This past weekend was an excellent one for the York Lions as teams in a number of different sports played well and posted some impressive results:
The men’s tennis team captured its third Ontario University Athletics (OUA) tennis championship in the last five years with a thrilling 5-2 victory over the University of Waterloo Warriors in Oshawa. The banner and trophy are on display at the Tait McKenzie Centre for all to see and admire. The event celebrated its 100th anniversary this weekend – the first championship was won by the Royal Military College in 1909 – and the trophy is the second oldest in the OUA, behind football’s Yates Cup.
The women’s tennis team also battled for an OUA championship and finished in fourth place.
The men’s and women’s soccer teams combined for four shutouts in as many games with victories over the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks and Waterloo Warriors last week. Both squads are now atop their respective OUA West standings with one weekend left before the playoffs begin.
The men’s hockey team earned its first victory of the year with a 6-2 thrashing of the University of Windsor Lancers in their first game on home ice this season.
The field hockey team won two of its three games, posting a 3-1 win over the McGill University Martlets and a 4-1 triumph over the Queen’s University Gaels. The Lions' only loss came to the defending OUA champion, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, by a slim 1-0 margin. The Lions are currently fifth in the standings and are comfortably in a playoff spot with one weekend left.
Despite a 54-31 defeat to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, the Lions football team was superb in staying close to the No. 9 nationally ranked Gee-Gees in their final home game of the regular season. The Lions put forth their best offensive effort of the year with the 31 points and outscored the Ottawa team 21-7 in the third quarter. They will close out the regular season next Saturday with a game against the University of Waterloo Warriors.
The Lions will look to continue their winning ways this weekend as the teams spread out across the province for more action. The home schedule includes the men’s and women’s volleyball season openers, men’s hockey and badminton.