but I needed some Christmas gifts so I picked it up again.
L: I am hoping to make it to nationals. So, qualifying at the Ontario University Athletics Championships and then making it to nationals.
S: I want to constantly challenge myself to make sure whatever I’m doing, despite the outcome, I put my whole heart into it. And to just grow, not only physically but mentally as a wrestler.
Stinellis and Jayeoba performance this weekend has helped the Marauders women’s team secure the No. 9 national spot in the U Sports rankings this week. Up next, they host the Ontario Senior Provincials this weekend on Nov. 24.
[spacer height="20px"][thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
McMaster University’s tennis teams wrapped up their Ontario University Athletics season at the beginning of the Reading Week. After a hard fought battle, both the men’s and the women’s teams finished in fourth place. In the bronze medal match, the men’s team lost to the York University Lions 7-0, while the women lost to the Lions 6-1.
[spacer height="20px"]For fifth-year women’s team member Priti Gujadhur, getting to this point has been a journey in itself. First starting playing tennis thanks to her father who loved the sport, she has had a love-hate relationship with it ever since. She did love it enough to look into the team prior to coming to McMaster.
“I had a friend who went to Mac and was on the team, so I reached out to the coach Peter [Patiakas] prior to my entry,” said Gujadhur.
After visiting McMaster and meeting with women’s head coach Patiakas, she knew this was the school she wanted to play for but was not too sure what she wanted academically.
“I walked into my first year and I just felt really lost,” said Gujadhur. “I knew that I loved to play sports, but coming into school I didn't have any focus in terms of academics.”
One undergraduate degree in political science and a post-grad degree in sports business management later, she has finally found solace in her master’s degree: international relations.
Looking back, Gujadhur knowns now that she did not need to have all the answers right away.
“If I could go back and tell my first-year self one thing, it would be to just enjoy the process and to have fun playing tennis,” said Gujadhur. “I feel like because I always wanted to win so bad, I forgot that I was so lucky and privileged to play on a university team. There are so many people who play sports, and get injured and are never going to play again. So I’d tell myself to just be humble and enjoy the ride.”
As a master’s student, this past OUA finals was Gujadhur’s last one, and it is still such a surreal feeling for her. Though it may not have ended in the result she wanted, Gujadhur’s and the team’s improvement from last year’s OUA finals is something she is pleased with.
“This is our best finish in a long time, so that in itself is a big accomplishment,” said Gujadhur. “Finishing fourth was something to be really proud of because we have a lot of young really talented players on the team, and they're just going to continue to develop and get better.”
These young players include first-years Julia Schuster, Adele Lee and Maya Emerson, who all contributed in the team's efforts. During their singles matches on the first day, Emerson won her three-set match (2-6, 6-4, 6-1), while Gujadhur and Lee both beat their opponents handedly, both shutting out their opponent 6-0. The three helped once again to win their doubles matches, as Gujadhur and Schuster won their match 8-6, while Emerson and Lee defeated their opponents 8-1.
“The fact that they came on to a university team and won so many matches is something to be super proud of,” said Gujadhur.
Unfortunately, the young team did not have what it took to go all the way to the top. Dropping their semi-final and bronze medal matches, they had to settle for fourth place.
“As a team, obviously we were a little disappointed that it wasn't the result that we wanted, but I think we can still hold our heads up high and take the positives away from the weekend,” Gujadhur said.
Tennis -- Both Marauders tennis teams came away from the OUA Championships in Markham with fourth-placed finishes, having advanced to the medal rounds with wins over Carleton and Brock.https://t.co/Z2Sftk0l2j
— McMaster Athletics (@McMasterSports) October 8, 2018
“Now that it is all coming to an end, it really doesn't feel real yet,” Gujadhur added. “I'm a really competitive person, so [tennis] was almost like a release for me. Though we do have another shot at the national qualifier coming up in November.”
These nationals are sanctioned by Tennis Canada, and will take place on Nov. 16-18. Both the men’s and women’s team will have another shot at getting to the podium. After this, that will be the end of university tennis for Gujadhur, but she has no plans on putting down her racket just yet.
“Tennis really gets on my competitive side and because I'm such a competitive person it has always been like a release for me,” said Gujadhur.
Luckily for her, tennis is one of those sports that she does not have to put down after her eligibility is up, and as of now, she has no plans to stop.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
