Photos: Gee-Gees/Provided. Image: Andrew Wilimek/Fulcrum
“We showed everyone that the Gee-Gees program is one of the best in the country”
The 2024–25 school year will go down as the best year to be a Gee-Gee with the history made by many teams. Dynasties have been solidified, and dynasties have been created from the talent across all teams and athletes proudly wearing garnet and grey. With many banners waiting to be hung, from thrilling post-season runs to record-breaking performances, the Gee-Gees have raised the bar for all future teams.
We start in the first semester with the dominant women’s soccer team, both the men’s and women’s rugby teams, and the swimming sensation king Hugo Lemesle (aka Gee-Gee Michael Phelps).
OUA three-peat for women’s soccer
The women’s soccer team has achieved what no other team has done in the history of OUA women’s soccer. They became the only team to win three consecutive OUA championships starting their championship dynasty in 2022.
It was a special achievement on the program’s 30th aniversary since their humble beginnings in 1994. The three-peat was achieved when they beat out the Nipissing Lakers 4-2 to make history in early November, an achievement that seems safe for at least several decades.
Wolfville, Nova Scotia native Steve Johnson founded the soccer program in 1994 and has served as head coach ever since: “This team has accomplished something that none of the other Gee-Gees teams from the past were able to do,” said Johnson after that win.
“It takes character, grit, talent, and a bit of luck in each of the three past years. Our opponents have been quality opposition, and I am proud that we were able to meet the challenge.”
The team then took their skills to the national level the following weekend, where they earned a bronze medal in a blowout 3-0 win against Cape Breton, with Cassandra Provost, Maya Smith, and Ava Donohue earning national awards for players.
Athlete Profile: Maya Smith, women’s soccer captain – The Fulcrum
Most notably out of the team’s talented lineup, Provost made history in her final season as a Gee-Gee by breaking Pilar Khoury’s regular-season goals record of 59, which now stands at 61.
Bowie picks up Player of the Year honours for nationals-bound women’s rugby team
Although the womens rugby had a sad ending to their national championship run, finishing fourth, their dominance in the RSEQ regular season was enough for Aurora Bowie to be named National Player of the Year, Duncan McNaughton as National Coach of the Year, and Alysia Comtois and Ketsia Kamba to join Bowie on the All-Canadian Team. The team finished the season averaging 60 points for and only 10 points against, collecting a perfect 6-0 record.
Men’s rugby hosts nationals; Armstrong picks up RSEQ Player of the Year
Since the men’s rugby program’s foundation in 2018, the team has come a long way. With their RSEQ playoff run falling one play short of back-to-back titles, the team made their presence known on the national stage as they hosted their first CUMR championship in the cold late November.
They would enter the consolation bracket after opening the tournament on a loss to the Guelph Gryphons. Still, they would eventually solidify themselves as the seventh-ranked university program in Canada after defeating the Memorial University Seahawks.
The star fly half Jamie Armstrong, who was named RSEQ Player of the Year, played a key role in the team’s success this season. After the university season he would go on to represent team Canada in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger.
Lemesle shines on the national stage
Last but not least, the unstoppable Hugo Lemesle reigned over all national breaststroke races. The fourth-year finance major from France won three national gold medals for the 50m, 100m, and 200m breaststroke events.
He has earned a career filled with recognition as a Gee, with nine career medals at U Sports national championships, two-time U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian from 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, and a total of 31 career medals in RSEQ Championships with 11 being gold.
The winter semester was filled with trophies, history, and records broken from the men’s and women’s hockey, the men’s and women’s basketball programs, and the outstanding shot put star Jessica Gyamfi.
Gyamfi set history by earning the first medal in a field event for the Gee-Gees track and field program, earning a bronze in shotput at the national tournament.
Women’s hockey enjoys first season in OUA since 2001-02
It was a new chapter for a previously struggling women’s hockey program, where they welcomed 13 new recruits and a trailblazer head coach in Ali Domenico. From the last season in the RSEQ going 8-12-5, the team has swung things around in the OUA with a 15-7-4 record.
With three star players of Arianne Gagnon, Alyssa Biesenthal, and Maëlle Laplante being named OUA All-Stars and Naomi Morin appointed to the OUA All-Rookie Team, the team is filled with new talent and a large returning class.
Men’s hockey bring home first national championship in program history
The men’s hockey program’s season was also historic, to say the least, bringing home their first ever University Cup in front of a 4,000-person home crowd at TD Place. The Gees entered as tournament underdogs, took down the national titans and back-to-back Cup winners UNB in overtime, then broke TMU with a late goal from Mitch Martin before finally overtaking the Concordia Stingers 3-2 in the most epic Gee-Gees hockey game ever played.
After that win over the Stingers earned them the U Cup, head coach Patrick Grandmaître said, “It’s indescribable, this is what we dreamed of.” The tournament MVP goaltender Franky Lapenna, whose performances were one of a kind throughout the tournament, said, “This is the best day of my life; we’re national champions.”
Men’s basketball three-peat national bronze
The Gee-Gees basketball programs made waves throughout the OUA and in the national tournament in Vancouver. The men’s basketball program had a hot regular season, where they did not lose a single game in the OUA past a Nov. 15 loss against the Brock Badgers.
The Gees moved through the playoffs like nothing, beating Laurentian and TMU by over 30 points, then taking down the reigning champion Queen’s Gaels 95-87 to bring home the Wilson Cup on home court for the first time in 32 years. Head coach James Derouin said, “To do it here, to be able to go to our locker room, our office after the win, is just incredible … Just a special night, that’s for sure.”
The team then took their momentum to the national tournament, where they took home their third straight bronze medal against UPEI, 86-70. An incredible record was broken in the men’s basketball program by the fifth-year guard from Waterloo, Dragan Stajic. He ended his OUA regular season career off with 414 assists, getting the torch pass from Gee-Gees legend Michael L’Africain, who sits at 406 assists. Stajic also ended his U SPORTS career with the best assist-to-turnover ratio in history.
Stajic is a poised player and served as the key floor general for this astounding squad that has developed over these past few years, he says about his mindset that “when the ball gets zipping, you get some kind of advantage, you create advantages for other people, having that is a luxury to get more open shots and better quality shots.”
Joly, Szczokin finally push women’s basketball to Critelli Cup; nationals bronze
Last but not least of the successful varsity teams is the mighty women’s basketball program led by head coach Rose-Anne Joly. The Gees finished with a regular season record of 19-3, followed by an inspiring post-season to win the Critelli Cup against the back-to-back provincial and national champions and biggest rival, the Carleton Ravens.
They upset the best basketball program in the country at their court, the Ravens’ Nest, for their first Critelli Cup in 12 years, snapping the Ravens’ 42-game unbeaten streak. Coach Joly had some heartwarming words following their historic victory over the Ravens: “It’s all a dream. I’m not sure I’ve ever dreamed about this, and to make it happen today is … I’m just very emotional. And kudos to the team who trusted me along the way. It was a long year, and we did it.”
On the national stage, coming in as the second seed, the squad ended their six-year drought in the big dance, taking home a bronze medal from a victory of host UBC. Fourth-year phenom Allie McCarthy led the team big time in scoring, picking up 20 points with 10 coming in the final quarter. After the game she spoke about the significance of the game for the program.
“I think everyone who has been here the past years would agree that this has been building for a while. We showed everyone that the Gee-Gees program is one of the best in the country. This season was great not only for us but for past players and definitely for future Gee-Gees as well.”
Thank you to all of the athletes, coaches, supporting staff, and fans for bringing an amazing, exciting, and historic year for sports. This year’s accomplishments and big game wins will be the starting friction to bring many more fans, staff, and athletes to Gee-Gees programs for next year and become a self-fulfilling prophecy of the University of Ottawa becoming the best sports programs in the nation, where athletes hope to play, and fans expect to chear loudly at every event.
Liam’s Most Memorable Games
For all the current and future Gee-Gees fans, here are some of the most exciting games I’ve attended throughout this year that have formed my passion as a fan.
The Gee-Gees men’s rugby season opener at Matt Anthony Field on Sep. 7 against division rivals ÉTS was a wild game to attend. With the stands packed with fans and familiar foes from the prior season, the team would make sure to start the season with a win. With only four minutes remaining in the game, the Piranhas broke through with a try to give them a slim 16-15 lead.
However, as luck would have it, the Gees were granted a penalty just before half field in the game’s final minute, and the clutch Glenn Roy would nail the kick and win the game 18-16. Head coach James Flemming stated, “We’re going to back Glenn every single time … He’s a lights out player.”
The Gee-Gees women’s rugby team faced their division rivals, Laval Rouge et Or, on Sep 8, a team that was fresh off winning the U SPORTS championship. It was a game of strength and revenge, where the mighty Gees would be the victors in a score of 31-26, with Aurora Bowie leading in points with 11, tries from Anna Dodge, Ketsia Kamba, Leigha Stiles, and a career first from Fiona Day.
After three years of OUA dominance, the women’s soccer squad would take home pitch at Matt Anthony Field on Nov. 2 against the Nipissing Lakers to make history, attempting to become the first ever team to win three consecutive OUA titles. The Lakers’ Cassidy Brooks would strike first, silencing the home crowd, but the U of O would tie the game back up with a goal from Provost and another two minutes later from Nibo Dlamini.
Going back and forth, Brooks would score to tie the game up 2-2. The team would take off and not look back with two goals, one scored by the speedy winger Jenna Matsukubo and another by Elianne Gervais, which would secure history for the Gee-Gees soccer dynasty.
For the 55th anniversary of the beloved Panda Game on Oct. 6, the biggest game in all of U SPORTS and one that feels like a Super Bowl equivalent for fans, the Gees would net an insane second-half comeback to earn their sixth consecutive year in possession of Pedro the Panda.
The most exciting play of the game came from the Gees’ linebacker Daniel Briere, who rushed for 40 yards to the endzone from a fumble recovery, with a conversion from Zachary Copeland giving the Gees the lead. In the final moments, with only a three-point lead for the Gees, Ravens kicker Brandon Forcier would miss terribly short on a potential game-tying field goal, and the Panda dream lived on for the Gee-Gees.
The star running back, Charles Asselin, who scored two touchdowns, said after the game, “It always comes down to a field goal for some reason, but we pulled through [and] that’s what matters. We still got some things to work on but that was a great game. I’m happy we came out on top.”
Saturday, March 8 will go down as the most historic night for the Gee-Gees basketball programs, as the women would take down the Ravens 70-61 to take him the Critelli Cup, and the men would beat the Gaels 95-87 to win the Wilson Cup. Fans attending the Critelli Cup (mostly Ravens, but also a strong travelling Gees contingent) witnessed the Gees take down the back-to-back national champions, upsetting all skeptics and bringing hope to a strong team becoming even stronger.
First Team OUA All-Star Natsuki Szczokin, who scored 22 on the night, said post-game, “We had to break the pattern, and we knew that it would have to be this game that we do it. So we came in here with that in mind and came out with the win.”
Just hours later, the men’s team would win the Wilson Cup for the first time on home court since the 1992-93 season. It was a career night for forward Justin Ndjock-Tadjore, who dropped 29 points, playing a key role in shutting down the Gaels’ offence. His inspiring words after the team’s historic win: “There was never a doubt in my mind that we couldn’t win this game” and that “everything happens for a reason.”
After a quarterfinals exit in the playoffs to Queens, the men’s hockey team still had high hopes for the national tournament as the host. On March 20, the Gees would start the national tournament off against the undisputed number one hockey program in the nation in the UNB Red’s who were back-to-back champions, the Gees were against all odds.
However, after a long battle, they would take the Reds to overtime with a late goal from Peter Stratis, sealing it in overtime with a miraculous goal from Marco Seguin.
The first standout performance of three from the player of the tournament, Franky Lapenna, saw the second-year netminder save 41 out of 43 shots. Lapenna set the tone post-game by saying, “we beat the king of the hill, but you still got to climb the hill to get there.”
They then took out TMU 4-3 in the semi-finals two days after defeating UNB, with Mitch Martin scoring a game-winning goal with only 42 seconds remaining. Truly against all odds, they earned their first national championship appearance in the program’s history.
Just one day later, in the tournament finals, the underdogs earned their first ever national championship against the Concordia Stingers in a 3-2 win where the Stingers had fans biting their nails with two goals coming in the final three minutes. They scored their three goals on only 14 shots, with Lapenna once again keeping dreams alive, saving 31 out of 33 shots.
It was a dream come true for the team and long-time head coach Patrick Grandmaître, who kept the team’s poise throughout the tournament as underdogs. “That’s what I kept telling those guys: when it will happen — because it will happen — you’re now together for life.”
The national tournament victory on home ice at TD Place in front of 4000 fans was the cherry on top to cap off the best year for Gee-Gees sports. Until next year…
Editor’s Note: If you have somehow made it this far, stay for a couple more words — they’re probably intended for you. For us at the Fulcrum, it has truly been a pleasure and a privilege to cover so many historic Gee-Gees athletes, teams, and seasons this year and we hope you have enjoyed our coverage. Thank you to everyone who has supported the Fulcrum. Thank you our readers, first and foremost, for giving us motivation to keep writing, thank you to the photographers and media staff, who provide us with pictures, information, and access, and thank you to all of the players and coaches who have took time out of their busy schedules to talk to us after games, respond to our emails and messages, or answered the phone when we called. Like Liam said… until next year.
