HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: Historic three-medal performance by Gee-Gees, Ravens at U Sports basketball finals

By Martin Cleary

A medal is a medal, but sometimes it doesn’t shine as bright as you thought it would.

At the start of last week’s integrated U Sports Final 8 women’s and men’s basketball championships in Vancouver, there was the possibility the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees could sweep both titles for their first-ever national crowns in both disciplines.

It made sense as the Gee-Gees men’s team was seeded No. 1, while the women’s squad was No. 2.

There also was the distinct possibility the No. 3 Carleton University Ravens women’s team could put together three wins for a third consecutive Canadian university championship. The Ravens were 22-0 in their OUA regular season and had its only conference playoff loss against the Gee-Gees in the championship game.

Unfortunately for the Gee-Gees and the Ravens, those scenarios didn’t play out as the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and the University of Victoria Vikes were the respective women’s and men’s U Sports champions.

While the Gee-Gees were left without the elusive gold medal on both fronts and the Ravens experienced a similar reality, Ottawa basketball history was still made at the University of British Columbia.

For the first time in National Capital university basketball history, three teams qualified for the U Sports championships and all three teams returned home with a medal.

After needing overtime to hold back Université Laval Rouge et Or 71-67 in the quarterfinals and running past the Gee-Gees 84-60 in the semifinals, Carleton was hampered by inconsistent shooting and a lack of offensive rhythm in its 85-66 loss to Saskatchewan, which lost the 2024 national final to the Ravens.

The disappointing defeat left Carleton with its first-ever silver medal, but its fifth medal in the past eight U Sports women’s basketball championships. The Ravens were gold medallists in 2024, 2023 and 2018 as well as bronze-medal winners in 2017.

Guard Teresa Donato was the offensive leader for the Ravens throughout the three-game championship. She counted 24 points in the final and finished with a total of 61 points and was selected to the tournament all-star team. Donato also was named Carleton’s player of the game in the final.

Kyana-Jade Poulin, who also was named to the tournament all-star team, supported with 14 points in the gold-medal game along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Jacqueline Urban was just shy of a double-double effort with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Grace Grassick sparked Saskatchewan with 35 points and seven assists, which earned her tournament MVP honours and an all-star berth.

Despite their one-sided semifinal loss to the Ravens, the Gee-Gees rebounded to outscore the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 68-61 in the bronze-medal match. Ottawa led 40-29 at halftime.

Allie McCarthy counted 20 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal for the Gee-Gees, while tournament all-star Natsuki Szczokin added 14 points, eight assists, eight steals, six rebounds and one block in her final university game.

Szczokin finished the championship with 36 points, 18 assists, 12 steals, 10 rebounds and one blocked shot.

The Gee-Gees men’s team also capped its season with a U Sports bronze medal, after an 86-70 victory over the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers.

Justin Ndjock-Tadjore contributed 25 points, five assists and three rebounds for Ottawa, while Brock Newton chipped in with 22 points and five rebounds. Jacques-Melanie Guemeta had an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double effort.

Newton compiled 53 points, 15 rebounds, eight steals and three assists in three games and was selected to the tournament men’s all-star team.

Ottawa was eliminated from gold-medal contention, after an 89-75 loss to former No. 1 Victoria. Guemeta led the Gee-Gees with 24 points and three steals.

SEVEN MEDALS FROM FIVE ATHLETES AT SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD GAMES

Five Ottawa-Gatineau athletes won seven medals in three sports at the recent Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

And the other two National Capital Region athletes finished close to a medal at the Games, which attracted about 1,500 athletes from 98 countries. Canada had a delegation of 134, including 90 athletes.

Gaerrisen Freeland of Stittsville was a double gold medallist in snowshoeing. He placed first in the M07 class 100-metre sprint and was a member of the Canadian relay team, which posted the fastest time in the M01 division.

In cross-country skiing, John O’Neill of Ottawa was first in the M07 division 500-metre free technique race and the D04 class relay. He also was fifth in the M08 one-kilometre free technique race.

Kanata’s Michael Raytchev collected a silver medal for his second-place figure skating result in singles, level 5, mixed division 1.

Audrey Larose-Rapin of Gatineau also was a silver medallist, following her second-place finish in snowshoeing’s F02 class 800 metres.

Snowshoer Kevin Dooks of Ottawa was third in the class M07 400 metres and received the bronze medal. He also was fourth in the M05 800 metres and the M02 relay.

Former Games medallist Katie Xu of Ottawa was fourth in the singles, level 5, mixed division 1 figure skating competition.

Gatineau’s Christopher LeBlanc came close to a medal on three occasions in snowshoeing – fourth in the M02 relay, fifth in class M11 100 metres, and sixth in M11 200 metres.

BLONDIN, WEIDEMANN REACH PODIUM AT WORLD SPEED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Ivanie Blondin of Gloucester capped her international long-track speed skating season by winning two silver and one bronze medals at the world single-distance championships in Hamar, Norway.

She placed second in the mass start final and joined teammates Brooklyn McDougall and Beatrice Lamarche to earn a silver medal in the sprint women’s race. Blondin, Gloucester’s Isabelle Weidemann and Valérie Maltais were the bronze medallists in the team pursuit.

It was the third consecutive year Blondin medalled in each of the mass start, team pursuit and team sprint events at the world championships.

In individual races, Weidemann placed fourth in the women’s 5,000 metres and seventh in the 3,000 metres. Blondin also was eighth over 3,000 metres and 1,500 metres.

CARLETON’S GIO MORNEAU NAMED OUA EAST HOCKEY TOP ROOKIE

Gatineau’s Conor Frenette, the captain and a forward for the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes, was named the OUA East Division MVP in men’s hockey.

A member of Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the recent FISU World University Winter Games, Frenette counted 20 goals and added 15 assists to finish second in the OUA point-scoring race. He averaged 1.46 points a game and notched 11 points in a seven-game point streak.

Carleton University Ravens’ Gio Morneau of Ottawa was the OUA choice as East rookie of the year. Morneau led all freshmen in goals (15), points (33), power-play points (13) and power-play assists (nine). He also had 12 multiple games.

Frenette was named to the OUA East first all-star team, while the second team included forward Nick McCarry of Carleton, forward Bradley Chenier of Ottawa and defenceman Peter Stratis of Ottawa. Ottawa’s Kai Edmonds, who plays for the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold, was the second-team goaltender.

The all-rookie squad featured forward Zach Giroux of Ottawa and Morneau.

The OUA women’s all-stars were Arianne Gagnon of Ottawa, first team; Alyssa Biesenthal and Maelle Laplante, both of Ottawa, second team; and Naomi Morin of Ottawa, all-rookie team.

DEREK GEE FOURTH OVERALL IN ITALIAN STAGE RACE

Two weeks after winning the first stage race championship of his cycling career, Derek Gee of Osgoode, ON, recorded another impressive stage-race showing in Italy as he prepares for the upcoming Giro d’Italia.

Gee finished fourth overall after the seven-stage World Tour Tirreno-Adriatico race, which also saw him place seventh in the mountains classification.

After opening with a sixth-place showing in the individual time trial, Gee kept close to the leaders throughout and also was sixth in Stage 6 and 13th in Stage 5.

Spain’s Juan Ayuso of UAE Team Emirates – XRG won the overall title in 28 hours, 41 minutes, 24 seconds, while Gee was only 42 seconds back of the champion, seven seconds out of second place and six seconds from third.

“I would say Tirreno was a massive step towards the Giro,” Gee said in a Canadian Cyclist story. “I think just having a good amount of the team together and getting to work together as a team with the goal of GC (General Classification) – which is still relatively new to us – I think that was really, really helpful.

“I’m so happy to come away with a good result there because I think it just checks another box along the way of being able to be up there (at the front of the race) and setting good expectations as to where I can finally end up at the end of the Giro on the GC.”

TEAM HOMAN IN SECOND PLACE AT WORLD WOMEN’S CURLING

Defending champion Rachel Homan and her Ottawa Curling Club rink are in second place at the halfway point of the World Curling women’s championship in Uijeongbu, Korea.

After defeating Lithuania 13-2 in its opening match on Saturday, Homan’s Canadian rink surrendered three points in the eighth end and lost 8-7 to Scotland.

But Homan’s team of third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, lead Sarah Wilkes and alternate Rachel Brown rebounded with four straight wins for its midpoint record of 5-1.

Canada has turned back Sweden 9-7, Denmark 9-3, the United States 8-4 and Turkey 8-3. Homan will finish the round-robin draw with two matches over each of the next three days – Korea (5-1) and Norway (4-3) on Wednesday, Switzerland (7-0) and Japan (2-4) on Thursday and Italy (2-5) and China (3-3) on Friday.

CANADIAN SENIOR CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING TO OTTAWA HUNT

The Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club will play host to the 2025 Canadian men’s and women’s senior curling championships Nov. 29 to Dec. 6.

Curling Canada made the announcement last week, but unlike recent years there will be no Ottawa rinks vying for the national titles.

At the 2025 Ontario senior championships on the weekend, Michael Harris of the Brant Curling Club and Sherry Middaugh of the Barrie Curling Club won the respective men’s and women’s titles and will represent the province at nationals.

Harris defeated Adam Spencer of the Guelph Curling Club 7-6 in the men’s final, while Middaugh survived three playoff games, including an 8-2 decision over Susan Froud of the Alliston Curling Club in the gold-medal women’s match.

Doug Johnston of the Ottawa Curling Club went 5-2 in the men’s round-robin play, but lost in the semifinals 8-3 to Spencer.

In the past 17 years, four Ottawa rinks have represented Ontario at the men’s nationals – Howard Rajala in 2022, Bryan Cochrane in 2018 and 2016, and Bruce Delaney in 2009. On the women’s side, Joyce Potter was the last Ottawa and area rink at women’s nationals in 2005 and was preceded by Agnes Charette in 2000 and 1999, and Phyllis Nielsen in 1988.

LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST

· Valérie Grenier of St. Isidore, ON, posted her fifth top-10 World Cup result of the alpine ski season, when she placed eighth at a women’s super-G race in La Thuile, Italy.

· Defensive lineman Neville Gallimore of Ottawa, who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round in 2020, has been signed as a free agent by the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. Gallimore played his first four years with Dallas and last season with the Los Angeles Rams. He has played in 66 games with 18 starts and made four sacks and 109 tackles.

· Jean-Nicolas de Broeck of Gatineau won three junior and two senior titles last week at the Canadian biathlon ski championships in Valcartier, PQ. The Chelsea Nordiq athlete is aiming for a berth on Canada’s team for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

· Rowan MacDonald of Cantley, PQ, who has committed to attend the University of Northern Colorado, placed seventh and was the top Canadian with rounds of 69-72-141 during the 68th Florida Azalea Amateur golf tournament at the Palatka Golf Club in North Florida. James Newton of Ottawa tied for eighth at 72-72-144 in the rain-shortened event, while Ottawa’s Michael Vivone shared 15th at 75-70-145.