Durcak sisters, Eybergen, Fernback, Wheeler-Dee named OUA athletes of the week
Burlington, Ont. – Zoe and Isabella Durcak, Madelyn Eybergen, Marielle Fernback, and Jude Wheeler-Dee have been named OUA athletes of the week for the period ending October 27th, 2024.
Zoe & Isabella Durcak, Rowing, Brock
The Durcak sisters continued their dominance at the OUA Rowing Championships, winning the lightweight double event for the third consecutive year. Their finish in a time of 7:14.335 put them more than 10 seconds above the second-place Queen's Gaels.
The Stoney Creek, Ont. duo also won gold in the women’s pair, crossing the finish line in 7:33.015 to narrowly beat out the Gaels team. For their spectacular efforts on the water, they were named the OUA rowing women’s athlete of the year, which is the first time Brock has received this award since Laura Court accomplished the feat in 2018.
Madelyn Eybergen, Cross Country, Windsor
Eybergen took home the gold medal at the OUA Cross Country Championships by almost 10 seconds to help the Windsor Lancers finish seventh overall. She also secured an OUA first team all-star award for her performance in North Bay.
Last season, the Kincardine, Ont. native was a high jumper with the Lancer track and field team and made the switch to distance this season. She placed first at the Western Invitational, and second at the Marauder Invitational earlier this year.
Marielle Fernback, Field Hockey, Waterloo
Fernback was the backbone of Warriors 2-0 triumph over Guelph in Sunday's OUA gold medal game, her heroics in goal secured her a clean sheet, and the Warriors a first OUA field hockey title since 2003-2004. Stopping every shot she faced, she halted Guelph's offensive push in the second quarter, making back-to-back saves which led to both Warrior goals.
The day before in the semifinals, the Warriors took down the first-place Varsity Blues 1-0 in a thrilling matchup. The first half saw both teams get multiple scoring opportunities, but the Guelph, Ont. product for Waterloo stood tall and kept Toronto scoreless for the first 30 minutes.
Toronto stepped up their play for the remainder of the game and put themselves in position to tie things up, including five penalty corners in the fourth quarter, but were unable to get past the Warriors defence or Fernback, who made six saves on the afternoon.
Jude Wheeler-Dee, Cross Country, Queen’s
Wheeler-Dee claimed the individual championship on the men’s side at the OUA Cross Country Championships in North Bay on Saturday. The local Kingston, Ont. runner’s performance also helped the Queen’s men’s team win overall gold.
Wheeler-Dee crossed the finish line with a final time of 24:32.9 in the 8km event, nearly five seconds ahead of second-place finisher, Max Davies of Guelph. He was named a first team OUA all-star for his race.
