Men’s Rugby
McMaster 73 U of T 12

It was a blowout on back campus this past Saturday, even though the Varsity Blues were playing their hearts out. With masterful recruiting, plucking many of the province’s top players, the McMaster Marauders have put together a roster that’s bound to lead to a winning season. One of their newest additions, James Wood, led the way for the Marauders with two tries. The Blues, who have recently moved up to the OUA’s top division of play, were regrettably outmatched by this powerhouse of a team. U of T went scoreless until mid-way through the second half, when their dry spell was broken by a Sammy Sue steal which he ran back for a try. This little momentum boost allowed for the Blues to score one more try, and convert on a successful kick attempt. The men’s rugby team is tied for third in their division, with a 1-1 record.
– Samim Reza

Men’s Lacrosse
U of T 12 Carleton 9

It was a very fast-paced and intense lacrosse game when the Carleton Ravens visited the U of T Blues last weekend. The 0-2 Blues were determined for victory from the get-go, and even after falling behind in the first period they didn’t give up hope. The defense was solid the entire game through, keeping the Ravens at bay long enough for the offense, relentless in their focus and attacks, to take control of the game. In the fourth quarter the Blues watched their 10-6 lead turn into a one point game when the Ravens scored with 2:30 left to make the score 10-9. Coah Tyler Davies called for a timeout settling the team down, and with renewed focus the offense slowed the pace of the game to score two more goals. Chad Piovesan led the Blues with four goals, and Ian Parrag came through with a hat trick. Afterwards, Piovesan remarked that “everything just clicked. We were short staffed by four of our players, but everything came together today.”
– SR

Football
U of T 7 Guelph 20

The Blues broke their scoring famine early in the game, but their inability to convert inside the red zone the rest of the day resulted in a loss for the Varsity team to the visiting Guelph Gryphons on Saturday. U of T was up 7-0 after Jason Riff caught a touchdown pass from Carter Livingstone, but despite moving the ball well all game and driving within the Gryphons’ 20 yard line several times, the Blues left without scoring another point. Numerous promising drives were snuffed out by turnovers, including Livingstone’s five interceptions, which really sealed the Blues’ dismal fortune. The Gryphons went on to score 20 unanswered points, capitalizing on its scoring chances. All in all, the Blues offense seemed to have been awakened by the relatively loud (for once) home crowd at Varsity, as members of many Varsity teams came out to show their support for the embattled football team. Gaining more than 100 yards on Templar Iga’s rushing, and well over 250 yards on the strength of Livingstone’s arm, the Blues showed that perhaps they do realize that they have survived the hardest part of their schedule, and that they have the heart to make the coming games much more competitive. The Blues play York in a crucial game for both programs next Saturday, Sept. 27 at York.
– Russ Hoff

Fastpitch

Round two of the Ontario Intercollegiate Women’s Fastpitch Association (OIWFA) schedule has come to a close, and U of T is currently leading the pack in the East division with an impressive record of 8-1.
This weekend, the women suffered their one and only loss at the hands of Waterloo, to a tune of 6-2. That glitch aside, Toronto swept the rest of this weekend’s match-up’s. Coming from behind to beat Guelph 3-1, the Blues then proceeded to trounce the 2002 champions Brock by a final score of 4-0. Laurier was the next to fall by a resounding 10-3 to the Varsity Blues. Western also came out on the losing end, by a similar 10-3 fate. So far this season, pitcher Jenny Reibeling has racked up five wins, Lorissa Gaber has earned two, and Cathy Rayner has put up one.
– RA

Mountain Biking

U of T’s mountain bike team, last year’s defending champs, packed its 40 members up and shipped off to their season’s first university cup race this past Saturday.
At the race site the team was joined by twelve other university mountain bike clubs from across the province.

U of T highlights include a gold medal won by Alana Tintse in the women’s “B” division, and a bronze by Alix Bhogal in the men’s “B.” In the “A” level of competition, rookie Heather Grey stole the show, taking home a silver medal for the women. Captain and coach Antonia Gawel finished a strong fourth in the women’s “A”, as did Timur Malturic on the men’s side.
– RA

Field Hockey
U of T 1 Waterloo 0
Queen’s 2 U of T 0

The U of T field hockey team’s winning streak was cut short this weekend after a disappointing loss to the Queen’s Golden Gaels 2-0. The Blues beat last year’s OUA champions and season rivals Waterloo earlier in the day, shutting them out 1-0. Philippa Kedgley scored U of T’s only goal against Waterloo, with strong defensive performances by both goalkeeper Sarah Lipton and Alex Chacinski. The team is currently tied for second in the OUA with a 3-1 record.
– RA

Cross Country

Despite being minus several members, the U of T cross country team–the defending CIS champions-put on a good showing this weekend at the Waterloo Open. Captain Sandy Wells placed sixth in the women’s 4km, and in the men’s 8km rookie Gabriel Jarquin placed a solid ninth. Both men’s and women’s teams ranked third overall at day’s end.
– RA