The mens’ waterpolo team capped off their season with a fourth place finish at this weekend’s Ontario University Athletics (OUA) finals. The Blues, who were looking to defend their championship title, were understandably disappointed with their finish.
Led by team captain Tom Herring, the Blues were able to beat or tie each team in the league at least once during the regular season. New goaltender Jonathon Coutts-Zawadzki rose to the challenge by playing up to the standards of the league. “We trained him well and he gave us the opportunity to win”, says Geljo. Many rookies on the team also rose to the challenges of varsity level play. Rookies Jake Pottier, Paul “Sully” Sullivan, Vlad Tasevski, and Scott Smith formed an integral part of the team. The Blues had a respectable 5-3-2 season which placed them third going into the finals.
Toronto faced the Western Mustangs in the semi-final game on Saturday. Western pulled into an early lead in the intense match up, and an unfortunate setback for the Blues came in the middle of the second quarter when Sullivan was kicked out of the game. But the Blues fought back to keep the Mustangs within sight. However, in a disappointing fourth quarter, Western was able to net two goals and pull to a 10-6 victory.
Knocked out of gold medal contention, the Blues came back on Sunday to meet McMaster in the bronze medal match. The Blues managed to stay neck and neck with the Marauders in what proved to be a very physical game. After U of T lost two players in the fourth quarter, however, McMaster was able to pull away and win 10-8. Queen’s won the OUA’s for their first time, beating Western in the final 10-7.
Despite losing the title to Queen’s, the Blues don’t have much to complain about. “The season went incredibly well,” says assistant coach Damir Geljo. “We may not have won, as was our intention, but it’s a building process. We have a young team this year, most of whom will be returning next year.” And indeed the future does look bright, as only one of the starters is set to graduate. There will be lots of talent to work with next year, notably Sullivan and Tasevski, both of whom received OUA all-star honours.
