From the Mustangs football team making a run at the Vanier cup and the men’s squash team earning its 26th consecutive provincial title to basketball phenomenon Amanda Anderson capturing Western’s all-time scoring record, it has been a banner year for University of Western Ontario athletes.
“It’s been a continuation of success for our programs,” says Andy Watson, Media Relations Officer (Sports & Recreation Services). “It has been a great year.”
This is the most Mustang teams contending for national championships the university has seen in at least the last three years, he adds.
Western remains a top pick university amongst athletes.
“The playing field is really competitive right now out there with athletic financial awards, new facilities going up at institutions across the country. We are able to be successful in large part because of the support we get from the university,” he says.
Several players have received national and provincial attention for individual accomplishments, including women’s basketball player Bess Lennox who was named the 2008-09 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) player of the year and women’s volleyball team member Andrea Ruste, who is the OUA West Libero of the Year.
Numerous Mustang teams have a championship within their sights, meaning students, alumni and fans are guaranteed many exciting showdowns this week.
Here is a rundown of Western’s Mustang Athletics:
Men’s Hockey
The University of Western Ontario Mustangs men’s hockey team advances to face York University in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West semifinal series.
Western clinched the spot in the semifinal series by winning the best-of-three OUA West quarterfinal series on Feb. 22 on home ice against the University of Guelph.
The first game in the series against York will be held Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Ice Gardens and game two the Mustangs will faceoff with York at the Thompson Arena on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
Ending a five-year playoff losing streak, a win over McMaster University sends the Western Mustangs women’s basketball team to the OUA West finals.
“We focused on not paying attention to (past performances),” said Mustangs’ head coach Stephan Barrie.
“We didn’t look at this team as the saviour of our program, but just one team trying to get the job done. We dealt with a lot of adversity this year and we created our own identity.”
Western will take on the Windsor Lancers on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. at the St. Denis Centre. The same night, Carleton will play against Toronto.
The winners of the OUA division finals will meet on Saturday, Feb. 28 at the site of the OUA West champion.
Men’s Basketball
The Mustangs men’s basketball team, with home-court clinched through the OUA playoffs, will host an OUA West semifinal on Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. at Alumni Hall. Their opponent will be determined on Wednesday Feb. 25 in one of two OUA West quarter-finals.
The winner of the Guelph-Waterloo matchup (Feb. 25) will play at Western on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m.
Wrestling
Five Western Mustangs women’s wrestlers departed for the CIS National Championships in Calgary, Alta., on Feb. 25.
OUA Rookie of the Year Sam Stewart, veteran Lesley McCallum, first-year wrestler and three-sport athlete Lindsay Oldham, two-sport athlete Liz Sera and veteran Kirby Steinhoff will represent Western at the national tournament Feb. 27-28.
McCallum returned from injury just in time for the OUA Championships in St. Catharines, Ont., at the beginning of the month and qualified for the nationals.
Track and Field
With the Mustang women sweeping the top three spots in the pole vault and the shot put, the track and field team is in a good position going into the OUA championships at York University on Friday, Feb. 27.
On the men’s side, Western is expected to battle for silver against Guelph and York.
Women’s Hockey
The Mustangs women’s hockey team ended their regular season on home ice Feb. 22 with a disappointing loss to Queen’s University Gaels.
Swimming
The Western Mustangs women’s swimming team finished fifth in the nation at the 2009 CIS Swimming Championships held at the University of British Columbia Aquatic Centre Feb. 19-21.
Hayley Nell was the top Mustang on the third and final day, Feb. 21, earning a national bronze medal in the women’s 100m freestyle.
Western’s men finished in 12th place.
Figure Skating
The Western Mustangs figure skating team took home the bronze at the 2008-09 OUA figure skating championship, Feb. 18-19 at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Arena after the Guelph Gryphons dethroned the reigning champions.
Cheerleading
The Western Mustangs cheerleading team won its fourth consecutive Cheersport National Championship, held in Atlanta, Ga., defeating many top-level U.S. programs in the process.
This is the second North American event the Mustang cheerleaders have won in 2009.
For more information about Western Mustang Athletics visit www.westernmustangs.ca.