Women’s and men’s basketball teams break in the new court
The opening of the new Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre on Friday, Jan. 13 signalled a new age in University of Guelph athletics. That evening, the men’s and women’s basketball teams faced off against the Laurier Golden Hawks in the Gryphons’ new home to mark the milestone.
Technically speaking, the Guelph Gryphons Events Centre saw its first OUA play on Jan. 8, when the men’s and women’s volleyball teams faced the Brock Badgers. However, the double-header against Laurier is considered the centre’s official opening night.
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The women’s team played first, and carried out a major comeback in the second half of the game, led by forwards Abbey Clark and Ashley Wheeler. Although the Gryphons rallied, Laurier won 62-55.
Second on the bill was the men’s basketball team, also taking on Laurier. Early aggression gave the Golden Hawks a healthy 45-36 lead at halftime. The Gryphons fought to catch up, with strong offence by veteran guard Daniel Dooley.
Taylor Boers, another veteran guard, scored back to back three-pointers early in the fourth quarter. The team would go on to outscore Laurier 29-20 in the fourth quarter, but would finish with a respectable 87-80 loss against the Golden Hawks.
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Games aside, the new events centre has much more than a basketball court. It’s also complete with an overhead track, a broadcasting room, new change rooms, and a concession stand. The space is designed for versatility—it will be a venue for business and cultural events as well as sporting ones.
For many, the icing on the cake was the four-sided video board, replaying highlights and urging fans to cheer louder.
“We’ve never really had something like that before,” said women’s basketball captain Megan Brenkel, who scored the first ever basket in the new centre. The veteran guard also scored a basket in the third quarter from a shot behind her head.
Brenkel also commented on how her experience as a varsity athlete changed in the new facility.
“I think they did a good job in every aspect of it. We have brand new change rooms—everything is so close together. It really makes for a great experience for the team.”
Along with the new change rooms is a high performance centre for varsity athletes and several community teams, including the Junior Gryphons.
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For varsity rugby veteran player Adam Maahs, who attended the basketball games, the new Athletics Centre has been long anticipated. Now pursuing his PhD in chemistry, Maahs was in his undergrad when the original referendum took place.
“I was here before they started phase one of all of this,” he told The Ontarion. “It’s cool to see what it actually looks like now that it’s done.”
The new events centre aims to benefit more than just the varsity athletes. For Peter Clark, parent of varsity basketball player Abbey Clark, it means that he gets to watch his daughter play in cutting-edge facilities.
“She’s been anticipating this day since she started here last year,” said Clark of his daughter, who is a second-year adult development major. “It’s the nicest [place] I’ve seen her play in in the OUA, even in Canada.”
The 24,000 square foot fitness centre, which opened at the beginning of the fall semester, is equipped with hundreds of free weights and workout machines. Decked in sleek white and red, the space handles high-traffic hours with more grace than its predecessor.
“I was shocked when I saw it,” said fourth-year psychology major Dalia Ahmed, who attended the basketball games at the new facility. “It’s way better than the one before.”
The new space replaces a portion of the W. F. Mitchell Centre, which originally opened in 1957.
Athletics director Scott McRoberts, who joined the University of Guelph from the University of Toronto Scarborough, has overseen the project during its final months.
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“To see the community here, to see all the parents and the supporters and the alumni, to see our men’s and women’s teams on the floor—it’s a dream come true,” said McRoberts. “It’s a lot of hard work from a lot of people and the hours that they put in, but today makes it worthwhile.”
Preparing the events centre to have it fully functional for the beginning of the winter semester was McRoberts’ main goal.
“We worked very, very hard to get this ready for Jan. 3, and we were in here Dec. 24 and 26 to get it done,” he said.
Following the basketball games on Friday, the events centre hosted four games on Saturday and the Wellington Basketball Club’s first home game on Sunday as part of the Canadian Basketball League.
For McRoberts, U of G students were integral to the realization of a new Athletics Centre, which hinged on a 2010 student referendum.
“The most important thing is to thank the students. They’re the ones that made this a reality,” said McRoberts. “They had the foresight to realize how important this was to future students, and they’re the ones that voted in a referendum to make this happen.”
Although the events centre is fully functional, a couple other features remain to be completed and opened to the public. A climbing wall is slated to open in the coming days, and a student area called the Gryphon Lounge will be ready by the end of the month. The new centre’s main entrance is set to open by Apr. 1.