The No. 10 nationally ranked York University Lions women’s hockey team moved back into second place in the Ontario University Athletics standings with a big 5-2 victory over the University of Guelph Gryphons at Canlan Ice Sports on Friday night.
The win was York’s first win over the Gryphons in nine outings and gave the Lions an important three points as they fight for playoff positioning. The Lions controlled play for large stretches of the game and outshot the Gryphons 32-22 overall, including 12-6 in the third period when the Gryphons were trying to climb back into the contest.
An even first period ended with the Lions leading 1-0 after a goal by Ellen Donaldson at 14:22 accounted for the only scoring of the frame. More details on the York Lions website.
Men’s hockey Lions end season with victory over Golden Hawks
The York University Lions men’s hockey team wrapped up the 2019-20 campaign with a 2-1 victory over the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks on Saturday night at Canlan Ice Sports.
The Lions had already been eliminated from the playoffs but closed the season with some solid play over the last few weeks, going 4-1-1 in their last six contests, with their only regulation loss coming to the second-place Ryerson University Rams.
After a scoreless first period the Lions finally got on the scoreboard midway through the second when Alex Mowbray redirected a pass from Tyler Higgins beside the net to give his team a 1-0 advantage. It lasted less than four minutes, however, as the Golden Hawks leveled the score on a power play tally by Matt McJannet. More details.
Men’s volleyball Lions pick up important points with sweep of Lakers
The York University Lions men's volleyball team picked up an important two points on Saturday night with a sweep of the Nipissing University Lakers at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
In the first set, the Lions trailed behind the Lakers but were quick to regain the lead. Andrew Tauhid scored a service ace to make it 16-13. The Lakers were closing in on the Lions 22-20, but a service error gave the Lions the chance to get the set point. An attack error from Grady McClure gave the Lions the set point, and a kill from Andrew Shotbolt ended the first set 25-22 for the Lions. More details.
On Friday night, the Lions came up short in a four-set loss to the No. 6 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The first set started off with the Blues gaining the first point of the match, but the Lions were not far behind as they gained a point from a serve error. At the beginning of the game, both teams were neck and neck until the Lions began to extend their lead with a serve ace by Luke de Greeff followed by a Blues' attack error and a kill from Tauhid. More details.
Women’s volleyball Lions get back into win column with 3-1 victory over Lakers
The York University Lions women’s volleyball team got back into the win column on Saturday with their 3-1 victory over the Nipissing University Lakers at home at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The first set started well for the Lions as they led the game early 11-3, with a fantastic kill from Aleksandra Steins over the Lakers. The Lions did not let their feet off the gas as they dominated the first set. Tara Leithead scored a serve ace to give the Lions the set point, and a serve error from the Lakers closed the first set 25-9 for the Lions. More details.
The Lions also dropped a 3-1 decision to the No. 4 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday night.
The Blues struck first with a kill from Jenna Woock, but a kill from Sarah Williams helped even the score. Both teams were neck-and-neck in the first half of the opening set but the Blues began to pull away with the lead with a kill from Alina Dormann to make the score 5-2 for the Blues. More details.
Track and field Lions post strong results at a trio of meets over the weekend
The York University Lions track and field teams split three ways this weekend: the Hillsdale Wide-Track Classic in Michigan, the University of Akron College Invitational in Ohio and the Windsor Team Challenge in Windsor, Ont.
Middle distance sprinter Levar Russell had a phenomenal weekend as he set a new fieldhouse record in the 600m at Hillsdale College with a personal best time of 1:20.26, which moves him to the ninth position on York's all-time list and also moves him up in the U SPORTS rankings.
Samuel Adams finished the weekend hitting the U SPORTS auto-qualification standard with a season's best jump of 5.02m, tying for the second highest jump in the nation with teammate Daniel Gleason who took the gold medal at the University of Akron Invitational. More details.
Women’s basketball Lions wrap up road schedule with overtime loss to Mustangs
The York University Lions women’s basketball team lost 76-71 to the Western University Mustangs after going into overtime on Saturday evening in London, Ont.
The Mustangs came out charging in the first quarter, scoring 22 points against the Lions who were able to get 12 points in, four of them from veteran point-guard Katrina Collins-Samuels and another four from forward Megan Stewart. More details.
As part of their weekend road trip, the Lions dropped a 57-44 decision to the No. 7 nationally ranked Windsor University Lancers. In the game’s opening quarter, Windsor opened up an early advantage by matching the Lions’ point output. Save for an early 2-2 tie, the Lancers held at least a one-point advantage over York for the duration of the opening quarter. More details.
Late push not enough in men’s basketball Lions’ loss to Lancers
Alex Thielen led the York University Lions men’s basketball team with 18 points, but it wasn't enough to upend the University of Windsor Lancers at the St. Denis Centre Friday night.
Windsor took the game 102-73, outscoring York in every quarter except for the fourth.
The Lancers got hot offensively in the game's opening quarter, allowing them to post 29 points and open up a 16-point lead on the Lions. More of the same happened in the second frame, putting Windsor in control heading to halftime. They led 62-37. More details.
One day later, the Lions lost 108-73 to the Western University Mustangs in London, Ont. The Lions waited until the fourth quarter of the game to score the most points in a frame. They surpassed the Mustangs with 25 points and the home team finished behind with 23. Prince Kamunga finished the quarter with a total of nine points, including a three-pointer, while teammate Tyler Pryce added six points to the final quarter. More details.