Western’s men’s squash team shut down both Queen’s and McMaster to earn their 26th consecutive provincial title at the OUA Championships presented by the Jester’s Club on Feb. 14 at the London Squash Club.
Western defeated Queen’s 6-0 in the semi-final with scores of 3-0 in five of the six matches.
In the final, the Mustangs’ played McMaster and cinched the gold in the first four matches. Western’s first and fourth players also won their matches for an overall score of 6-0.
The bronze medal game came down to a matter of points when McGill and Queen’s both won three matches. McGill ended up taking the bronze.
Western entered the squash championship ranked first with an impressive 34-2 record. The next closest team was McGill (22-10), followed by McMaster (21-15) and then Queen’s (17-15).
Coach Jack Fairs said it was great to win another championship and, even though other universities are likely tired of Western winning every year, the Mustang men will continue to work hard to maintain their winning streak.
The No. 2 Western Mustangs women’s squash team defeated No. 1 Toronto in the OUA Championship final to win gold at the OUA Squash Championships at Fanshawe College on Feb. 14.
Western easily beat Toronto, losing just one match in the final. The Mustangs have now won the OUA Championship, presented by the Jester’s Club, in three of the last four years.
Stephanie Edmison led the way for Western, easily beating Karlene Headley Cooper 3-0 (9-0, 9-0, 9-0).
Heather Lamb beat Meaghan Northly 3-0 (9-2,9-0,9-1), while Laura Savage won a close first game, before running away with a 3-0 win of her own (10-8,9-0,9-0).
Giselle Delgado lost her first game against Ruchi Chawla, but battled back to win 3-1 (0-9, 9-3,9-0,9-2).
Rachael Forgeron played a tough match against Edith Chow, eventually winning 3-2 (9-4,9-6,5-9,4-9,9-4), while Kathleen Horman lost to Daniah Shamim 3-0 (8-10,6-9,1-9).
“We went in with confidence, but we knew it would be a battle,” said Edmison. “We were able to keep a level head.”
Western beat McGill earlier in the day, while Toronto defeated McMaster. Every Mustangs player won their match in the semi-final.
“I’m so proud of the whole team,” said Savage.