Jonathan Isaac | Baseball
“I’ve been playing since I was eleven, I guess,” laughs Jonathon Isaac, pausing to count the years he’s spent playing baseball. Isaac has just finished his last year with the Varsity Blues baseball team, and says that it was a rebuilding year for the team. “We had a lot of rookies, there was a big turn over, so you have to give time for that kind of thing to gel,” he explains. Despite not performing as well as they did in past years, Isaac says he enjoyed being able to provide a mentorship role to the other guys on the team.
Isaac wears a permanent grin, and laughs off questions about the challenges of being a full time athlete and a full time student.
“It’s tough being in baseball, especially in the outfield. You’re just standing there, you have no idea what’s going on.” Isaac says it’s important to get a couple good songs in your head to keep you motivated during long stretches in the outfield. His favourite song this season was Jay-Z’s “Already Home.”
Isaac is finishing his last year with the Concurrent Teacher Education Program, and plans to pursue a teaching career in physical education and biology. He will also be playing for Israel’s national baseball team this summer. “It’s sad to be leaving the team this year. I’ve loved being part of it in my time at U of T; it’s definitely one of my communities,” he adds.
Madi Laurin | Basketball
Madi Laurin enters the Varsity program with a family legacy — her brother, Dakota Laurin, was featured in last year’s Hot Jocks feature, was a member of the Varsity Blues basketball team. Laurin is in her first year at U of T, and credits the team as being a great source of community. “We really are a community, I love the other girls on the team,” she explains. The Blues were eliminated in the OUA East semifinals, falling 67–56 to the Queens Gaels. Laurin was only able to play two games, as it’s her first year on the team, but hopes to take on a bigger role in the team in the coming year.
Steffi Wong | Tennis
Steffi Wong has been playing with the Varsity Blues tennis team for her three years at U of T, where she has been enrolled in the faculty of Denistry. “My favourite moment from the season is definitely when we won the ouas,” says Wong. Wong was named Ontario University Athletics (oua) female athlete of the week this October, and was a three-time winner when the Blues claimed their tenth consecutive ouatitle. “This year’s team was really close, there were a lot of senior members and we worked really well together,” she says. Wong’s favourite parts of playing with the team are going on trips together, and says that the team provides a fun way to play and get exercise without too much pressure or competition. “I studied in the states… I did my undergrad in California, and it’s definitely more intense over there,” she says.
Paul Spooner | Water Polo
“My whole family plays — my older brother’s on the team here, and my youngest brother, he’s 16, he plays too,” explains Paul Spooner, second–year mechanical engineering student and member of the Varsity Blues water polo team. Spooner describes a schedule in which he trains every night for about two hours with the team. “It can be pretty intense; you end up getting home at midnight or later. You get really close; you spend everyday with them.” Spooner describes the team’s tough loss to main rivals Carleton at this years OUAs. “We lost by one point, it was pretty tough. I’m not going to lie, especially since we were on home turf,” he says. When asked about his pump-up music, Spooner paused, and then admitted that the team has one song they tend to sing together when they go out. “We really like ‘Breakaway’ by Kelly Clarkson,” said Spooner. “We sing it as a whole team. It’s awful; we’re honestly no good at it.” Next year, Spooner explains that he’s hoping to step into more of a leadership role. “A lot of the older guys are leaving, so we’ll see what ends up happening. But I’m definitely looking to avenge that loss with Carleton.”
Jaylyne Hines | Fastpitch
Jaylyne Hines is in her first year at U of T, studying geography, and hails from the island of Bermuda. “My favourite moment this season? Probably the game where I hit two home runs,” she says, before going on to admit that the season was a learning curve for her. Hines plays fastpitch for the Blues, but has played slow pitch most of her life. “It started off rough; I was used to playing slow pitch, so it took me awhile to get the hang of it. I wasn’t hitting anything in the beginning,” she explains. Hines says her favourite part of U of T is the academic atmosphere. “I don’t know, maybe that’s unsusual, but I like the atmosphere. It keeps me on my toes. I wouldn’t want to go somewhere where I didn’t have to try.” Hines hopes to build on what she’s learned this year on the team, and put it towards next year’s season.
Samer Yaghmour | Swimming
“I guess I train for about ten hours every week, so about two times a day, five times a week,” explains Samer Yaghmour, a third-year student studying kinesology, and member of the Varsity Blues swim team. Yaghmour swims the 1500 for U of T, although in the past he has focused on long distance open water swimming. When asked about his favourite moments of the season he immediately brings up the oua’s. “We’ve been ouas for the past eleven years,” he explains. “We won bronze this year and it felt pretty good.” Yaghmour has been swimming competitively for eleven years, and says that his decision to come to U of T came from its excellent reputation and connections that he had with his coach. “It was both from my end and their end that I chose U of T, because the club I swam with, my coach right now is the president of that club.” Yaghmour says he definitely made the right choice with U of T: “The team’s great; it has some of the best swimmers that are out there right now.”
Adam Plummer | Basketball
“Yeah, I’m in my last year here, but I love the team, and I love the community,” begins Adam Plummer, the smiling forward for the Varsity Blues basketball team. “Definitely one of the best things this year was being able to be a mentor to some of the other guys on the team,” he explains. The team finished up their 2013–2014 season placing eighth in the OUA East division, which Plummer says he feels pretty good about. “We had a new coach, so there’s always an adjustment period there,” he explained. Plummer is looking forward to ending his four-year career with the Blues, and leaving room for other players to continue to make their way up in the team.
Fiona Callender | Track and Field
Fiona Callender is in her fourth year in the kinesiology program, and on the Varsity Blues track team. “My favourite moment of the season would probably have to be OUAs,” she reflects. The team came in 2nd overall at the OUA’s this year, with Callender taking second place in the 600 metre and first in the 4×400 relay. “Winning the relay definitely felt really good,” she says. “It was a great way to end the season.” Callender says that track has provided her with some of her best friends at U of T. “It’s definitely given me great memories; some of my best friends, my roommates — they all come from the team.”
