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OUA WATER POLO CHAMPIONS TO BE CROWNED THIS WEEKEND
11/25/2009 2:47 PM
by Murray McComb
11/25/2009 2:47 PM - HAMILTON, Ont. - A month's worth of determination and hard-fought battles comes down to two days of fierce competition, as McMaster University hosts the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) men's and women's water polo championships on Nov. 28 and 29.
The women kick off their semifinal matches on Saturday as the No. 1 Carleton Ravens (8-0) look to capture their third OUA championship title in four years when they face the No. 4 Queen's Gaels (2-6) at the Ivor Wynne Centre Pool.
Led by Kaitlyn Sennema (Ottawa) and Sarah McIlveen (Scarborough, Ont.), with 20 and 19 goals respectively, the Ravens completed their third straight first-place finish this season but it was their first going undefeated.
When Queen's and Carleton last faced each other on Nov. 7, it was Kailey Flower (Hamilton, Ont.) that led the scoring for the Ravens with three goals, while Sydney Ferguson (Etobicoke, Ont.), Michelle Langstaff (Ottawa) and Katharine Stewart (Guelph, Ont.) did their part by netting two apiece in the Ravens 15-6 victory.
Queen's has not had any success against Carleton, having lost both matches to the Ravens, but they're not without their own offensive weapon, and she could do some real damage to Carleton's championship chances.
In that same Nov. 7 match, Shannel Rajan (Calgary) netted three goals of her own and finished the season not far behind McIlveen with 18 goals. Also making herself known in the OUA scoring race was Queen's teammate Carla Henderson (Nanaimo, B.C.), cracking the OUA top 10 with a dozen goals.
So despite their polar-opposite finishes this season, the Gaels could prove to be a tough competitor for the Ravens this weekend, especially with a championship on the line.
The second women's semifinal game will see the No. 3 McMaster Marauders (4-4) do battle with the No. 2 Toronto Varsity Blues (6-2) for a chance to advance to the OUA final on Sunday.
Toronto has three -- count ‘em, three – top scorers on their team.
Nicole Brown (Burlington, Ont.), Laura Shaw (Vancouver) and Casey Pottier (Kitchener, Ont.) finished 1-2-3 in OUA scoring with 23, 22 and 20 goals respectively. As a rookie, Pottier has become a critical element to the Blues success this season. In their Nov. 1 match against McMaster, she was right up there with veteran player Brown, each of them scoring five goals apiece.
Even more impressive? Pottier netted seven goals alone against the Marauders on Nov. 9, four of which were scored in the first half to help the Blues to a cushy nine-point lead.
Toronto took victories in both matches against McMaster this season by scores of 12-4 and 21-7, which could be discouraging to the Marauders, but the Maroon and Grey do have their fair share of offensive weapons.
Four Marauders are highlighted on the leaderboard in goals scored for the regular season, including Chaneesa Ryan (Hamilton, Ont.). As a rookie, Ryan has had a breakout year, leading the team in goals with 17.
Teammates Carleigh Carter (Ottawa), Bryn Sutherland (Hamilton, Ont.) and Nadine Asmis (Etobicoke, Ont.) have all been essential to the Marauders offensive, scoring a combined total of 27 goals (Carter for 13, Sutherland and Asmis for seven each).
So despite their losing record against the Varsity Blues, McMaster isn't going to make things easy for Toronto and they definitely have some strong players fighting for a spot in the OUA final game on Sunday.
The men of the No. 1 Toronto Varsity Blues team (10-0-0) will be gunning for their sixth championship title since the 2002-03 season when they take on the No. 4 York Lions (4-6-0) on Saturday in the first men's semifinal match.
For the second consecutive year, the Blues finished their season undefeated, thanks in part to a few key (and new) players.
Rookie Alan Chung (Ajax, Ont.) has been the biggest playmaker for the Blues this season. As a first-year player, he topped the team with 31 goals and led them to their 10-game win streak, followed closely by fellow rookie and Luke Spooner (Auckland). Spooner netted 27 goals during the season, good enough for fifth in the OUA.
All in all, Toronto has six top-20 goal scorers, the most of any team in the OUA, including rookies Tuna Tali (Istanbul) with 24, Calum Kendrick (Ottawa) with 19 and Graeme Myers (Toronto) with 16.
So when the York Lions enter the pool, they'll know exactly who to keep their eye on.
In the two Blues-Lions matches this season, Toronto may have taken victories in both but those wins didn't come without their challenges.
The Lions put up a strong fight in both games, letting wins slip out of their hands by just one goal on Oct. 22 and three on Nov. 4. In the November match, Josip Cvitanovic (Mississauga, Ont.) and Jordan Duffield (Puslinch, Ont.) split the scoring duties, netting three goals apiece in the oh-so-close loss.
Cvitanovic and Duffield both rank in the top 20 in scoring (Cvitanovic with 24 goals and Duffield with 17), but there's one more Lion for the Varsity Blues to keep a watchful eye on: rookie Straun Wefers (Toronto). The first-year player finished just behind Cvitanovic in scoring with 22 goals, including one in each match against Toronto.
The Varsity Blues may have been lucky to eke out a couple of wins against the Lions this season, but the pressure's on for everyone and these Lions will be hungry for a victory on Saturday.
The second men's semifinal game pits the No. 2 Carleton Ravens (7-2-1) against the No. 3 McMaster Marauders (5-4-1), two teams that could not have come closer in their regular season match-ups.
In their first contest of the season on Oct. 18, the Ravens came away with the win by just one point with a score of 13-12, but despite their loss, the Marauders had something to proud of – Jack Park (Waterdown, Ont.)
The first-year Marauder is the OUA's leading-scorer this season with a whopping 42 goals; a huge accomplishment for a rookie. In their October match against Carleton, Park netted eight of McMaster's 12 goals, while teammate Ian Stanley (Hamilton, Ont.) added two, and Graham Park (Waterdown, Ont.) and Mourad Ghoneim (Dundas, Ont.) added one.
Jack's older brother Graham is the second highest scoring Marauder with 20, followed by Stanley with 17.
But the Ravens have their own version of Jack in their veteran goal scorer Dejan Suletic (Gatineau, Que.). Suletic trails Park by just one goal with 41 in the regular season, but it is, after all, his team that is one ranking higher than Park's.
When the Ravens and Marauders met for the second time on Nov. 15, it was another close game – but both teams were forced to settle with a tie, just making their parity all the more clear.
This time around, it wasn't Park or Suletic leading the pack, but Stanley for McMaster and Samuel Cardarelli (Rockland, Ont.) for Carleton. Stanley netted three for the Maroon and Grey while Cardarelli fired in four shots for the Ravens.
So while each team has one solid player on their side, they also have a strong supporting cast and both are playing for the same goal. With these teams so evenly matched, there's no predicting who will advance to the OUA final.
2009 OUA WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS @ MCMASTER UNIVERSITY
Saturday, Nov. 28
Women's Semifinals
No. 4 Queen's vs. No. 1 Carleton – 5:30 p.m.
No. 3 McMaster vs. No. 2 Toronto – 7 p.m.
Men's Semifinals
No. 4 York vs. No. 1 Toronto – 1:30 p.m.
No. 3 McMaster vs. No. 2 Carleton – 3 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 29
Women's
Bronze Medal Match – 11:40 a.m.
Gold Medal Match – 3 p.m.
Men's
Bronze Medal Match – 10 a.m.
Gold Medal Match – 1:20 p.m.
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