Banner Season: Queen’s, Western get off to strong starts in title defences
Kingston, Ont. (via Queen's Gaels) – The Queen’s Gaels and Western Mustangs got off to strong starts as they look to defend their respective dynasties at the OUA Squash Championships.
The Gaels opened the tournament with two straight wins in Pool A of the Women’s Division, topping the Toronto Varsity Blues 7-0 and the Guelph Gryphons 7-0 Friday at the Athletics and Recreation Centre.
“It’s good to get some good matches under our belt today,” said Gaels co-captain Heather McLachlan after the team’s two wins. “And then tomorrow hopefully we’ll come on a little stronger since we’ve warmed and gotten into our zone.”
Queen’s is looking to win their eighth straight OUA Women’s Squash title on home courts.
Also finishing the first day undefeated in the Women’s Division were the McMaster Marauders, who sit atop the Pool B standings with a 2-0 record heading into Saturday. McMaster started the day with a 5-2 win over the Waterloo Warriors before closing out the day with a 5-2 win over the Mustangs.
Western and Waterloo finished the day with 1-1 records in Pool B after having both defeated the Brock Badgers, while Brock ended the day at 0-2.
In Pool A, Toronto rebounded from their opening loss to defeat the Ottawa Gee-Gees 7-0 in their second match of the day to finish with a 1-1 record.
The Gryphons also finished the day 1-1. Before their match against Queen’s, Guelph defeated the Gee-Gees 6-1 in a game that featured one of the longest matches of the day.
Stephanie Woloszczuk opened the match with a 3-1 win that took nearly 1 and half hours.
“It felt amazing,” Woloszczuk said of her big win after the match. “Especially because it was a really hard game. The harder the games are, the more rewarding the wins are. It was really fun.”
Ottawa finished the day 0-2.
In the Men’s Division, the Mustangs’ quest for a 39th consecutive OUA title started with two convincing wins, with Western opening the tournament with a 7-0 win over Guelph before taking down the host Gaels by the same 7-0 score in Pool A action.
“There’s always pressure going into these tournaments,” said Western captain Elliot Hunt after the two wins. “No one wants to be the team that loses the streak. So it’s nice to get a couple wins under our belt and get our feet under us. Hopefully we can keep going.”
Other teams that faired well on Friday included Toronto and Waterloo, who finished Day 1 tied atop the Pool B standings. Toronto opened the tournament with a 7-0 win over Brock before another 7-0 win, this time over McMaster. Waterloo started their tournament with a 7-0 win over McMaster before following that up with a 7-0 decision over Brock. McMaster and Brock both finished the day 0-2.
The Gaels finished the day at 1-1. Before their loss to Western, Queen’s opened the tournament with a 6-1 win over Ottawa. Guelph will also head into Day 2 with a 1-1 record after a loss to Western and a win over Ottawa. The Gee-Gees finished the day 0-2.
Action returns to the ARC Saturday with round robin action concluding in the morning before the semifinals in the afternoon. Visit the OUA Squash Championships tournament page for the latest standings, schedule, and results.
