York University Lions women’s wrestlers Alexandria Town and Christelle Lans both won medals at the 2018 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships hosted by Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., on Sunday.
Town won her third career OUA medal with a silver-medal result in the 59kg weight class, and Lans, a rookie, was the bronze medallist in the 72kg division. Town was the first York women’s wrestler to win an OUA medal with her first in 2015, and Lans became the second this year.
The men’s team had its best result under head coach Eamonn Dorgan, finishing in fourth place thanks to four wrestlers reaching their bronze-medal bouts.
Kevin Vuong in the 54kg weight class, Shevonne Witter-Watts in the 57kg division, Mustafa Shah at 76kg and Peter Tsarev in the 120kg weight class all finished in fourth place. More details on the York Lions website.
Men’s hockey Lions dominate Blues in final game, finish second in OUA West
The York University Lions men’s hockey team posted a dominant 6-1 victory over the rival University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night at Canlan Ice Sports in their final regular-season home game to finish in second place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West Division standings.
The win tied the Lions with the Ryerson Rams with 35 points apiece, but the Lions earn second place thanks to their 17 wins on the season, compared to 16 by the Rams. The Lions finished with a 17-10-1 record and the Rams 16-9-3.
After allowing the opening goal just 5:23 into the first period, which was scored by Dean Klomp, the Lions scored six unanswered goals to win convincingly. More details.
Clarke’s career day leads women’s basketball Lions over Rams
Chante Clarke had a career day to lead the York University Lions women’s basketball team to a huge win over the Ryerson University Rams by a score of 79-75 in the second annual School Day Game at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Wednesday afternoon.
The Lions had a strong opening quarter and held a seven-point lead after 10 minutes of play, but the Rams turned the tables in the second and pulled ahead by five points with just over one minute remaining. However, the Lions closed the frame with four straight points and the Rams led 41-40 at the half.
After the Rams built up a six-point lead with 2:42 remaining in the third quarter, the Lions went on a thrilling 14-0 run to take an eight-point advantage into the final frame. More details.
In their final regular-season home game on Saturday night, the Lions were edged by the University of Toronto Varsity Blues by a score of 59-57. The Lions raced out to an early 18-9 lead after the first quarter of play, but the Blues outscored the Lions in each of the next three quarters to come back and win the game.
The contest was tied at 53-53 with 3:45 remaining after rookie Lauren Golding sank a three-pointer, but the Blues then scored four unanswered points to regain the lead. More details.
Men’s volleyball Lions bounce back with four-set win over Badgers
The York University Lions men’s volleyball team welcomed the Brock University Badgers to home court Friday night. After a loss in the first set, the Lions bounced back to win three in a row, defeating the Badgers 3-1 at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
In the opening set, the Badgers picked up a 27-25 win over the Lions. The Lions came back to defeat the Badgers 25-20 in the second set. The Lions got off to an early lead, making it impossible for the Badgers to catch up. This win for the Lions tied the match score at 1-1. More details.
On Sunday afternoon, the Lions welcomed the No. 8 nationally ranked McMaster University Marauders to home court Sunday afternoon and, after a tough match for both sides, it was ultimately the Marauders who came out victorious, winning the match 3-1.
Andrew Tauhid got the ball rolling with an ace on the first serve of the set. This was immediately followed by a point for the Marauders, which foreshadowed the rest of the set. The Lions were just behind the Marauders 16-13 at the first set technical time out. However, the Marauders stepped up their game in the second half, earning an additional nine points to the Lions’ four to win the set 25-17. More details.
Track and field Lions with stellar performances on both sides of the border
The York University Lions track and field team divided and conquered this weekend. Some of the team travelled to Windsor, Ont., to compete at the annual Windsor Team Challenge, while the rest went to the SPIRE NCAA Division I Indoor Invitational in Geneva, Ohio. Both sides saw huge successes both on the track and in the field.
In Ohio, Christy Ihunaegbo once again dominated the women’s track events. She finished second in the 300m dash with a season’s best performance of 38.21. Not only did she walk away with a silver medal, but she also set a new school record, surpassing the old one set by former Lion and Olympian Khamica Bingham in 2014. This performance puts her in second place in the U SPORTS rankings.
Kayden Johnson hurdled his way to a bronze medal in a personal best time of 8.11 seconds in the 60m hurdles event and he continues to hold onto first place in the U SPORTS rankings. More details.
Women’s hockey Lions defeated by second-place Mustangs in a shootout
The York University Lions women’s hockey team travelled to London, Ont., to face off with the Western University Mustangs on Friday night at centre ice at the Thompson Arena. Heading into the game, the Mustangs were ranked second in OUA but the Lions played a strong game, holding off the Mustangs until the shootout before falling to them 1-0.
Both teams played ferociously throughout the first three periods. That’s not to say both sides didn’t have ample chances. The Lions outshot the Mustangs 28-20, proving they could compete with their higher ranked opponent.
After three exhausting periods and a period of overtime, in which the shots continued and the Lions had five chances to the Mustangs’ six, the game went to a shootout. Western scored on both of its chances, with goals by April Clark and Megan Taylor, and the Lions were not able to get the puck past Western goalie Carmen Lasis to take the loss. More details.
Women’s volleyball Lions fall to No. 7 Marauders in straight sets
The York University Lions women’s volleyball team took on the No. 7 nationally ranked McMaster University Marauders on Sunday afternoon in home court action and fell by a score of 3-0 at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The first set did not begin in the Lions’ favour. The Marauders racked up five points before the Lions earned their first. Celeste Witzell gave the Lions their first point of the game, putting them onto the scoreboard, which was followed up by two service aces from Tara Leithead. The Marauders proved to be tough competition, as the first set ended 25-18 in their favour. More details.
The Lions were also defeated by the Brock University Badgers in five sets on Friday night in their annual Dig for the Cure game. The first set was a closely fought battle that saw the score climb past 25 points. The set ended 28-26 in favour of the Badgers.
The Lions bounced back in the second set to a big win over their opponent. The set ended 25-15, bringing the match score to 1-1. However, the score reversed itself in the third set. The Badgers had a big win of their own, defeating the Lions 25-14. They retook the lead in the match at 2-1. More details.
Men’s basketball Lions taken down by Rams in second annual School Day Game
The York University Lions men’s basketball team was defeated by a score of 88-71 by the visiting Ryerson University Rams at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Wednesday afternoon in the second annual School Day Game.
The Rams wasted little time taking control of the game, jumping out to a 22-9 lead after the first quarter of play. The Lions came storming back in the second, outscoring the Rams 22-19 to close the deficit to 41-31 at halftime.
The Lions held the momentum as the third quarter started, but the Rams continued their hot shooting and again outscored the Lions, this time by five to take a 64-49 lead into the final frame. More details.
On Saturday night, the Lions let a big lead slip away late in an 80-75 loss to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. After a dominant 22-13 opening quarter for the home squad, the Lions continued to pour it on and led by 26 points in the third at 50-28 half way through the frame. But the Blues mounted a furious comeback from there, at one point scoring 14 straight points and coming all the way back to take the lead at 71-70 with 1:38 left in the game. More details.