There can often be a silver lining after a defeat in sports. The women’s squash team proved this theory true by finishing second at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) squash championships on February 6.

Toronto lost 4-2 to the Western Mustangs in the gold-medal showdown at McGill ten days ago. This result was not surprising, even though the Blues had won three straight squash titles. Western was the top seed heading into the finals and had beaten Toronto during the regular season.

“We were disappointed somewhat to get silver, but the reality was that going into the final we were the underdogs,” said Blues head coach David Cooper. “We had a big mountain to climb and, actually, we are happy to get silver.”

It was the strength of Western’s top four players-Stephanie Edmison, Heather Lamb, Laura Savage, and Jessica Senior-that allowed them to succeed. All four were OUA all-stars.

The Blues were also handicapped by only being able to dress six players instead of the nine they can use when playing in College Squash Association (CSA) matches. The CSA is an American-based association that the team joined in order to get more tournament experience, since there are only four OUA competitions each year.

Cooper spent a lot of time developing the middle and bottom of his team’s order this year, instead of concentrating all his energy on his top players.

“In OUA play you only have six players to prepare, while in CSA you have to prepare 12,” said Cooper. “Western had four very strong players, but if we had played a best-of-nine instead of a best-of-six we would have won.”

Rookie Christine Regan and former badminton player Edith Chow (Toronto’s #6 and #5 players) started the final well for Toronto, beating Ashley Knight and Bev Goldthorpe, respectively, to give the Blues a 2-0 edge. Western’s top four took over after that, sweeping Toronto in the next four matches.

It was still a solid year for the Blues, as three women-Karlene Headley-Cooper, Samantha Gowland, and Brooke Biggs-were named OUA all-stars. Coach Cooper said that Biggs and Gowland were the most improved players for his team this year, and Headley-Cooper is clearly Toronto’s best player.

Half of this year’s squad will be graduating, so coach Cooper will be looking to recruit new talent in the coming months. He is looking for players who have previous experience playing squash or other racquet sports, but will give anyone who is eager to play and ready to learn an audition.

“We don’t get many ready-made squash players,” explained Cooper.

The next chance to see squash at U of T will come March 10-12 when the AC hosts the Canadian University and College Squash Championship. Many Blues will be involved in the event.