Women’s volleyball raises bar before home opener
Sarah Nolette | Fulcrum Staff
The Gee-Gees women’s volleyball team conquered two strong teams during reading week and is set to play their home opener game against the Queen’s Gaels at 7 p.m. on Oct. 25 at Montpetit Hall. The Gees’ first game on Oct.12 was against Laval Rouge et Or, and they only lost the fourth set by two points (27–25) and won the rest.
Fourth-year social sciences student Myriam English had 17 kills and three service aces alongside her sister and fourth-year social sciences student Kelsie English, with 12 kills, four aces, and five blocks. The Gee-Gees had good leadership on the court that resulted in a great win. On Oct. 17, the Gees played the Manitoba Bisons and won their first two sets with a close score of 25–23 and 25–19. Manitoba fought back with two consecutive wins tying the score 2–2. The Gee-Gees stole the final set 15–11 for the win. Myriam English said the team was excited to play two of the top teams in Canada.
“Manitoba ranked fourth (where the Gee-Gees finished last year). We were excited to get to play them because we wanted to prove something,” she said. “It was a good way to finish the preseason, two tough matches that prepared us for the upcoming season.”
Soaring Martlets take down Gee-Gees’ season
The women’s rugby season came to an end this month with two back-to-back losses to McGill University. The Gee-Gees were defeated Oct. 11 in the final regular season game, 21–13 and again Oct. 19 in the first playoffs game, 27–17. Head coach Jennifer Boyd said the experience of McGill’s players contributed a lot to their win over the Gee-Gees.
“I think when it comes down to it, we just need to gain some experience,” said Boyd. “Credit to them, they are an experienced squad. Our girls need to learn from this and move forward.”
The Gee-Gees, including fifth-year graduating health sciences student Natasha Watcham-Roy, couldn’t stop McGill’s Brianna Miller who put 17 points on the board. Despite the score, McGill coach Matthew Stephens believed the Gee-Gees were well-prepared for the game.
“They came out strong, very prepared, very organized. They really pushed us,” said Stephens. The Gee-Gees had an exceptional season led by captain Watcham-Roy and a hard working team beside her. Overall, the Gees had five wins and three losses, and were ranked in the country’s top 10 for most of the season.
Men’s rugby team joins EORU
The men’s rugby team had an exciting season representing the garnet and grey with new jerseys as they joined the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union (EORU) fall league in September.
Third-year commerce and marketing student Braydon Brommit-Stachel said being accepted into the league was an exciting opportunity and showed what the Gee-Gees are capable of.
“It gave our team structure and meaning every week knowing we were competing against Ottawa’s best rugby clubs,” said Stachel. “It let us showcase our product and what the Gee-Gees are capable of and let us highlight that we can perform to a high standard.”
The Gees kicked off their EORU season late September and enrolled two teams in the league with the 60 men that were playing this year. On Sept. 28, the Gees pulled out their first win in the league with a 31–19 score over the Ottawa Beavers.
The garnet and grey are known for their strong and physical game, which helped in the next win on Oct. 2 against the Ottawa Irish RFC. This year, the Ottawa Irish became a 50 year-old rugby club and for the new Gee-Gees, playing against this experienced team was a thrilling victory.
The Gee-Gees concluded their games in the EORU fall league on Oct. 19 this past weekend with a loss to the Queen’s Gaels. Second-year human kinetics student Mike Adibe and third-year commerce student Charles Kijek both scored tries but the team couldn’t hold down the Gaels for the win. The concluding records for both Gee-Gee teams were 2–2 and 4–0. Second-year religion student Stuart Locke was satisfied with how the team played against the Gaels.
“We gave it our all and lost to a very talented Queen’s team. There’s no shame in losing when there was nothing more you could have done,” said Locke.
The next post-season game for the the men’s rugby team is on Nov. 11 against the RMC Paladins at Matt Anthony Field.
Women’s soccer gives up first loss to Ravens in 20 seasons
Marc Jan | Fulcrum Staff
Oct. 12 will be a day to remember for the Carleton University Ravens as they finally defeated the Gee-Gees after 20 seasons. The game began with a goal from the Ravens, which was quickly tied up when Gees’ forward Chantal McFetridge scored a goal with a corner kick at the beginning of the second half.
Eventually, the Ravens returned with three more goals, two of which were scored in the final 10 minutes of play. Ravens’ Abby Nicastro was the backbone of the team’s victory, scoring two of the four goals. The game ended with a score of 4–1.
The Gees’ next adversaries were the Toronto Varsity Blues on Oct. 19, in the dreary rain. The match was an enduring one and the Gees showed their true colours by scoring the first goal of the game in the first half. Despite not scoring any more goals, the women managed to retain the victory by playing a strong defensive game and keeping the Blues at bay.
In their final game of the regular season, the Gees hosted the Ryerson Rams on Oct. 20 at Matt Anthony Field. In their final shutout of the season, the women acquired a 12–1–3 record with a 3–0 victory over the Rams. This wasn’t the only record of the night, as striker Pilar Khoury broke her personal school record for most goals in a single season with two goals during the game against Ryerson—leaving her with 14 in total.
The women also retained their first place ranking in the eastern division of the Ontario University Athletics.
Men’s football topples Windsor Lancers
The Gee-Gees men’s football team played their final game of the season Oct. 19 against the Windsor University Lancers. The Gees and their supportive fans weathered the rainy Saturday to defeat the Lancers 45–15 and secured themselves the fifth spot in Ontario University Athletics (OUA) rankings.
The game was a particularly strong display of the Gees’ defensive strength, earning them praise from head coach Jamie Barresi.
The quarterfinals begin next weekend at 1 p.m., when the Gees will face McMaster University. The Gees head into post-season play with a 5–3 record, having lost to McMaster, Queen’s and Western.
Men’s hockey team off to icy start
Having ended their preseason with a 3–2 record, the Gee-Gees men’s hockey team was warmed up, but not enough to net a victory against the University of Toronto team on Oct. 11. The Gees were behind 2–0 at the beginning of the third period and scrambled to tie the game, but lost with a final score of 3–2.
Their game against Ryerson University on Oct. 12 was an exciting game to say the least. The Gees were two for two at the end of the first and 6–4 by the end of the second. In the third, the Gees managed to tie the game 6–6, but lost in the final minute of the game when they gave up a goal shorthanded.
The team then played McGill University on Oct. 18 in a pretty dirty match. The final score was 6–0 in favour of McGill, who had accumulated two roughing, two slashing, two hooking, two tripping and one high-sticking call by the end of the game. In the third period, Gees’ forward Craig Moore received a 10-minute misconduct call.
In their first home game of the season against Nipissing on Oct. 19, the Gees finally got their first win of the season. The game ended with a score of 8–1, leaving the team with a 1–3 record in the regular season.
Women’s hockey wins one, loses one
In its first game of the season, the Gees women’s hockey welcomed last year’s champions University of Montréal Carabins on Oct. 18. Rookie blue-liner Cynthia Whissell netted the team’s first goal of the regular season. Despite the strong start and the relatively even shots by both teams, the Carabins gained control over the game in the second period and delivered a 5–2 loss to the Gees.
There was no mercy when the women went up against Carleton University on Oct. 20. In the spirit of a real Gee-Gee, we broke out of the gates with a speedy five-goal lead in the first period. The first goal was scored in less than 50 seconds. By the third period, the Ravens came around to score a single goal and deny the Gee-Gees a shutout victory. The game ended 5–1, leaving the women’s team with a 1–1 record for regular season play.
Women’s fastball team win silver medal
The Gee-Gees women’s fastball team competed in the Canadian Collegiate Softball Association’s (CCSA) National Championships Oct. 11–14. The women managed to wrangle a second-place silver medal with a 2–0–1 record in pool play, followed by a 7–0 shutout over the University of Waterloo in the semi-finals, and eventually lost to Western 8–3 in the finals.
The women’s team also received recognition from the CCSA due to the performances of four players: Jean Cardona for her pitching, Elyssa Dobson for her outfield play, Michelle Miller for her offence, and Grace Lonergan for her stellar catching.
