Above: Fencing is one of many club sports at York
York University’s sport clubs recently wrapped up a tremendous 2011-2012 season.
The club program, which features 20 competitive clubs and several other recreational clubs, had many highlights this year as student-athletes competed against teams from other institutions across Ontario and Canada and, in some cases, also took on international competition.
“Providing our students an opportunity to develop in a sport and learn from experienced instructors and coaches, some who are internationally recognized, is a huge contribution to the overall student experience here at York,” said Natalie Yip, who acts as a liaison for York’s sport and recreation clubs. “Our competitive sport clubs have done an amazing job at running their clubs, and they make possible the incredible accomplishments of the student-athletes. I would like to thank all of our athletes, coaches and managers for their work this season and congratulate everyone on a successful year on the playing field.”
Below is a summary as to what each of the York Lions clubs achieved during the 2011-2012 season:
Archery
- Attended the International Archery Tournament, hosted by the University of Toronto, where David Ou placed second and Nam Van placed third in the male instinctive category, and Katherine Triglay placed second in the female Olympic category
Badminton
- Competed at multiple tournaments throughout the season
- Wrapped up the year at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships, where Erik Chong and Jason Mak finished fourth in the men’s doubles
- Mak named an OUA all-star
Cheerleading
- Level-6 grand champions and university division champions at the Cheer Evolution Big East Blast
- First place at the Winterfest Cheer Challenge
- Second place in the university division at the Cheer Evolution University and College National Championships
- Sixth runner-up in the small coed division at the Cheer Ltd. CANAM College North American Championships
Cricket
- Defeated Ryerson, last year’s American College Cricket Northeast champion, to advance to the Final Four of the American College Cricket Championships in Florida
- Team captain Raza Rehman was selected to represent Canada at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier
Dance
- Had a phenomenal year of competition and ranked the highest in club history
- Received all superior awards for their three routines at the University Cup
- Received all diamond awards for their three routines at the Strive Dance Challenge
- 3rd overall at the Canadian Varsity Dance Challenge hosted by York
Dragon Boat
- First place in the Premier Mixed H category at the Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival
- Second place in the University category at the Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival
- Fourth place in the University Mixed Team category at the Fifth Annual Dragon Boat Championships
- Qualified as an under-23 division team for the Canadian National Club Crew Championships in 2012
Equestrian
- Team finished in fourth place at the OUEA championships
- Tara Bassili – second overall in the open division
- Perse Greco-Otto – fourth overall in the novice division
- Meghan Bacso – eighth overall in the open division
- Allicia Bankuti – eighth overall in the novice division
- Jessica Abrahamse- ninth overall in the intermediate division
- Aleisha Wagner– ninth overall in the entry division
Legion Fencing
- Competed at the OUA championships for the first time, sending nine athletes
- Kayla Lambie won the gold medal in the sabre event to earn the Fred Wach Trophy, and was also named an OUA all-star
Kendo
- Competed at four major provincial and interuniversity tournaments this year
- Gold medallists – Collins Boahen, Junsung An, Kevin Lee
- Silver medallists – Kevin Lee, Collins Boahen, Michael Fearon
- Bronze medallists – Ivan Lin, Michael Fearon, Simon Choe, Xiahe Chen, SanghyunLee, Kevin Lee and York Team A
- Fighting Spirit Awards – Ivan Lin and Jessica May Matheson
Powderpuff Football
- Ranked No. 1 out of 28 teams in the regular season
- Advanced to the semifinals at the OUA Powderpuff Championships
Swimming
- Men finished eighth in the team standings at the OUA championships
- Women finished 13th in the team standings at the OUA championships
Water Polo
- Fourth place at the OUA championships
- Knocked off multiple contenders to advance to the OUA semifinals