Old melded beautifully with new this past weekend at the OUA and Jesters University League Championships at White Oaks, hosted by Brock University in St. Catharines. History was once again made by Western University Men whose coaches James Van Staveren and Patrick Frost are keeping Hall of Famer Jack Fairs’ legacy intact by winning their 37th straight OUA championships – the longest such streak in North American sports. They defeated a very strong entry led by male Coach of the Year Marisa Seth and league MVP brother Cameron.
On the women’s side, it was a sixth consecutive for female Coach of the Year Lisa Coates, whose squad was led by rookie of the year and league MVP Marlow Benson. See below for a full recap of all of the OUA action including final standings and all-star selections.
For this first time ever, the event was also run in conjunction with the Jesters University League Division 2/Emerging Teams finals which is a conduit for new programs to participate in league play before officially obtaining OUA status. This Jesters league season has been particularly inspiring as new teams have formed in the past 3 years at Ottawa University, Carleton, and York/Glendon College thanks to coaches Vinit Kudva, Patrick Lyons, and Aaron Rodrigues who deserve huge accolades for growing our sport. Not only have these teams started from scratch but Carleton Men and Glendon/York Women captured championship banners in their first year! Carleton was a power house at the top of the line-up led by Egyptians Asser Ibrahim and Elkamhawy Shady, while Glendon women featured depth and consistency under the steady hand of Coach Rodrigues. Full results of the Division 2 championships can be found at the link below. In 2019-20 over 250 young student athletes participated in Jesters University League play, whose Commissioner Alex Carter and longtime chair Bert Keene have transformed our sport on behalf of the Jesters of Ontario.
Banner Season: Queen’s women, Western men squash the competition to extend championship winning streaks - Ontario University Athletics (OUA)
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. (via Brock Badgers) - The Western Mustangs men’s squash team captured an unprecedented 37th consecutive championship at White Oaks Resort & Spa in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Sunday. The Queen’s Gaels women also extended their banner streak to six consecutive championship titles.
The Gaels compiled an overall a 24-4 record in matches en route to overcoming second-place Waterloo. The Gaels’ Marlow Benson defeated Harriet Ho by a score of 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-7) in a thrilling match. Waterloo finished as silver medalists while the Western women took home the bronze.
Individually on the women’s side, Marlow finished undefeated for the Queen’s Gaels at 12-0 earning her not only the OUA Women’s Rookie of the Year, but also the MVP title as well. The impressive first-year went 4-0 in her games from the number one position.
“Over the course of six years we’ve developed a reputation of success,” said Queen’s head coach Lisa Coates. “Marlow is very creative when she plays, but also extremely aggressive. When I go to coach her between games a lot of it is her coaching herself, because she has incredible mental toughness.”
Western dominated the tournament with a match record of 25-3. The Waterloo Warriors finished at 17-11 to claim silver ahead of the bronze medalist Toronto Varsity Blues.
Leading Western to their 47th overall banner were Matthew Henderson and David Mill, who were both named OUA all stars.
“It’s an honour for all of us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves,” said Mill. “To be able to continue the Western Squash legacy is something special that we will remember for the rest of our lives. As captain of the current Western Mustangs, I’d like to dedicate our 37th title to Jack Fairs and all of the Western squash players who came before us.”
For the silver medalist Warriors, Cameron Seth was named the OUA Men’s MVP finishing with a 4-0 record. The top rookie for men’s squash went to the Waterloo’s Neel Ismail.
The coaches of the year went to Coates of Queen’s on the women’s side while Marisa Seth of Waterloo was named the top men’s coach.
Women’s Standings (Overall record)
Queen’s 4-0
Waterloo 2-2
Western 4-1
Toronto 2-4
Brock 2-2
McMaster 1-3
Guelph 0-4
Men’s Standings (Overall record)
Western 4-0
Waterloo 2-2
Toronto 4-1
Queen’s 2-3
Guelph 2-2
McMaster 1-4
Brock 0-3
Men’s MVP
Cameron Seth, Waterloo
Women’s MVP
Marlow Benson, Queen’s
Men’s Rookie of the Year
Neel Ismail, Waterloo
Women’s Rookie of the Year
Marlow Benson, Queen’s
Men’s Coach of the Year
Marisa Seth, Waterloo
Women’s Coach of the Year
Lisa Coates, Queen’s
Men’s All-Stars
Cameron Seth, Waterloo
Alexi Gosset, Toronto
Matthew Henderson, Western
David Mill, Western
Ravi Seth, Waterloo
Vincenzo Prior, Brock
Women’s All-Stars
Marlow Benson, Queen’s
Rhea Dhar, Toronto
Amy Commisso, Western
Olivia Waite, McMaster
Amelia Knapp, Queen’s
Charlotte Copas, Waterloo