February 3, 2005
TORONTO TO HOST OUA SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP
Western Men Look to Make it 22 in a Row
TORONTO - The first Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship of 2005 will be handed out this weekend when the University of Toronto Varsity Blues hosts the OUA men's and women's squash championship. While The University of Western Mustangs men's team will vie for their 22nd straight OUA title, the women's banner could fall into the hands of any of the four competing teams.
On the women's side, the OUA season has been one of the most competitive in recent years. Only three matches separated first and third place in the regular season, as the two-time defending champion Toronto Varsity Blues, Queen's University Golden Gaels and McMaster University Marauders are the front runners for this weekend's tournament. The Western Mustangs, last year's bronze medalists, also bring a renewed energy.
The host Varsity Blues lost three players from last year's gold medal team, but has replaced them with two rookies in their line up. Samantha Gowland (Caledon, ON), a former Ontario Junior, and former OUA Badminton champion Edith Chow (Thornhill, ON). Toronto's depth will give them a good shot at claiming their third straight title. Making her seventh appearance at an OUA championship, Toronto's number one, Julia Hamilton (Toronto, ON), who suffered her first loss in three years of OUA play this season, will lead the Blues. However, Chow could prove to be the surprise player of the final. The former OUA badminton all-star went a perfect 3-0 in her matches when the Blues recently traveled to the United States to compete in the St. Lawrence University tournament as a tune up for this weekend.
Queen's have added two former Ontario Junior players, Vicki Marrack (Kingston, ON) and Michelle Craig (Guelph, ON), to their rotation. With the improvement of Heather McLeod (Sarnia, ON), the Gaels have a solid top three that will surely give the veteran McMaster squad some trouble in their semi-final match. McMaster University is relying on their veteran line up of Jenny Hogan (Prince George, BC), Kristina Taylor (Notre Dame de I'lle Perrot, QC) and player-coach Carly Thompson (Barrie, ON). The improvement of Soo Chan Carusone (Toronto, ON) at the 4 spot has given them a potential winning combination. Queen's and McMaster battled to a 3-3 tie in regular season play and will meet again Saturday morning in semi-final action.
Western has added another Ontario Junior, Jessica Senior (Toronto, ON) to the squad, giving the Mustangs an impressive 1-2 punch with Kim Farah (Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobabgo), who was the last person to win the OUA singles champion in 2002-03 before it was eliminated from the OUA competitive structure. Western meets the host Blues in the other semi-final.
For the men, the Mustangs will once again be the team to beat. Heading for their 22nd consecutive title, Western is poised to claim the title once again. The London school has only dropped one match of the 36 they have played this season - a five set loss by Jeff Lurie (Toronto, ON) to McMaster's Sanjeev Chada (Toronto, ON). The McGill University Redmen, last year's bronze medalists, are the first to try and knock Western off the medal podium, in semi-final action.
In the other semi-final, the host Varsity Blues battle Queen's. The Gaels defeated Toronto 5-1 back in November, but since then 2003-04 silver medalists from Toronto have gone 16-8.
All the action gets underway Saturday, February 5 at the University of Toronto. Semi-final matches take place in the morning with medal matches starting at 2:00 pm.
OUA MEN'S SEMI-FINALS
#1 Western vs. #4 McGill
#2 Queen's vs. #3 Toronto
OUA WOMEN'S SEMI-FINALS
#1 Toronto vs. #4 Western
#2 Queen's vs. #3 McMaster
TORONTO - The first Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship of 2005 will be handed out this weekend when the University of Toronto Varsity Blues hosts the OUA men's and women's squash championship. While The University of Western Mustangs men's team will vie for their 22nd straight OUA title, the women's banner could fall into the hands of any of the four competing teams.
On the women's side, the OUA season has been one of the most competitive in recent years. Only three matches separated first and third place in the regular season, as the two-time defending champion Toronto Varsity Blues, Queen's University Golden Gaels and McMaster University Marauders are the front runners for this weekend's tournament. The Western Mustangs, last year's bronze medalists, also bring a renewed energy.
The host Varsity Blues lost three players from last year's gold medal team, but has replaced them with two rookies in their line up. Samantha Gowland (Caledon, ON), a former Ontario Junior, and former OUA Badminton champion Edith Chow (Thornhill, ON). Toronto's depth will give them a good shot at claiming their third straight title. Making her seventh appearance at an OUA championship, Toronto's number one, Julia Hamilton (Toronto, ON), who suffered her first loss in three years of OUA play this season, will lead the Blues. However, Chow could prove to be the surprise player of the final. The former OUA badminton all-star went a perfect 3-0 in her matches when the Blues recently traveled to the United States to compete in the St. Lawrence University tournament as a tune up for this weekend.
Queen's have added two former Ontario Junior players, Vicki Marrack (Kingston, ON) and Michelle Craig (Guelph, ON), to their rotation. With the improvement of Heather McLeod (Sarnia, ON), the Gaels have a solid top three that will surely give the veteran McMaster squad some trouble in their semi-final match. McMaster University is relying on their veteran line up of Jenny Hogan (Prince George, BC), Kristina Taylor (Notre Dame de I'lle Perrot, QC) and player-coach Carly Thompson (Barrie, ON). The improvement of Soo Chan Carusone (Toronto, ON) at the 4 spot has given them a potential winning combination. Queen's and McMaster battled to a 3-3 tie in regular season play and will meet again Saturday morning in semi-final action.
Western has added another Ontario Junior, Jessica Senior (Toronto, ON) to the squad, giving the Mustangs an impressive 1-2 punch with Kim Farah (Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobabgo), who was the last person to win the OUA singles champion in 2002-03 before it was eliminated from the OUA competitive structure. Western meets the host Blues in the other semi-final.
For the men, the Mustangs will once again be the team to beat. Heading for their 22nd consecutive title, Western is poised to claim the title once again. The London school has only dropped one match of the 36 they have played this season - a five set loss by Jeff Lurie (Toronto, ON) to McMaster's Sanjeev Chada (Toronto, ON). The McGill University Redmen, last year's bronze medalists, are the first to try and knock Western off the medal podium, in semi-final action.
In the other semi-final, the host Varsity Blues battle Queen's. The Gaels defeated Toronto 5-1 back in November, but since then 2003-04 silver medalists from Toronto have gone 16-8.
All the action gets underway Saturday, February 5 at the University of Toronto. Semi-final matches take place in the morning with medal matches starting at 2:00 pm.
OUA MEN'S SEMI-FINALS
#1 Western vs. #4 McGill
#2 Queen's vs. #3 Toronto
OUA WOMEN'S SEMI-FINALS
#1 Toronto vs. #4 Western
#2 Queen's vs. #3 McMaster