Banner Season: Toronto off to roaring start, while Western continues dominance on the courts

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. (via Brock Badgers) - Both the Toronto Varsity Blues and Western Mustangs got off to hot starts to open up the 2025 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Squash Championships at the White Oaks Conference Resort and Spa on Friday, Feb. 7.

Toronto, who came into the tournament ranked fifth in the women’s division, ended the day undefeated in Pool A, sweeping both the Ottawa Gee-Gees and McMaster Marauders in straight sets 7-0.

The nine-time reigning Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champion Queen’s Gaels finished the day with two straight wins, beating McMaster 6-1 and Ottawa in a seven-set sweep. Both Ottawa and McMaster finished the day 0-2.

Turning over to Pool B of the women’s division, Western topped its competition on Friday, winning a close match over the Waterloo Warriors 4-3 before sweeping the Guelph Gryphons 7-0.

Waterloo ended the day 1-1, first dropping its opener against Western before besting the Brock Badgers in a 7-0 sweep.

Joining Waterloo in splitting their first matches is Brock, who opened with a 5-2 winner over the Guelph Gryphons. With the loss, the Gryphons fell to 0-2 on Friday.

Western kicked off their title defence with two wins to finish on top of Pool A of the men’s division, picking up 7-0 victories over the Waterloo Warriors and the McMaster Marauders.

The Badgers split their two matches to begin the championships, taking down the McMaster Marauders 6-1 before succumbing to the Waterloo Warriors by an identical scoreline of 6-1.

Waterloo finished 1-1 on the day while McMaster ended with an 0-2 record.

The Varsity Blues finished first in Pool B of the Men’s Division to go undefeated on Day 1, winning a nailbiter versus Queen’s by a score of 4-3. This was highlighted by an 3-2 epic comeback victory (9-11, 6-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-2) from Will Harris who was down two sets to zero to the Gaels’ Akasham Rajagopaul in the seventh and deciding match.

In their second match of the day, Toronto beat Guelph 6-1.

After losing the close contest against the Varsity Blues, Queen’s got on the board with a win, defeating Ottawa 6-1.

Splitting the day, the Gryphons opened with a 4-3 victory over the Gee-Gees before later falling to Toronto 6-1. Ottawa ended Day 1 with an 0-2 result.

The action picks up again tomorrow Saturday, Feb. 8, starting at 9:30 a.m. with the men’s side followed by the final set of women’s pool play matches at 11:30 a.m. Semifinals will begin for the men at 1:30 p.m. while the women’s semifinals will start at 3:30 p.m.