Banner Season: Poised semifinal performances lead to identical upcoming championship bouts
Markham, Ont. – Semifinal Saturday saw a quartet of hard fought matches, but when the dust settled, the gold medal matches set up in identical fashion for both the men’s and women’s draws, as the Western Mustangs and Toronto Varsity Blues will play for the title tomorrow.
Western (6) def. York (1) – Men
After receiving a bye in the first round, the top-seeded Mustangs were eager to begin tournament play. They wrapped up a 6-1 victory against the York Lions to earn a spot in the gold medal round.
Western clinched the doubles point with wins at #1 and #2. Despite showing some good fight in the singles matches, the York Lions fell short to a seasoned Western line-up. The lone point for York came at #3 singles, where Jeremy Guttmann defeated Mark Jensen 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. Western stayed strong; however, and did not drop a set in the other five singles matches.
Western will now play for the gold medal at 11:00am, while York will battle it out for the bronze at 2:00pm.
Toronto (7) def. McMaster (0) – Men
University of Toronto brought their best tennis against McMaster University to earn a 7-0 win. Toronto swept the doubles point and then followed it up with straight set victories in all of the singles matches. Toronto will now face Western in the championship round at 11:00am tomorrow, while McMaster will play for the bronze at 2:00pm against York.
Western (7) def. McMaster (0) - Women
The No. 1 seed on the women's side looked poised and strong in their first action of the championship, as the Mustangs posted a convincing win over the Marauders. Western did not drop a set en route to a 7-0 victory. Adele Lee (McMaster) pushed Sophie Biu (Western) to a second set tie-breaker at #4 singles, but Biu held on to win the final match of the day and secure the sweep for the purple ponies.
Western will now play for their third consecutive OUA Championship banner tomorrow at 12:30pm. McMaster will play the bronze medal match at 3.30 pm.
Toronto (6) def. York (1) – Women
The No. 3 seed, University of Toronto, recorded an upset on the women's side by defeating the second-ranked York Lions. Toronto clinched the doubles point with wins at #1 and #3. As singles play got underway, it looked like the match could go the distance, but Toronto came out on top in five of the six matches to secure a 6-1 win. The lone victory for York came at #1 singles, where Sara Krupica beat Mara Store 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.
Upcoming Schedule:
11:00am Men's Gold Medal: Western vs. Toronto
12:30pm Women's Gold Medal: Western vs. Toronto
2:00pm Men's Bronze Medal: McMaster vs. York
3:30pm Women's Gold Medal: McMaster vs. York