Banner Season: Dynasties continue as Western, Queen’s squash the competition again
Kingston, Ont. (via Queen's Gaels) – Two dynasties remained intact at the OUA Squash Championships as the Western Mustangs claimed their 39th consecutive Men’s Division title and the Queen’s Gaels earned their eighth straight Women’s Division title.
Neither team dropped a set the entire tournament in their respective divisions on their way to dominating wins.
In the Men’s Division, the Mustangs defeated the Toronto Varsity Blues 7-0 in the gold medal game.
Arin Khot opened with a 3-1 win over Josh Wolpert before Douglas Kosciukiewicz defeated Usman Khan 3-0, Taylor Carrick defeated Jonathan Fan 3-1, Antonio Mendes beat Regan Tan 3-1, Mitchell Kahnert topped Will Harris 3-0, and Elliott Hunt beat Alexi Gosset 3-0. In the final match, between All-Stars Dylan Deverill (Western) and Ali Shalaby (Toronto), Shalaby came out ahead in a thriller, 3-1.
“It feels amazing, I’m so proud of the team,” said Western’s Deverill after the championship match. “To carry on that win streak means a lot. The boys have been working really hard and I know it means a lot to everyone that was here and the rest of the guys on the team that weren’t able to be here.”
“It’s been around long before I was on the team and I hope it’s around long after I’m gone,” Deverill said of Western’s 39-year streak as OUA Men’s Squash champions.
In the Bronze Medal Game, the Waterloo Warriors defeated the host Gaels 6-1. Mayank Sachdeva, Benjamin Ng, Vivek Kapur, Musa Huq, Connor Jinks, and Rayan Hashmi won their matches for Waterloo while James Crook earned a win for Queen’s.
Guelph won the Consolation Final over Brock while Ottawa defeated McMaster in the 7th place game.
In the Women’s Division, Queen’s topped the McMaster Marauders 7-0 to claim the gold.
Maddy Fisher opened game with a 3-0 win over Meghan Pepler, Courtney Orcutt topped Terra Poon Tip 3-0, Emily Richmond won 3-0 over Ella Brown, Heather McLachlan defeated Thalia White 3-0, Dileas MacGowan won 3-0 over Sofia Quon, and Marlow Benson topped Sarah Hopton 3-0. In the final match, Maddie O’Connor rounded out her tournament with a 3-0 win over Aparna Maheshwari.
“It feels great, I’m super proud of our team,” said O’Connor after the championship match. “Everyone worked super hard. We came in ready to go and I’m proud of everyone.”
“It’s exciting,” O’Connor said of the team’s eight-year run as champions. “I just hope we can keep it up as long as we can.”
In the bronze medal game, the Mustangs defeated the Varsity Blues. Earning wins for Western were Laura Van Deursen, Sophie Pinfold, Madison Draayer, and Alessia Ferris while Sun Eui Choi, Madeline Khan, and Deena Shah won their matches for Toronto.
Waterloo edged Guelph 4-3 in the Consolation Final while Brock topped Ottawa 6-1 in the 7th place game.
After the tournament, Major Awards and All-Stars were announced by the OUA.
Maddie O’Connor from Queen’s was named the MVP in the Women’s Division while Toronto’s Ali Shalaby was named the MVP in the Women’s Division.
Both Rookie of the Year winners came from Waterloo, with Niki Shemirani earning the honours in the Women’s Division and Rayan Hashmi earning the honours in the Men’s Division.
Roozbeh Amirian from McMaster was named Coach of the Year in the Women’s Division and Vinit Kudva from Ottawa was named Coach of the Year in the Men’s Division.
MAJOR AWARDS & ALL-STARS
Women's Division
MVP: Maddie O'Connor, Queen's
Rookie of the Year: Niki Shemirani, Waterloo
Coach of the Year: Roozbeh Amirian, McMaster
All-Stars
Maddy O'Connor, Queen's
Niki Shemirani, Waterloo
Allesia Ferris, Western
Marlow Benson, Queen's
Aparna Maheshwari, McMaster
Amy Commisso, Toronto
Men's Division
MVP: Ali Shalaby, Toronto
Rookie of the Year: Rayan Hashmi, Waterloo
Coach of the Year: Vinit Kudva, Ottawa
All-Stars
Ali Shalaby, Toronto
Dylan Deverill, Western
Tyson Schille, Brock
Elliot Hunt, Western
Rayan Hashmi, Waterloo
Andrew Chong, Guelph
