Banner Season: Western, Queen’s looking to squash competition to extend lengthy streaks
Burlington, Ont. – One of the most impressive championship streaks across the conference and beyond will be put on the line once again this weekend when Western heads into the 2023 OUA Squash Championships. The Mustangs men’s team has hoisted the Harold Martin Trophy for 38 straight years, while Queen’s has claimed the women’s title on seven consecutive occasions, and both will look to add to their totals when the provincial squash finale is welcomed to Kingston, Ont. from Friday, February 10th to Sunday, February 12th.
Championship Details
When: Friday, February 10 to Sunday, February 12
Where: Athletics & Recreation Centre (Queen’s University)
Participating Schools (8): Brock Badgers, Guelph Gryphons, McMaster Marauders, Ottawa Gee-Gees, Queen’s Gaels (host), Toronto Varsity Blues, Waterloo Warriors, Western Mustangs
Defending Champions: Queen’s Gaels (W); Western Mustangs (M)
Student-Athletes to Watch:
Ella Brown, McMaster Marauders | Brown will be competing in her second OUA Championships this upcoming weekend. Despite only being in the second year of her varsity career, the Port Williams, N.S. local has extensive squash experience, having played first seed for Team Nova Scotia at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alta. Outside of being a student-athlete, Brown is a team strength and conditioning facilitator and part of several campus groups and clubs.
Amy Commisso, Toronto Varsity Blues | A transfer from Western, the Blues will look to Commisso to lead the charge as a fourth-year veteran. The Vaughan, Ont. product is a three-time OUA all-star and is no stranger to the conference podium, having previously helped the Mustangs to one silver and two bronze-medal finishes during her time with the London squad.
Alessia Ferris, Western Mustangs | In just her second season with the Mustangs, Ferris has taken over as captain and has been a strong, consistent leader for the purple and white. The Vaughan, Ont. standout helped her side claim bronze in her foray onto the provincial stage a year ago and will be headlining a young Western roster looking to turn heads once again this weekend.
Ahmed Fouad, Waterloo Warriors | Over the past two seasons, Fouad has been the team captain for the Warriors and has been instrumental in building the team morale and bringing everyone together. In previous years, Fouad was a double varsity athlete, playing for both the football and squash team, but this year – his last with the team – he focused his time solely on the latter. The biomedical science student has been leading by example with his own training and spending countless hours on court mentoring his teammates. At last year’s championships, the Waterloo, Ont. local led the men’s team to a bronze-medal finish, earning both most improved player and most valuable player honours for the Warriors squad.
Scott Holtshausen, McMaster Marauders | A rookie on the team this season, Holtshausen is very competitive. He battles with every ounce of energy he has, no matter who he plays. The physics major was good when he joined the team, but has greatly improved his game throughout the season. With his first OUA Championships right around the corner, the Marauders are looking forward to watching him perform at such an elite level.
Elliott Hunt, Western Mustangs | Hunt is a senior member of the Mustangs squad and the team’s captain. He already has three OUA championships to his name at his previous banner season outings and is hoping to lead Western to their 39th consecutive title. He will enter the weekend’s festivities having just returned from a U.S. road trip in which he went undefeated in seven matches and is eyeing continued success on the provincial stage.
Khaaliqa Nimji, Waterloo Warriors | Nimji, in the final year with Waterloo, is the team captain, has helped fundraise for the team, and has mentored some of the new members. A year ago, the Nairobi, Kenya product studying recreation and sports business played out of the No. 1 position, and en route to earning OUA all-star and team MVP honours, helped the Warriors earn the silver medal.
Maddie O’Connor, Queen’s Gaels | O’Connor is entering her first OUA Championship, but the third-year student-athletes previously competed at Columbia University in her undergrad. She is now studying medicine at Queen’s and when it comes to her on-court efforts, the team says that she floats around the court, always with a smile on her face. She is representing the Gaels in the No. 1 position on the roster, and heading into the weekend, the Toronto, Ont. product is undefeated.
Felix Scholberg, Queen’s Gaels | Scholberg has made remarkable improvement in his game since last year when he was not in the top 10 on the squash team. The arts and science student from Ottawa, Ont. is currently in the sixth position on the roster, but is competitive with all the Queen’s athletes above him. He has won every match he has played in tournaments this year outside of a single loss to Western. Scholberg will be relied upon once again to continue exhibiting his fine form at the OUA Championships.
Ali Shalaby, Toronto Varsity Blues | Shalaby returns for his second season with the Blues and heads into the championships in the No. 1 spot. The 2021-22 OUA all-star held a perfect record throughout last year’s championship, including winning his match against the eventual champion Western Mustangs.
Tyson Schille, Brock Badgers | Schille is ranked number one for the Brock men’s team and was an OUA all-star a year ago. The Calgary, Alta. native also won the Jack Fairs award for great spirit in squash. Beyond the OUA scope, the second-year sport management student also recently competed for his home province – Team Alberta – in the Canadian Men’s Team Squash Championship in Regina.
Sunshine Troup, Guelph Gryphons | A second-year English student from Jordan Station, Ont., Troup is Guelph’s top women’s player. This is the first year that Troup has played out of the top position, and in doing so, has developed a great deal for the Gryphons heading into championship weekend.
Meg Tuff-Berg, Brock Badgers | Women’s co-captain Tuff-Berg has been playing well lately and will be looking to lead her Badgers into the weekend with some strong rallies and a determined game. The St. Catharines, Ont. local grew up playing the sport at White Oaks in Niagara-on-the-Lake and has over 10 years of experience that she’ll be bringing to her second banner season outing.
Storylines to Keep an Eye On:
While the Brock women’s team is on the younger side and eyeing some valuable experience on the banner season stage this time around, the Badgers men’s team will be looking to compete evenly with all teams and provide tough competition throughout the weekend.
This season, the McMaster women’s squad is comprised of seven returning players and four rookies, which provides great balance for the Marauders. New this year, the team began incorporating strength and conditioning into its training regimen at McMaster’s new High-Performance Area, and the addition appears to have paid off. Currently undefeated heading into the OUA Championships, the Marauders finished first in the Jester’s League this season and are excited to compete against the best teams from across the province.
This weekend will mark the first time that the Queen’s women’s side will feature their top eight players all competing at once, and having still managed to win each team fixture in the Jester’s League aside from one meeting with McMaster at Sectional 2, the Tricolour will surely be a threat to extend their championship winning streak to eight. The men’s side, meanwhile, has fulfilled all expectations this season and is also in the mix with the best teams in the OUA. The Gaels lost a close matchup with Guelph at the last Jester’s tournament, but the team is confident that they can conquer the Gryphons in pool play this weekend to propel them into the medal rounds.
The Varsity Blues women are in search of their first podium finish since 2018-19, a stretch that has seen them capture a pair of fourth-place finishes. The team’s top two players will bring championship experience to the table from those previous results, while a pair of newcomers will tackle the No. 3 and 4 positions, respectively. It will be consecutive podium finishes being eyed by Toronto’s men’s contingent, meanwhile, after their silver-medal finish from 2022, and a pair of past all-stars will anchor those aspirations for the Blues.
It is all but impossible for the Western men’s team to escape the pressure placed on them given the unprecedented winning streak that they have been building across the last 38 championships. The time they spent competing south of the border, however, to go along with their understanding that nothing is a given against the talented conference competition, helps them prepare for moments like this, and they will enter the weekend’s event as the team to beat in the top-seeded spot.
Over the past two OUA Squash Championships, the Waterloo women have earned a pair of second-place finishes. With the loss of many graduating players heading into this season, it is a new group, including top-tier player and possible rookie of the year candidate Niki Shemirani, that will help lead the black and gold into championship weekend and experience their first taste of banner season competition.
What They’re Saying:
“Everybody has been training really hard this year and it is great to see all the development within the team. Everyone has worked hard for the position that they have earned on the team, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone compete in the championships.” – Matt Easingwood, Head Coach, Brock Badgers
“As we go into any competition, we have to realize that out of all the competitors out there, we should care the most about competing with ourselves. Striving to be better today than we used to be yesterday is what we work towards. A person who gets 1% better on a daily basis becomes 35 times better at the end of the year. Winning will come as a side effect of this mindset.” – Omar Salem, Head Coach (M), McMaster Marauders
“I am extremely proud of how hard the Queen’s women have trained throughout the 2022-23 season. They work hard at practice and are great sparring partners for each other, pushing one another at every practice. Go Gaels Go!” – Lisa Coates, Head Coach (W), Queen’s Gaels
“The OUA Championships are an exciting culmination to a season of hard work. Our team is really excited to try to replicate or improve upon last year’s results.” – Ahmed Fouad, Student-Athlete, Waterloo Warriors
“There’s always pressure on our team to continue our winning streak, but the intensity of the league in the U.S. helps us prepare for these moments.” – Elliott Hunt, Student-Athlete, Western Mustangs
