By Martin Cleary
The charge towards the OUA provincial and U Sports national university women’s and men’s basketball championships is about to take flight.
The eight-month exhibition and regular season schedules are complete and now is the time to ask a handful of pressing questions involving the Carleton University Ravens’ and the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees’ programs.
Will the No. 1-ranked Ravens women’s team (22-0) be able to fast break to the finish undefeated to capture its fifth OUA conference crown and fourth national title in the past seven tournaments?
Or will it finally be time for the equally talented No. 4 Gee-Gees’ team (19-3) to win three games for its third OUA title, and then seize another three games to celebrate the university’s first-ever women’s national basketball championship?
Will the No. 2 Gee-Gees men’s team live up to its ranking and 20-2 record, win the program’s fourth OUA title and use that as a springboard to its first-ever U Sports national championship, since basketball started in 1962-63?
Or will the Ravens (15-7) men’s team, which was No. 7 last week before falling out of the Top-10 this week, discover some short-term magic for its 13th OUA conference title and take a meaningful run at an 18th national trophy during its 26th national appearance?
Will the Ravens duplicate their supremacy of 2023 by sweeping the women’s and men’s national titles?
Or will the Gee-Gees plug into that mindset and trigger an unprecedented season by having both teams win their inaugural national championships?
Only time will tell and it’s all scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
The Ravens men’s team will get an early start to its playoff season, when it takes on the University of Waterloo Warriors (9-13) in a round-of-16 match at 8 p.m. If the Ravens win, they will advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday against a to-be-determined school.
The Gee-Gees men’s team is slated to play a quarter-final game at home Saturday against one of the four round-of-16 winners.
On the women’s side, the Ravens and the Gee-Gees will practice this week for their Saturday quarterfinals against round-of-16 survivors.
For the second time in its history, the Ravens finished the OUA women’s regular season undefeated, after sweeping the Queen’s University Gaels 71-41 and the Ontario Tech University Ridgebacks 79-46. Carleton also had a perfect OUA regular season in 2017-18 at 23-0 and it was the eighth time since 2009-10 that the Ravens had won its divisional pennant.
“There’s a tiny bit of paranoia — like a healthy paranoia — that I think exists in any successful program,” Ravens women’s basketball coach Dani Sinclair said in a recent CBC Sports feature.
The Gee-Gees men’s squad finished its regular season with a pair of wins – 83-77 over Ontario Tech and 89-84 over Queen’s – while the Ravens headed for the playoffs after two losses – 85-81 to Queen’s and 71-61 to Ontario Tech.
Brock Newton sparked the Gee-Gees against Ontario Tech with 22 points and five rebounds, while Jacques-Melaine Guemeta had 19 points and four rebounds. Dragan Stajic approached a triple-double with 15 points, nine assists, nine rebounds and two steals.
Stajic had a similar effort against Queen’s as he recorded 11 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Justin Ndjock-Tadjore led the Gee-Gees with 18 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Xavier Spencer was Carleton’s top all-around player with 17 points, seven rebounds, four steals and four assists against Queen’s, and 24 points, eight rebounds and two assists in the game with Ontario Tech. Emanuel Milon also had 16 points and seven rebounds against Ontario Tech, and Daniel Smith hit for 15 points against Queen’s along with three rebounds and two assists.
Kyana-Jade Poulin led the scoring parade in both victories for the Carleton women. She had a combined, two-game effort of 33 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Tatyanna Burke provided plenty of support with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds against Ontario Tech and 10 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals against Queen’s.
Jacqueline Urban came within one point of a double double-double – 11 points and 10 rebounds in the Queen’s game and nine points and 12 rebounds in the match with Ontario Tech.
Natsuki Szczokin continued to be the driving force behind the Gee-Gees women’s basketball team as Ottawa downed Ottawa Tech 61-43 and Queen’s 63-57. She had 14 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals against Ontario Tech and upped her production against Queen’s with 18 points, six assists, five rebounds, three steals and one block.
Emily Payne also was a solid contributor for the Gee-Gees with 12 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, two steals and one assist in the Ridgebacks game, and 13 points and six rebounds against the Gaels.
ALGONQUIN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WOLVES UNDEFEATED AGAIN
For the third straight regular season, the Algonquin College Wolves have posted a perfect 14-0 season in the East Division of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association league.
And they’re continuing that unblemished trend in the playoffs.
The Wolves opened their post-season with a 57-43 win over Sheridan College Bruins in the round of 16. Guard Dasia McDonald was the only Wolves player in double figures for points with 16. She also recorded four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Algonquin will play Lambton College Lions at home in its quarterfinal on Saturday and a win would guarantee the Wolves staging rights for the OCAA Final Four Feb. 28 to March 2.
On the men’s side, Algonquin moved into the quarterfinals with a convincing 93-69 round-of-16 win over Niagara College Knights.
Tesloch Luk, who ranked second in the league for points-per-game average at 19.7, paced the Wolves with 22 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals. Teammate Ted Braden had 16 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Algonquin will travel to Toronto to play 16-time champion Humber College Hawks in its quarterfinal.
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA MEN’S HOCKEY RANKED NO. 5 BEFORE PLAYOFFS
The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees climbed three places in the U Sports national rankings to No. 5, after a pair of OUA men’s hockey victories.
The Gee-Gees needed an overtime goal from Marc-Antoine Seguin for a 3-2 decision over the Brock University Badgers. Vincent Labelle and Bradley Chenier counted the other Gee-Gee goals.
Jean-Philippe Tourigny earned the shutout as Ottawa blanked the University of Guelph Gryphons 3-0. Charles-Antoine Roy, Nicolas Kingsbury-Fournier and Chenier scored for Ottawa, which finished third in the OUA East at 18-9-1.
The Gee-Gees, who allowed only 10 goals in their last nine regular-season games, will play the Ontario Tech University Ridgebacks in the opening round of the conference playoffs. The best-of-three series is scheduled to start Wednesday at Ontario Tech. The Gee-Gees will play host to the final two games, if needed, at home on Friday and Saturday.
The Gee-Gees split the season series with the Ridgebacks, winning 5-4 at home and losing 4-1 away. The winner will move on to play the Queen’s University Gaels.
Carleton University Ravens lost their final two regular-season games, finished in seventh place at 10-18-1, and missed the playoffs by one position.
The Ravens were defeated by the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks 7-6 in overtime and the University of Waterloo Warriors 3-2.
Oliver Castleman notched two goals for Carleton against Laurier, while single goals went to Gio Moreau, who finished the season fifth in the OUA with 33 points, Will Collins, Madoka Suzuki and Reese Belton. Carleton received goals from Alex Johnston and Nolan Seed in its loss to Waterloo.
The Ottawa women’s squad suffered a pair of shutout losses, falling 1-0 to Waterloo and 4-0 to Ontario Tech University Ridgebacks. The Gee-Gees finished in third place with a 15-11 record in the OUA East and will take on a playoff opponent it has yet to beat this season.
The 17-9 University of Toronto Varsity Blues will have home-ice advantage for their best-of-three OUA quarter-finals series. The Gee-Gees lost both regular season meetings to the Varsity Blues, falling 4-2 and 3-2.
The last-place Carleton University Ravens, 6-20, turned back Ontario Tech 5-2 before losing to Waterloo by the same score.
Sydney Berta, Justina Beard, Anya Misner, Victoria Kay and Nicole Hunter scored for the Ravens against the Ridgebacks. In the game against the Warriors, Olwen Jones and Kay scored for the Ravens.
GEE-GEES WIN FOUR GOLD, PLACE SECOND AT RSEQ SWIM FINALS
The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees finished second in the team standings to the powerhouse McGill University Martlets and Redbirds at the RSEQ swimming championships in Montreal.
McGill swept the men’s, women’s and combined point standings with 1,881.50 points, while the Gee-Gees were second in all three categories and finished with 1,263.50 points. Ottawa was five points better than the Université de Montréal Carabins in the men’s competition, 557.50 to 552.50.
At the end of the three-day championship, the Gee-Gees earned four gold, 12 silver and 11 bronze medals. Nine swimmers qualified for the U Sports national championships March 6-8 at the University of Toronto.
Isabelle Melanson led the way for Ottawa with wins in the women’s 100- and 200-metre backstroke in one minute, 1.80 seconds and 2:14.18 respectively. She also was second in the 50-metre backstroke in 29.18 seconds.
Hugo Lemesle was the other double gold medallist for the Gee-Gees, posting the fastest times in the men’s 50-metre breaststroke in 28.02 seconds and the 100-metre breaststroke in 1:00.80. He was disqualified in the 200-metre breaststroke.
Competing in her first year at the university level, Grace Lu was a double silver medallist in the women’s 50-metre breaststroke in 32.61 seconds and the 100-metre breaststroke in 1:09.99. She also was fourth in the 200-metre breaststroke in 2:36.08.
Raphaelle Lavoie picked up bronze medals in the women’s 50-metre freestyle in 26.37 seconds and the 100-metre butterfly in 1:03.23.
LOCAL SKIERS PLACE HIGH AT GATINEAU LOPPET
It was a Winter Wonderland at the Gatineau Loppet for almost 2,100 cross-country skiers in seven races over two days.
Almost 40 centimetres of snow covered the Gatineau Park courses on Thursday and another 40 centimetres fell on the layouts during the Worldloppet League nordic festival.
A pair of endurance skiers from the Quebec side won the two marathon races. Stella Duncan of Chelsea was the women’s 50-kilometre classic-style winner in three hours, seven minutes and 36 seconds on Saturday. Gatineau’s Hannah Shields was first in the women’s 50-kilometre freestyle technique in 2:51:32 on Sunday.
The men’s 50-kilometre tests were won by Alexandre Bourque of Saint-Basile-Le-Gran for classic in 2:40:56 and Felix-Olivier Moreau of Saint-Ferreol-Les-Neiges for freestyle in 2:20:59. Edward Southward was the top Ottawa skier in the two men’s races, placing second in the 50-kilometre classic in 2:50:59, which was three seconds behind Bourque.
In the 27-kilometre classic races, Mackenzie Samm of Wakefield won a three-skier sprint for third place in 1:31:05, A.S. Heffernan-Wilker of Ottawa and Mia Brun Del Re of Chelsea were second and third respectively in the women’s division in 1:43:19 and 1:47:11.
The champions in the shorter classic races were Lluc Bou, Ottawa, men’s 15 kilometres, 51:38; Bronwyn Parker, Ottawa, women’s 15 kilometres, 57:37; Matthew Hicks, Kanata, men’s five kilometres, 16:38; and Lea De Broeck, Gatineau, women’s five kilometres, 17:47.
Gatineau skiers Jean-Nicolas De Broeck and Guillaume Ethier were one-two in the men’s 27-kilometre freestyle race with respective times of 1:29:49 and 1:29:51. Ottawa’s Bella Mouchet was third in the women’s 27-kilometre freestyle in 1:47:32.
The winners of the 10-kilometre freestyle races were Hicks, 36:01; and Laila Lebel, Ottawa, 36:44, which was the second-best time for any skier over that distance.
TEAM HOMAN UNDEFEATED AFTER FIVE GAMES AT SCOTTIES
Wearing the Team Canada maple leaf jersey as the defending champion, Rachel Homan has won her first five Pool A matches at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts national women’s curling championship in Thunder Bay.
Homan outscored Jane DiCarlo of Prince Edward Island 13-4, Krista McCarville of Northern Ontario 10-7, Kayla Skrlik of Alberta 9-7, Nancy Martin of Saskatchewan 9-6 and Melissa Adams of New Brunswick 7-4. The Ottawa Curling Club rink has three more round-robin matches, including two on Wednesday, before the playoffs.
Ontario’s Danielle Inglis of Ottawa is the Pool B leader with a 4-1 record. After losing her first match 7-5 to Christina Black of Nova Scotia, the Inglis rink rebounded to defeat Brooke Godsland of Newfoundland Labrador 8-7, Laurie St-Georges of Quebec 8-4, Kaitlyn Lawes of Manitoba 8-6 and Bayly Scoffin of Yukon 9-6.
Jamie Sinclair of Osgoode and Lisa Weagle of Ottawa are the respective third and lead on the St-Georges rink, which is 3-2 in Pool B. Ottawa’s Julia Weagle is the skip for the Nunavut rink, which is looking for its first win after five straight losses.
KATRINA FRLAN LEADS POOL AT CANADIAN U18 CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP
The Canadian U18 women’s curling championship schedule has been thrown upside down, after snowy weather affected the ability for some provincial teams to reach Saskatoon on time.
Katrina Frlan, the No. 1 rink for Ontario from the Huntley Curling Club, opened with three straight Pool A wins – 6-3 over Reese Wainman of Northwest Territories 1, 9-4 over Cailey Locke of Newfoundland Labrador 1 and 10-2 in six ends over Arianna Atienza of Nunavut 1.
In Pool B, Charlotte Wilson, the No. 2 Ontario team from the Rideau Curling Club, defeated Saskatchewan 2 Renee Wood 8-5 in its opener, but lost 7-4 to Abby Desormeau of Alberta 2.
GYMNAST SAM ZAKUTNEY WINS THREE GOLD AT ELITE CANADA
Paris 2024 Olympian Sam Zakutney earned a high bar gold medal and silvers on parallel bars and vault at the Elite Canada artistic gymnastics competition in Markham. The 27-year-old from Ottawa skipped the rings event but still managed to place eighth all-around.
Edge Gymnastics’ Mackenzie Grant, 13, earned top-6 results on each apparatus to place third in the under-16 junior women’s all-around standings. Tumblers Gymnastics Centre’s Samantha Couture, 15, won a silver medal on uneven bars and was fifth overall.
Tumblers’ Elliot Choi was 10th in the U19 men’s event, while Rideau’s Oliver Fong was 11th in the men’s aspire class.
At the Elite Canada rhythmic gymnastics event in Saskatchewan, Claire Sun, Stella Li, Kalli Cheng, Lucy Sun, Anna Chen and Viky Lin of the Ottawa Rhythmic Gymnastics Club topped the senior development group standings, while Silvia Yu of the Kanata Rhythmic Gymnastics Club posted the best individual local result in 18th place in the junior women’s competition.
LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST
· Valerie Grenier of St-Isidore, ON, placed 14th in the women’s giant slalom at the world alpine ski championships in Saalbach, Austria. She finished 4.68 seconds behind winner Federica Brignone of Italy, who was timed in 2:22.71.
· In the final World Cup before next week’s world cross-country ski championships in Trondheim, Norway, Gatineau’s Antoine Cyr placed a strong 15th in the men’s 10-kilometre interval, stopping 1:08.1 behind Finland’s Iivo Niskanen, who was clocked in 24:54.3.
· Ottawa TFC Soccer Club product Elijah Roche and the Canadian U17 men’s soccer team outscored their opponents by 26 goals over four matches to power their way to the top of their Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers group and secure a berth in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Canada beat Turks & Caicos Islands 6-0, Anguilla 8-0, Curaçao 7-1 and host Bermuda 7-1.
· Ottawa Irish product and Tokyo Olympian Pamphinette Buisa will return to Team Canada for the HSBC SVNS Vancouver event, which runs Feb. 21-23 at B.C. Place Stadium. Ottawa’s Jamie Armstrong and Elias Hancock will also wear the maple leaf in Vancouver for an invitational men’s sevens tournament. Forward Coen Quinn of Ottawa’s Bytown Blues and Queen’s University was named by head coach Christiaan Esterhuizen to Rugby Canada’s long list of players for the 2025 U20 national squad alongside the University of Ottawa’s Ben Davis and Emmett Rahiri. A four-day training and alignment camp starts Thursday.
· Ottawa Fencing’s Eva Liu and Yilin (Eason) Liu both won bronze medals at the Canadian cadet and junior fencing national championships in Winnipeg – Eva in the U15 women’s foil event and Eason in U13 men’s foil.
– with files from Isabella Disley & Dan Plouffe
Martin Cleary has written about amateur sports for over 52 years. A past Canadian sportswriter of the year and Ottawa Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement in Sport Media honouree, Martin retired from full-time work at the Ottawa Citizen in 2012, but continued to write a bi-weekly “High Achievers” column for the Citizen/Sun.
When the pandemic struck, Martin created the High Achievers “Stay-Safe Edition” to provide some positive news during tough times, via his Twitter account at first and now here at OttawaSportsPages.ca.
Martin can be reached by e-mail at martincleary51@gmail.com and on Twitter @martincleary.