Top-seeded squads punch tickets to Saturday’s semifinals
Toronto, Ont. (via Toronto Varsity Blues) – The best from across the province began competition for the OUA Tennis Championships on Friday at Mayfair Toronto East with quarterfinal matches.
WOMEN’S QUARTERFINALS
MCMASTER 7 BROCK 0
The No. 3 seeded McMaster Marauders delivered a sweep of the Brock Badgers to advance to the OUA semifinal round. After winning all three of the doubles matches to begin the day, the Marauders women showcased their depth with strong victories from Sarah Rubinstein in the No. 3 singles position and Adele Lee in the No. 6 spot, with both earning unblemished 6-0, 6-0 match victories.
WATERLOO 6 YORK 1
In a competitive matchup of the No. 4 ranked Warriors and No. 5 ranked Lions, Waterloo were able to come out on top with exceptional play from their top duo of Aldi Lazoja and Adema Turuenkhanova. The No. 1 and No. 2 players for Waterloo teamed up for an 8-5 doubles win in the top slot, before Lazoja claimed her singles match 6-1, 6-2 and Tursunkanova earned a 6-3, 6-1 win. Grace Whitley was a bright spot for the Lions in the quarter-final match, scoring York’s lone singles victory 6-2, 6-3; as well as an 8-6 doubles win along with partner Tamara Janev.
TORONTO 7 OTTAWA 0
The No. 2 Varsity Blues impressed in their opening quarter-final match versus the No. 7 Gee-Gees, delivering a 7-0 sweep. Top ranked players Anastasiya Dyadchenko and Maria Popova combined for a convincing 8-2 doubles victory. The pair followed that up in singles competition with the former claiming a 6-3, 6-0 win, and the latter a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
MEN’S QUARTERFINALS
YORK 7 BROCK 0
The No. 3 ranked York Lions knocked off the No. 6 Brock Badgers in convincing fashion to begin the men’s competition at the provincial championship. The Lions collected all six singles victories, spearheaded by an impressive 6-2, 6-0 result for No. 1 player Max Tokarev and a 6-0, 6-1 match win from No. 2 David Gauberg. Meanwhile, the Badgers were able to steal a doubles win with the duo of Evan Goad and Alex Cristiano battling to an 8-5 victory.
WATERLOO 7 MCMASTER 0
Continuing the quarter-final action, the No. 4 seeded Waterloo Warriors swept the McMaster Marauders to advance. The Warriors claimed victory in all three doubles contests and all six singles matches. Waterloo’s No. 1 ranked player Pavel Milic earned a 6-4, 6-4 match victory in singles competition, while adding an 8-2 doubles win alongside teammate Alex Oancea.
TORONTO 5 OTTAWA 2
The No. 2 Varsity Blues were challenged by the No. 7 Gee-Gees, with the host side coming out on top in the final quarter-final of the day. U of T opened the final showdown of Day 1 with victories in all three doubles matches, before winning four of the six singles contests to earn their way into Day 2. Arden D’Aniello was exceptional for the Blues in the No. 2 slot, winning his singles match 6-0, 6-0; and his doubles contest with partner Alexander Luchak 8-4. Ottawa picked up their two wins via a 6-4, 6-1 performance from Connor Hickson in the No. 6 player slot and a highly entertaining 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 three-set victory by No. 1 Ethan Leong.
On Day 2 of the OUA Tennis Championships the men’s side of the draw will see the No. 1 seeded Western Mustangs face the Waterloo Warriors in the first semifinal of the day, followed by a showdown between the York Lions and Toronto Varsity Blues later in the afternoon.
Meanwhile on the women’s side of the draw, the No. 1 Western Mustangs will also challenge the Waterloo Warriors to open semifinal action, while the McMaster Marauders will face the host Toronto Varsity Blues in the second semifinal.
Full match results and schedule can be found here.