Thanksgiving weekend was a busy one for Gryphons varsity sports. Our teams travelled across the country to compete in various sports, and here’s an overview of what they accomplished:
Baseball
On Friday, Oct. 9, the Gryphons baseball team split a doubleheader in Toronto with the Ryerson Rams. Game 1 went to Ryerson with a score of 12-2, but the Gryphons rallied for Game 2 and took the victory at 8-1. The Gryphons’ regular season record is 12-6, placing them in fourth place overall to qualify for the OUA Championships, which will take place between Oct. 16 and 18 in a double knockout format in London.
Rugby
The women’s rugby team finished their regular season with a 48-7 victory over the Queen’s Gaels on Oct. 9 at Guelph’s Varsity Field. This clinched a perfect 5-0 season for the Gryphons while the Gaels move to 4-1. The Gryphons will host an OUA quarterfinal match at Varsity Field on Oct. 17, with the game set to begin at 12 pm.
The Gryphons men’s rugby team brought home a 55-20 victory over the Brock Badgers on Oct. 9, improving their record to 6-0 on the season. Jon West led the team with 25 points, earning him the title of Gryphons Athlete of the Week.
Soccer
The Gryphons men’s soccer team defeated the Windsor Lancers 5-2 on Oct. 9 in Windsor. The Gryphons’ victory broke Windsor’s seven-game win streak with shutouts in six of those seven games. Guelph’s goals were scored by Josh Seguin, Jace Kotsopoulos, Jalen Noronha, and Tomasz Skublak with two. Kotsopoulos’ ninth goal of the season puts him in second place for scoring in the CIS. The Gryphons will host Western on Oct. 14 with the game scheduled to start at 6 pm.
The Gryphons’ women’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss to the Windsor Lancers on Oct. 9. The Lancers move to 5-7-0 on the season while the Gryphons fall to 6-6-0.
Volleyball
The Gryphons’ women’s volleyball team travelled to the McMaster Thanksgiving Classic pre-season tournament over the weekend, bringing home a victory over Ryerson and a loss to McMaster.
Friday’s set scores against the Ryerson Rams were 25-20, 25-22, and 25-14. Victoria Golebiowski led the Gryphons with 7 points followed by Jessica Gormley and Maddie DeDecker with 6 each.
The Gryphons went up against the McMaster Marauders in the tournament finals on Saturday and led early in the first two sets, but ended up with 3 losses of 28-30, 30-32, and 21-25.
Gryphons middle blocker Jessica Gormley and setter Cayte Wilson were voted as tournament All-Stars. Guelph’s regular season opens on Oct. 22 against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at home.
The Gryphons men’s volleyball team finished off their preseason on Saturday at home, falling to the Manitoba Bisons.
Set scores were 19-25, 17-25, and 19-25. The Gryphons’ preseason record is 2-3 as they prepare for the OUA regular season on Oct. 23 when they will play U of T at Alumni Stadium in Guelph.
Basketball
The women’s basketball team played at the Regina Preseason Tournament in Saskatchewan this weekend.
On Friday, the team lost 106-79 to the Saskatchewan Huskies as Gryphons point guard Bridget Atkinson led the team’s scoring with 15 points, followed by Kate MacTavish with 13 and Kate Yallin with 11.
On Saturday, the team fell 69-53 to the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades in their final game.
The Gryphons finished the tournament with a 0-3 record, but return home to prepare for the Ryerson Preseason Tournament in Toronto Oct. 16-18.
The Gryphons men’s basketball team defeated the St. Francis Xavier X-Men 87-78 at home on Oct. 10.
Forward Ahmed Haroon led the Gryphons with 21 points, followed by Dan Dooley with 18, Taylor Boers with 16, and Drew Walford with 13. The Gryphons are 2-0 at home in their pre-season and will play four more games at home before the OUA regular season begins.
Men’s Hockey
The men’s hockey team travelled to Indiana for a non-conference exhibition game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The Gryphons lost to Notre Dame 7-5, with goals for Guelph by Tryq Strand, Mac Nichol, Seth Swenson, and Lenny Fabbri with two. Goalie Andrew D’Agostini played the first half of the game when Notre Dame got 16 shots on net compared to Guelph’s 6.
In the second half of the game, Scott Stajcer made 12 saves but allowed four goals. The Gryphons finished off their two-game NCAA road trip with another loss to the Robert Morris Colonials.
The final score came to 5-3, with Guelph’s goals scored by Tryq Strand, Rob De Fulviis, and Stephen Hiff.
Lacrosse
The Gryphons men’s lacrosse team has a record of 5-3 following a victory over Toronto and a loss to Brock. The final score of Friday’s game against U of T was 14-10.
On Saturday, the Gryphons lost 11-10 to Brock, with Blake Ulbiklas scoring 4 goals, two each from Todd Greer and Zack Luis. The Gryphons sit in fourth place in the West Division as they prepare for their next game, hosting the Western Mustangs at the Gryphon Soccer Complex at 7:30 pm on Oct. 16. The women’s lacrosse team falls to a 1-10 record with only two games left in the regular season. On Saturday in London, the Gryphons lost 13-3 to Laurier and 5-3 to McMaster before travelling to McMaster to play the Trent Excalibur on Sunday.
Sunday’s game had a similar outcome, with a 9-7 loss to Trent. The Gryphons will return to McMaster to face the Marauders on Oct. 14.