Brandie Wilkerson scored a game-high 23 points as the York University Lions women’s volleyball team clinched first place in the division with a 3-1 win over the University of Waterloo Warriors in their final game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 12, in Waterloo.
Wilkerson had a game-high 19 kills, while captain Sarah Sutton was second in team scoring with 19 points on 11 kills and a game-high eight service aces. Gina Morphy had a game-high 34 assists in the win.
The Lions made quick work of the Warriors, but encountered some resistance along the way before ultimately securing the 25-17, 21-25, 26-24, 25-11 victory. More details at the York Lions website.
Earlier in the weekend, the Lions lost a 3-2 game to the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks. The two teams were evenly matched throughout the contest as Laurier took the first and third sets and the Lions won the second and fourth.
Following a 25-20 victory in the fourth set, the Lions appeared to have all the momentum, but the Golden Hawks found their groove again and took down the Lions by a 15-12 margin in the final frame despite the Lions holding a five-point advantage early in the set. More details.
Grespan gives men’s hockey Lions thrilling end to season
Jesse Grespan scored with less than three seconds remaining in regulation and netted the game winner in the shootout as the York University Lions rallied to a wild 8-7 win over the University of Guelph Gryphons in men’s hockey on Friday, Feb. 11, at Canlan Ice Sports.
It was a fairytale ending to Grespan’s career with the Lions. The fifth-year forward from Toronto was one of five graduating players honoured before the game, and he was also recognized for surpassing the 100-point mark in his CIS career. More details.
Men’s basketball Lions hammer Paladins, clinch fifth in OUA East
Ostap Choliy scored a game-high 27 points and the York University Lions men’s basketball team had their first 100-point game of the season in a 122-44 drubbing of the Royal Military College Paladins on Saturday.
The 78-point win is the largest margin of victory for the Lions this season. With the win, the Lions locked down fifth place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division and will be on the road for a playoff game next Wednesday, Feb. 23. More details.
The Lions also suffered a loss on Friday night to the Queen’s University Gaels, who scored 65 points in the second half en route to a 102-64 victory.
The Lions kept the game close throughout the first half as Queen’s outscored them by just five points in the first quarter, and in the second frame both teams put up 16 points to give the Gaels a narrow 37-33 lead at the half. More details.
Men’s volleyball Lions sweep weekend games but miss out on post-season
Felipe Humana-Paredes scored a team-high 10 points as the York University Lions men’s volleyball team shutout the University of Waterloo Warriors 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-22) in their final game of the season on Saturday.
The Lions entered the game two points behind the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks for the seventh and final playoff spot. They needed a win over the Warriors combined with a Golden Hawks loss to the Ryerson University Rams in order to force a tiebreak for seventh, but the Golden Hawks blanked the Rams 3-0 in their final game. More details.
The team also defeated the Golden Hawks on Friday night by a 3-1 score. York’s lone hiccup in the contest came in the first quarter as they dropped the set 25-22. However, the Lions’ determination to win shined through as they dominated the next three sets, taking them 25-23, 25-18, 25-16 for the win. More details.
Women’s basketball Lions end losing skid with win over Paladins
Brittany Szockyj led the Lions in scoring with 17 points, Kate Mowat had a game-high 10 rebounds and the York University Lions women’s basketball team ended a 10 game losing skid with a 62-59 win over the Royal Military College Paladins on Saturday.
After a dominant first quarter in which they outscored the Paladins 22-13, the Lions let their foot off the gas for the second and third quarters, which allowed the Paladins to climb back into the game. The Paladins outscored the Lions 11-7 and 16-14 in the second and third quarters, respectively, cutting the Lions’ lead to just three heading into the fourth quarter. More details.
The Lions also lost a tight contest to the Queen’s University Gaels on Friday night by a score of 74-67. The Lions kept pace with the Gaels through the first two quarters of the game. Queen’s held a one-point lead after the first frame and the two sides traded baskets throughout the second as the Gaels held the slimmest advantage at halftime, 37-36. More details.
Women’s hockey Lions drop season finale to Gaels
Scoring one goal per period, the Queen’s University Gaels ended the York University Lions women’s hockey team’s regular season campaign on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 13, with a 3-1 victory in Kingston.
York forward Jennifer Petkovics scored the Lions’ lone goal of the game, her team leading 13th marker of the season. Kristie Wilson added the assist. Petkovics finished eighth in the OUA in goals and 20th in scoring with 20 points. She also led the league in power-play goals, notching nine on the season. More details.
The Lions also suffered a loss at the hands of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Ridgebacks by a 3-1 score on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions defeated the Ridgebacks in each of the previous two meetings this season, but on this night it was UOIT’s turn to earn the victory. Both teams had already been eliminated from the playoffs prior to puck drop. More details.
Swimming Lions finish eighth, 13th at OUA championships
The York University Lions men’s swim team finished eighth at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships for the third straight year and the women were 13th in the team standings after the final day of competition on Saturday in Guelph.
The men’s team finished with 139 points and the women’s team with 20 points. More details.
Villalta wins pentathlon, Richards-Kwok breaks meet record
The York University Lions track and field squad continued its campaign at the 22nd Annual Windsor Team Challenge on the weekend, the team’s last big meet before the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships at the end of the month.
The main feature of the event was the men’s and women’s pentathlon. York’s Danielle Villalta won the women’s pentathlon. She started by winning the 60 metre hurdles with a time of 9.32 seconds, a season best. She also won the shot put with a personal-best distance of 10.24 metres, which kept her in contention for the overall victory, and set another season-best mark in the high jump with a height of 1.58 metres. Meanwhile, Dontae Richards-Kwok won two gold medals in the men’s 60 metres and the 300 metres. He set an impressive time of 33.84 seconds in the 300m, which wasn’t just his season best but also a meet record. More details.
Submitted by Alyson Fisher, sport & recreation information officer in Sport York.