Banner Season: OUA Squash Championships Recap - Day 2

St. Catharines, Ont. — Day two of the OUA Squash Championships delivered a full slate of decisive results as the tournament field narrowed and championship finalists were determined.

Women’s

Queen’s and Western emerged from the semifinals with hard-fought 4-3 victories, setting up a marquee showdown for the provincial title.

Queen’s opened the day with a commanding 7-0 sweep over Ottawa, highlighted by straight set wins across every ladder position. Gabby Waite set the tone at the top spot with an 11-2, 11-1, 11-1 victory, while Julia Nash and Ava Galloway were equally dominant, conceding just six combined points in their matches.

Western matched that intensity earlier in the round, blanking McMaster 7-0. Reese Maclean secured the No. 1 ladder in straight sets, edging a tight second game 12-10, and Katie Boulanger followed with a composed performance at No. 4, winning 11-4 in all three games.

The semifinal between Queen’s and Waterloo proved to be one of the tournament’s most competitive ties. Waterloo grabbed early momentum with wins at the first and second ladders, but Queen’s responded through Maggie Davis and Eva Ghai before Maya Lakhani delivered a pivotal five game comeback at No. 5, rallying from a game down to win 11-7 in the decider. Gabriella Menezes sealed the team victory with a straight sets result at No. 7.

Western’s semifinal against Toronto followed a similar script. After dropping the top two ladders, Western stormed back with four wins, including Caitlin Ng’s decisive 3-0 performance and Sophie Pinfold’s four game triumph at No. 6. Toronto’s Ainsley Rawlins forced a final match with a win at No. 7, but Western held on for the 4-3 decision.

Elsewhere, McMaster earned a 5-0 consolation semifinal win over Brock, while Guelph swept Ottawa 7-0 to close its day.

Through two days, Western leads the standings with a perfect 4-0 record and a dominant 75-15 individual game margin, while Queen’s sits at 3-1 with 58 game wins, underscoring the strength of both finalists heading into the championship match.

Men’s

Day two of the OUA Squash Championship showcased both dominant team efforts and dramatic finishes as Western University and the University of Toronto advanced to the tournament final following quarterfinal and semifinal action.

Western strengthened its position as the tournament frontrunner, improving to 4-0 while leading all teams with 27 individual match wins and an exceptional 82-8 games record.  The Mustangs captured every ladder matchup in a 7-0 quarterfinal victory over Guelph, highlighted by Arin Khot’s commanding straight-games performance in which he allowed just three total points. 

Western carried that form into the semifinal, sweeping Queen’s 7-0 behind another complete lineup effort. Daniel Deverill secured a composed straight-games win in the top ladder contest as the Mustangs demonstrated their depth across all positions.

Toronto booked its place in the final with one of the closest ties of the championship, edging Waterloo 4-3. After dropping the opening ladder matchups, the Varsity Blues responded with four crucial victories to clinch the result.

Tegbir Singh Chandhok delivered a defining performance, rallying for a five-game comeback win (6-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6).  Earlier in the day, Toronto controlled its quarterfinal against McMaster with a 6-1 victory.

Several athletes continued undefeated runs through two days of competition. Waterloo’s Rayan Hashmi improved to 7-0 with a perfect 12-0 games record, while teammate Cameron Seth remained flawless at 4-0 without conceding a game.  Western’s lineup has been equally impressive, with Rohan Paliwal, Griffin Manley, William Znidarec, and Rio Schafer all maintaining unbeaten records.

In consolation play, Brock narrowly defeated Guelph 4-3, while McMaster earned a matching 4-3 victory over Ottawa, highlighted by Matthew Olejarz’s pivotal five-game triumph at the fourth ladder.

With Western sitting first in the standings and Toronto close behind at 3-1, the championship final is set to feature two of the conference’s most consistent and well-rounded programs.