The York Lions men’s basketball team are hoping that some home cooking will cure it of early season struggles which have seen it start 0-2 out of the gate. The team, who lost a pair of road games last weekend to the Western Mustangs and Windsor Lancers, will return to the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday, Nov. 16, at 8pm, for a night battle with the Brock Badgers and a Saturday, Nov. 17 evening tilt gainst the Guelph Gryphons, Gametime is 8pm.
The two games, the back end of a pair of doubleheaders alongside the women’s basketball team, will offer Lions fans their first opportunity of the season to watch forward Matt Terejko in action. Terejko currently leads the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) in points per game, scoring an average of 39 over the first two games of the season.
The two men’s games will be preceded by women’s action, as the Lions will put their 3-0 unbeaten record on the line. York returns home following a 2-0 road trip which saw them win a pair of nail-biters by a combined four point margin. Their three wins have come by a total seven points, demonstrating their ability to come up big down the stretch. Dating back to last season, the women have won 20 straight games.
The men’s and women’s volleyball teams will also be at home for two doubleheaders in the Tait McKenzie Centre over the weekend. The men have not lost since a couple of season-opening defeats at the hands of the McMaster Marauders and Guelph, winning four straight to move to 4-2 on the campaign. Undefeated on their home court, the Lions will look to continue their strong play in a pair of rematches against the Marauders on Nov. 17, at 2pm and the Gryphons on Nov. 18, at 2pm.
Much of York’s recent success can be attributed to the play of the team’s imposing front court duo, OUA leading scorer Paul Podstawka and talented newcomer Tarun Swaroop. Last weekend, the pair amassed 55 kills in wins against the Queen’s Golden Gaels and RMC Palladins.
Right: Paul Podstawka
The men aren’t the only York volleyball team to be performing well of late, as the women have won three straight games, including shutout victories in their past two. The 4-1 squad will look to continue what has been a flawless homestand thus far with games against McMaster on Nov. 17, at 2pm, last year’s OUA finalists, and Guelph on Nov.18, at 2pm.
On the ice, the 3-3-0-3 men’s hockey team will look to bounce back from a three-game losing skid in a set of back-to-back contests against the Windsor Lancers, on Nov. 16 and 17, at 7pm. The two games with Windsor, who owns an OUA-worst 1-8 mark on the year, could provide an opportunity for York to rebound and catch fire with six games remaining before the holiday break.
Right: Tarun Swaroop
The women’s hockey team will visit the Toronto Varsity Blues this weekend on Nov. 17, at 3pm. They are hoping to shake off a two-game skid and gain a measure of revenge after the Blues’ 4-0 win when the teams met on Nov. 3. The game will pit the OUA’s second leading scorer- York’s Mandy Cole- against the OUA’s second-ranked goaltender, Toronto’s Stephanie Lockert. Cole has 16 goals and eight assists on the season, while Lockert owns a 1.09 goals against average, including a shutout of the Lions.