On Sunday, Oct. 18, the Varsity Blues men’s and women’s wrestling teams opened their seasons at the second annual Toronto Open. The event, held at the Athletic Centre’s sports gym, included participants from McGill, Queen’s, Western, and York, as well as private clubs TeamImpact, X-Couture, and YM-YWHA.
The Blues finished with a respectable 27 points in the men’s competition, good enough for fourth place. Shujon Mazumder placed first in the 54 kg category, winning a gold medal after defeating second-ranked Santiago Duro of York University. Mazumder, who won a bronze in last season’s OUA championship, did not concede a single point in four matches. Dene Ringette, in the men’s 76 kg category, trounced X-Couture’s Andrew McInnes 6-0 to take his spot atop the podium.
U of T’s Matt Fruchman (90 kg) finished fourth, while John Feng (68 kg) and Bojan Kladnjakovic (61 kg) placed fifth.
On the women’s side, U of T’s Melissa Biscardi won silver in the 48 kg category, while Jennifer Seidel had a third-place finish in the 63 kg category. Seidel, coming off a rookie season that saw her win gold at the OUA’s U21 championships, lost to eventual gold medalist Larissa D’Alleva from UWO. The team finished third behind Western, who ended the competition with an impressive 35 points, 20 more than second-place TeamImpact.
The Blues will travel to Hamilton on Oct. 31 to compete in the McMaster Invitational, a tournament that will host OUA champions Brock University among its competitors
