GUELPH, Ont. – Banner season is here. And seven Guelph Gryphon teams will be in action over the course of five exciting days of postseason action this week.
WRESTLING
U SPORTS Wrestling Championships
Friday, February 22 - Saturday, February 23
University of Calgary (Calgary, AB)
Watch: usports.live
Championship Website
The Gryphons make the trek out West on the heels of a great performance at provincials, where the Guelph women won a team silver and the men placed fifth on their home mats at the GGAC.
Hannah Little at 2019 OUA Wrestling Championships
Hosting the OUA event proved inspirational for many of the wrestlers, including gold medalists
Gracelynn Doogan (82kg) and
Natassya Lu (48kg). The duo were crowned champions in their final season of competition and they hope to end their distinguished collegiate careers with great performances on the national stage alongside teammates
Hannah Little (OUA silver medal in the 55kg division),
Esmee Hotson (OUA bronze in the 58kg class), and rookie Cameron Avery (63kg). Four Gryphon men will also go to Calgary, including OUA silver medalists Javir Boal (120kg) and
Job Reinhart (100kg). Alex Chaves (OUA bronze in the 72kg class) and standout rookie Josh Rimando (54kg) will join the talented crew of Gryphons. The women were ranked No. 6 in the U SPORTS final team poll, while Guelph's men held the No. 9 spot.
Championship Website
Five Gryphon swimmers earned the right to go to Vancouver and join the best collegiate swimmers in Canada.
Fourth-year swimmer Samantha Anderson
Samantha Anderson (50/100/200m breaststroke),
Maria Far (200m butterfly),
Sasha Kennedy (50m butterfly), and
Shania Van Herk (50/100m backstroke) will represent the Guelph women, who came in fifth at the recent OUA Championships. Anderson was the lone medalist at the conference meet, taking a silver in the 200m breaststroke in a fantastic race after the Newmarket, ON native admitted to being disappointed with her performance in the 100m breaststroke. The Gryphon quartet will be accompanied by teammate Sam Kuntz, the only male swimmer on the team headed to nationals. Kuntz is coming off a breakthrough performance at the OUAs, where he earned three medals, including a silver in the 100m backstroke, a bronze in the 200m backstroke, and another bronze as part of Guelph's 400m medley relay team. The Bracebridge, ON native was named Gryphon Male Athlete of the Week after the memorable showing.
TRACK & FIELD
OUA Track and Field Championships
Friday, February 22 - Saturday, February 23
York University (Toronto, ON)
Watch: oua.tv
Few teams in Canadian university athletics have shown the dominance of the No. 1-ranked Gryphons in recent years.
Guelph has grown into one of the country's best teams and with the OUA Championships set for this weekend, the roster is ready to perform at peak abilities in order to secure a fourth straight women's banner and a threepeat on the men's side. The Gryphons have incredible depth on the roster and elite athletes in several events, like defending provincial and national 60m sprint champion
Shyvonne Roxborough, reigning OUA shot put gold medalist and U SPORTS Male Rookie of the Year
Mark Bujnowski, and former national team members
Philip Osei and
Daniel Harper, who have boosted the men's 300m and 4x200m hopes. First-year Gryphon
Jenna Westaway, a former star at the University of Calgary, recently established a new 1000m Canadian record (2:37.04), while
Zoe Sherar recently set a U of G record in the 300m, vaulting her to the top of the U SPORTS individual rankings. There have been several personal bests in recent meets, suggesting that head coach Dave Scott-Thomas and associate coach
Jason Kerr have prepared their team well with the big stage in mind.
MEN'S HOCKEY
OUA West Semi-finals (best-of-three)
(No. 5) Guelph Gryphons vs (No. 1) Ryerson Rams
Game 1: Guelph @ Ryerson - Thursday, Feb. 21 (7:15pm)
Game 2: Ryerson @ Guelph - Saturday, Feb. 23 (7:30pm)
Game 3 (if necessary): Guelph @ Ryerson - Sunday, Feb. 24 (7:15pm)
Watch: All games broadcast live online at
oua.tv
After an injury-plagued first half of the season, the Gryphons men's hockey team got back on track in the new year, taking four of the last five games to secure the No. 4 seed in the OUA West.
The Gryphons, who feature a blend of established veterans like captain
Scott Simmonds, as well as a wealth of young talent like
Connor Bramwell and
Ryan Valentini, quickly disposed of the Windsor Lancers in the opening round. The team rode a
Todd Winder hattrick to a thrilling 5-4 OT win in Game 1 and an
Andrew Masters shutout in a 4-0 Game 2 victory to earn the sweep. They now face a huge obstacle in the OUA No. 1 seed Ryerson Rams, a team that led the conference in scoring with 133 goals. The Rams also own the OUA's best power-play unit, cashing in 25 per cent of the time. But Guelph could have the answer on that front with a dominant penalty kill that snuffed out 90.9 per cent of opponents' opportunities, good for third in the conference. The Gryphons continue to rack up shots and just as they did in the late stages of the season, and the goals followed since the playoffs got underway.
Gryphons Individual Statistics
Gryphons Team Statistics
Rams Individual Statistics
Rams Team Statistics
WOMEN'S HOCKEY
OUA Quarter-finals (best-of-three)
No. 1 Guelph Gryphons (16-3-2-3) vs No. 8 Brock Badgers (8-8-6-2)
Game 1: Brock @ Guelph - Wednsday, Feb. 20 (7:30pm)
Game 2: Guelph @ Brock - Friday, Feb. 22 (7:15pm)
Game 3 (if necessary): Brock @ Guelph - Sunday, Feb. 24 (2pm)
Watch: All games broadcast live online at
oua.tv
For those who thought the two-time McCaw Cup champions took a step back last year, they were in for a rude awakening.
The Gryphons reestablished themselves as the premier team in the OUA again in the 2018/19 season, locking up home ice in the playoffs with time to spare. Guelph dominated the league, leading the conference in both goals scored (79) and fewest allowed (33). This postseason will be an important one as the program will say goodbye to several seniors, including foundational stars in captain Kaitlin Lowy and former U SPORTS Player of the Year Val Lamenta. Those players will want to go out on a high and the quest for a third cup in four years begins at the Gryphon Centre Arena this week. Guelph won the first matchup between the two teams in a decisive 6-1 road victory back in November, while the Badgers answered with a 4-3 win in a shootout, one of only six Gryphon losses on the season.
Gryphons Individual Statistics
Gryphons Team Statistics
Badgers Individual Statistics
Badgers Team Statistics
MEN'S BASKETBALL
OUA West Quarter-finals
No. 5 Guelph Gryphons (11-13) vs No. 4 McMaster Marauders (11-13)
Wednsday, Feb. 20 (7pm)
Burridge Gymnasium - Hamilton, ON
Watch: Live online at
oua.tv
It was a transitional year for the Gryphons, who had several players take on new, and bigger, roles.
And Guelph ended up being one of the surprises of the OUA, utilizing an injection of talent that helped the team dominate on the glass and make clutch shots with games on the line. Fourth-year Guelph native Tommy Yanchus was a catalyst offensively, as was newcomer Malcolm Glanville, a D II transfer from Toronto, ON. Each showed their sky-high potential this season, scoring career-highs of 37 and 39 points respectively, while third-year forward Banky Alade provided the muscle inside as the OUA's leading rebounder. Guelph will have to contend with Mac's senior combination of guard David McCulloch and forward Connor Gilmore but the team will have a good feeling heading into the Burridge Gym this week after Alade's late bucket earned the Gryphons a massive 77-75 win on that court just a week ago.
Gryphons Individual Statistics
Gryphons Team Statistics
Marauders Individual Statistics
Marauders Team Statistics
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
OUA West Quarter-finals
No. 6 Guelph Gryphons (9-15) vs No. 3 Windsor Lancers (17-7)
Wednsday, Feb. 20 (6pm)
St. Denis Centre - Windsor, ON
Watch: Live online at
oua.tv
The Gryphons had their share of bumps in the road throughout a challenging OUA season rife with injuries to key personnel.
But a young Guelph team that surprised some to make the playoffs in 2018, got some bodies back recently, found its identity, and finished strong to earn another postseason berth. The Gryphons won three of the last four games on the regular season schedule, including a big 79-74 victory over the No. 3 Lancers. Guelph is led by a mix of young stars like reigning team MVP Burke Bechard and point guard Skyla Minaker, as well as critical veterans Sarah Holmes and Ivana Vudajinovic. The group will need to be sharp to defeat a Windsor team that excels in mostly every statistical category on both ends of the floor, though head coach Mark Walton's team can pour it on offensively at times. They finished fifth in the OUA in field goals made per game, while also pressuring the ball well at the other end, ranking third in the conference in steals per game (10.8).
Gryphons Individual Statistics
Gryphons Team Statistics
Lancers Individual Statistics
Lancers Team Statistics
