Top seeds reign supreme in men's and women's quarterfinal action
After one day of competition at the Mayfair Parkway Club in Markham, Ont., the top three seeds on both the men’s and women’s side of the OUA championship remain intact. The host Varsity Blues and defending champion Western Mustangs will face off in semifinal matchups of No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, while Montreal’s men and York’s women will look to take advantage of their No. 1 seed bye when they each face their counterparts tomorrow afternoon.
W – (3) Toronto 7 vs. (6) Brock 0
The host Varsity Blues opened the morning matchup with two convincing doubles victories and a nail-biting doubles win to claim the first point of their opening match versus the Brock Badgers. Brock received a strong doubles effort from the duo of Nicole Jordan and Claire Alexander who took U of T to the brink in the tough loss. Momentum continued for U of T into the singles matches as the Varsity Blues claimed a clean sweep of the Badgers. Jasmine Nguyen led the way with a straight sets victory to take the team match by a final of 7-0.
The Varsity Blues will now challenge the Western Mustangs in an OUA semifinal match tomorrow at 2 p.m.
M – (2) Toronto 7 vs. (7) Brock 0
A veteran-laden Varsity Blues men’s team made quick work of the No. 7 seeded Brock Badgers, winning 7-0 in the OUA championships opening match. Following a sweep of the doubles matchups, U of T followed up with impressive victories in singles, conceding only six sets between all six matches. Varsity Blues No. 1 Sasha Obucina remained a highlight for Toronto, winning both his doubles and singles matches in straight sets. The Brock duo of Gianluca Agostinelli and Oliver Arvinraj provided the Badgers’ best showing in a tightly contested 8-4 doubles loss.
U of T earn their spot in a semifinal match with the Western Mustangs scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
M – (4) Waterloo 3 vs. (5) York 4
In the first upset of the OUA championships, the No. 5 York Lions knocked off the No. 4 Waterloo Warriors in a tightly contested matchup. With a 3-3 split of the singles matchups the opening two doubles victories for York paid dividends in securing a semifinal berth. Tre Eli shined for the Lions, picking up a convincing singles win after teaming up with Sahil Sareen for a pivotal doubles victory. Waterloo No. 1 John Chan displayed power in both his doubles and singles wins for the Warriors.
Following the upset, the York Lions will look to do it again when they challenge the No. 1 Montreal Carabins tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 p.m.
W – (2) Western 7 vs. (7) McMaster 0
The defending champion Western Mustangs started their attempt at a repeat in fine fashion, dropping the McMaster Marauders 7-0 in their OUA quarter-final match. After shutting the Marauders out in the doubles portion, Western continued to roll to six straight singles victories. Madeline Benn and Agathe Keromnes did not drop a set for the Mustangs this afternoon in both singles and doubles action. McMaster No. 3 Meghan Mazer played well for the Marauders in the tough matchup.
With the berth to the semifinals, the Western Mustangs will match up with the Varsity Blues. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
M – (3) Western 7 vs. (6) McMaster 0
The Western Mustangs men started their provincial championship defense by knocking off the McMaster Marauders 7-0. Marauders pair Mohammad Alaisowi and Jacob Siekierski played well against the Mustangs top doubles squad, but Western would claim the opening three contests. In the singles matchups, Western saw exceptional play from a trio of competitors in Iain Sneddon, Vahagh Tonakanian, and John Drake, en route to the clean sweep victory.
The Western Mustangs will look to keep rolling in a semifinal match versus the host Varsity Blues tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
W – (4) Montreal 6 vs. (5) Waterloo 1
Despite conceding a doubles and singles match to Waterloo via default, the Carabins carried on to a 6-1 quarterfinal victory. The fixture featured the most exciting match of the tournament, as Montreal pair Delphie Poulin and Catherine Drolet battled Waterloo duo Nancy Baloescu and Lupita Widyasanti to a thrilling tiebreak victory in-front of a captivated crowd. The Carabins would use the doubles round excitement to vault them to five singles match wins and the eventual quarterfinal victory.
With the win, the Montreal Carabins will move onto the semifinals and face-off with the top seeded York Lions at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Championship Schedule:
Friday, October 6
BYE: Women's #1 York
BYE: Men's #1 Montreal
Match 1 – Women's Toronto 7 Brock 0
Match 2 – Men's Toronto 7 Brock 0
Match 3 – Men's Waterloo 3 York 4
Match 4 – Women's Western 7 McMaster 0
Match 5 – Men's Western 7 McMaster 0
Match 6 – Women's Montreal 6 Waterloo 1
Saturday, October 7
Match 8 – Women's Semifinal – #1 York vs. #4 Montreal – 11:30am
Match 9 – Men's Semifinal – #1 Montreal vs. #5 York – 12:30pm
Match 10 – Women's Semifinal – #2 Western vs. #3 Toronto – 2:00pm
Match 11 – Men's Semifinal – #2 Toronto vs. #3 Western – 3:30pm
Sunday, October 8
Match 12 – Women's Bronze Medal Match – Loser (Match 9) vs. Loser (Match 11) – 10:30am
Match 13 – Women's Gold Medal Match – Winner (Match 9) vs. Winner (Match 11) – 11:30am
Match 14 – Men's Bronze Medal Match – Loser (Match 10) vs. Loser (Match 12) – 3:00pm
Match 15 – Men's Gold Medal Match – Winner (Match 10) vs. Winner (Match 12) – 4:00pm