At exactly 10:30 p.m. once a week, you can find the McMaster women’s hockey club happily taking the ice in Wentworth Arenas. The majority of the players have just finished a long day of classes, some even worked, but because of their love for the sport they are present and ready to go.
There are 20 universities that make up Ontario University Athletics, 13 of which have provincial women’s hockey teams. McMaster is not one of them. This is no surprise especially because McMaster’s director of athletics Glen Grunwald has shared that it is not in the plans to bring OUA hockey for either men or women to the school anytime soon.
However, this does not stop the 17 women in Mac’s hockey club from working hard to keep their team afloat. For third-year kinesiology student Laura Gelowitz, her love for hockey makes late night practices and low financial support worth it.
“I play hockey because it relieves stress and it’s a great way to meet people who you end up forming a close bond with,” said Gelowitz. “I have an older brother but never had sisters and I consider these girls like the sisters I never had.”
The team is led by volunteer coach Terry Morgan. Morgan, a barber at Emerson Studios on Emerson Street, volunteers around six to 10 hours a we
ek coaching the girls who compete in the Golden Horseshoe Women's Hockey League.
The GHWHL is a Senior AA / Senior A competitive women's hockey league that plays in Hamilton and its surrounding areas. Right now, the Marauders are not where they would like to be in the league, sitting second last in the nine-team league.
“We are not doing as great as we hoped, but our league record does not display how good our team really is and how good we work as a team,” said Gelowitz. “We have a lot of tough competition in this league, but I think everyone is still having a lot of fun which is the most important thing for us.”
With the team being classified as a club they do receive some funding from McMaster athletics department, but with the club’s yearly budget being around $16,000 it unfortunately does little to cover costs. This is one of the main reasons that practice is so late in the evening. Since the ice time is cheaper at night, it is the only time they can afford to practice.
“’It is hard to focus having practice at 10:30 p.m. when everyone is tired and have had a long day of classes,” said fifth-year player Jennifer Collingswood. “If the school could help getting better practice times or a rink on campus that would be great.”
The chance of that coming true any time soon is highly unlikely but does not stop the team from hoping for more support from their fellow students.
“No one really knows too much about the club and what we are,” said Gelowitz. “So it would be nice to get our team some more exposure, because it’s some good hockey and I feel like a lot of people would love to watch it.”
Not only would they like support on the ice but they would love it outside of the rink too. This year, the team held their first annual charity game against the Hamilton police in support of a program within the Boys and Girls Club of Hamilton called "Skate the Dream”. By the end of the event, $1,000 was raised for the program between ticket and raffle sales. Though the event was successful, more backing from the McMaster community in the future is what they would like to see.
With the team’s regular season finale scheduled for Mar. 17, the women still have a few weeks to improve their 2-13-1 record and the McMaster community still has time to show their support. Head over to nearby Wentworth Arenas to see some hard work, entertaining hockey and a whole lot of heart.
Next home games: Feb. 3, Feb. 10, Mar. 3, Mar. 17
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While Marauders fans and media usually focus their attention on sports like football and basketball, the athletic community at McMaster extends far beyond these team sports or even Ontario University Athletics.
This year, a McMaster student was awarded a $10,000 grant to help her pursue Olympic trapshooting.
Elizabeth Longley, a third-year earth and environmental science student, was named as one of 55 young Canadian athletes selected by Petro-Canada for the Fuelling Athletes and Coaching Excellence Program.
Originally from Waterdown, Longley is an Olympic trapshooter, using a shotgun to shoot clay targets that are launched from a bunker. The targets are 110 mm wide and are launched at speeds of up to 100 km/h in a 90-degree arc in front of the shooter.
Being such a small sport, trapshooting does not always garner the attention that bigger sports like hockey, sprinting or soccer get in the Olympics. Many kids are never exposed to trapshooting and do not have a chance to even try the sport.
“I was in scouts when I was little,” said Longley. “Our leaders were duck hunters. They took us out to shoot trap and it was my first time holding a gun. I was pretty good at it. I got contacted by the head coach of the club there and he invited me to try out for his personal club team. I did and he offered me a spot. I didn’t take it at first, I thought I would wait and think about it.”
Longley did not take long to think about it and has not regretted her involvement with the sport. Not only has she progressed greatly among trap shooters, but has done so on such a level to earn her this prestigious grant opportunity.
Since 1988, there have been over 2,700 athletes supported by FACE grants, including Olympic medalists Patrick Chan, Hayley Wickenheiser and Rosie MacLennan.
In addition to the funding, there is an annual summit held for the recipients to learn from Olympic and Paralympic athletes, receive advice on media training, public speaking and personal-brand development.
“It’s really important for me as an athlete because the grant is for athletes who don’t yet meet the requirements to be funded by the Athlete Assistance Program,” said Longley. “I’m close, but not quite there. Especially within my sport, there’s not a lot of funding opportunities because it is such a small sport. To be able to get this is really beneficial for me as an athlete in training and competition.”
Developed in a joint effort by Petro-Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and facilitated by National Sport, the FACE Program supports up-and-coming athletes as they strive to represent Canada at the Olympic or Paralympic Games but do not qualify for government funding. The program also works to help athletes and coaches beyond simple things like more expensive equipment or training opportunities.
“This weekend I’m going to get my coaching certification in Calgary, so that’s what I’m putting some of the money towards,” Longley added. “After that, I’ll be the youngest certified coach in Canada for the International Shooting Sport Federation Level D. I was also able to buy new sporting equipment that I really needed.”
In addition to dedicating the training time to an Olympic-level sport, Longley also has to spend sufficient time studying as a full-time student. Luckily, she has found professors who have been understanding and accommodating in her pursuit of her Olympic dream. With a supportive community around her, it makes things a lot easier for Longley to make the sacrifices necessary to excel in trapshooting.
"Sports helped me find who I am as a person. The skill set you learn within sport, you can apply to your everyday life; you're disciplined, you're dedicated, you're passionate about something, it helps you just be better all around."
Elizabeth Longely
Trapshooter
FACE Program
In March 2017, the International Olympic Committee launched a major review to increase gender equality in their sports. Being a woman in a male-dominated sport is not easy, as Longley can attest to.
“The IOC has all of their gender equality goals for the 2020 Games,” said Longley. “Balancing the number of male and female competitors, reducing the number of sports who only have men who compete in them and also introducing mixed events where men and women compete together for the same country. We dropped one of the men-only events and we now have a new mixed team event. So we are definitely making progress but there is still a lot to do. [Women are] definitely underrepresented in the sport, but it’s looking up.”
The goal to bring gender equality to sports means much more than having women and men share the international stage during the Olympics. Sports is a unifying phenomenon that brings people from different backgrounds together, and on an individual level, it makes a difference to athletes that goes beyond points scored.
“Sports [when I was] growing up was always important to me,” Longley said. “I swam competitively, I did karate and then I finally found what I think is the sport I was meant to do — the other sports didn’t really compare in my level of enjoyment.”
“Also through sports, it helped me find who I am as a person,” Longley added. “The skill set you learn within sport you can apply to your everyday life: you’re disciplined, you’re dedicated, you’re passionate about something, and an overall confidence. It helps you just be better all around.”
Splitting time between practicing and studying, Longley will be one of several Canadian athletes to watch as we approach the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Among the heart-warming stories of hometown athletes reaching the podium, there could very well be one with a special connection to the McMaster community.
McMaster University’s Department of Athletics & Recreation is home to a wide range of facilities. With three different gyms, two dance studios, an indoor track, a climbing wall, a sports hall and a mindfulness centre, there is only one thing missing: separate gym hours for different genders.
Personal health and finess is not limited to a specific gender and should be practiced by everyone.With the rise of body image insecurities and a growing advocacy for judgement free atmospheres, numerous fitness facilities in Canada are creating more welcoming and supportive spaces for women to achieve their personal fitness goals.
Though McMaster does offer a women’s only circuit within The Pulse on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., it does not exclusively open the facility up to just women. It certainly does not support women who want to work out individually, and feel comfortable on their own terms.
Besides Curves, which is a women’s only gym dedicated to building strength and confidence plus diligent weight loss programs, GoodLife Fitness has been adapting and actively responding to women’s fitness and health needs. GoodLife Fitness for Women offers over 100 ‘For Women’ locations and almost 50 ‘GoodLife for Women’ clubs.
In addition to women’s facilities, GoodLife also caters to other needs by offering a child-minding team to keep children active while moms exercise, attend dance classes, or do a full circuit workout in 30 m inutes.
A few universities have been considering the possibility of on campus women’s-only gyms.
With the rise of body image insecurities and a growing advocacy for judgement free atmospheres, numerous fitness facilities in Canada are creating more welcoming and supportive spaces for women to achieve their personal fitness goals.
In February 2016, McGill University’s Facebook page had an intellectual discussion in the comment section of a Facebook post about the possibility of having women’s only gym hours in the McGill Athletics Centre, and excluding men from the fitness centre for just four hours a week.
According to McGill Daily, Ryerson University and the University of Toronto have already implemented women-only gym hours, and revealed that participation increased in facility spaces that usually had low female participation, which is understandable given that many women typically don’t enjoy an environment of unnecessary grunts and toxic masculinity. I certainly wouldn’t. This is why it is important for us to include everyone in the pursuit of healthy living.
Undeniably, men and women are different in certain respects. In addition to physical diversity, in most religions and cultures, men and women have different roles and responsibilities.
I’m sure for women who wear hijab, sweating in what would be comparable to a hat and scarf and doing 30 lb squats in front of men would not encourage women to go to the gym. Which is why women-only gym hours is a more equitable resolution for women. With this solution, McMaster does not need to invest creating a new recreational space. In addition, excluding men from the gym for a certain number of hours may increase productivity and focus for each gender, knowing that they have a certain time frame to achieve their fitness goals.
I’m not saying that men and women should be separated altogether. Women-only gym hours do not mean that there will be no women in the gym. It just means that for those who don’t want to share the co-ed experience, they won’t have to. In the 21st century, diversity and equity in the gym isn’t much to ask for.
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By: David Philpott
It has been over a month and a half since the first Pulse & Recreation Expansion Referendum failed and we are already voting on it again. Though to be fair, there are two changes between January’s referendum and this one.
First, the university has increased its financial contribution by $10 million, which would reduce the proposed increase in student fees from $3.95 to $2.99 per unit. Second, instead of the three options in the first referendum, students will now have two: to build both a Pulse expansion and a Student Activity Building, or to reject all fee increases.
My main issue is that despite the failure of the January referendum, student concerns have still not been addressed. A fee reduction is obviously good for students. But we care not only about how much we will be paying, but how it will be spent.
Throughout the referendum campaign students brought up a variety of issues they had with the proposed deal. Despite this, the McMaster Students Union Board of Directors has not changed enough about the deal this next referendum offers. These issues include:
• A compulsory 12 month Pulse membership for all students, instead of the four, eight and 12 month options offered currently
• No opt-out option for the Pulse membership
• A minimalistic plan about what the space in the Student Activity Building will be used for
• An unclear transition plan for the Pulse and concerns of overcrowding
• A long-term payment plan that would have students paying for this expansion until 2060
None of these issues have been addressed in this referendum. However, what stands out the most about the first referendum is that over 60 per cent of voters chose options that did not contain the Student Activity Building. With a clear mandate like that, one would think the plan for this building needs to be reconsidered after more consultation with students. But that has not happened and the same flawed plan is now being proposed again.
Some say it is necessary we rush ahead with this plan. I understand there are some economic constraints on funding commitments and many groups are eager to move into new spaces. But, considering students will be paying for this new building for the next 43 years, we should not rush ahead with a faulty plan. We need to make sure student interests and issues are being addressed. How can we believe this been done when it has only been six weeks since the last referendum?
On Feb. 24, Ryan MacDonald, the MSU vice-president (Finance), said in a Facebook post that, “This (failure of the first referendum) sent a clear message that students wanted the university to contribute more to this project.” It is true that the university contributing more is a positive, but the referendum needs more adjustments than that.
So let’s send that message again. Next week, vote no and let the university and the MSU inner circle know we students matter. Our concerns need to be addressed, and that you can’t keep proposing the same referendum until you get the answer you are looking for.
On Jan. 25, the McMaster Students Union added a new survey to their website as part of a recommendation by the Student Representative Assembly Standing Committee on Bylaws & Procedures. While there are a few different parts to this, including the minimum per cent of population needed to launch a referendum and to reach quorum for a referendum, the focus is on if there should be a minimum time limit before similar questions can be asked at referendum again.
There are a few problems with this survey. The first response to this question is, “One academic year, September through August (including the remainder of the year in which the question was asked)” with options for two or three academic years as well.
This could easily be interpreted as there being no clear option for only the remainder of the academic year. It is unknown at this point whether the remainder of the year is included as one academic year or if it is included seperately in the total time limit. Wording such as, “The rest of the academic year,” and “The rest of the academic year and one additional academic year,” would have helped clear up any ambiguity.
The survey also mentions the 2016 referendum that was conducted twice in the calendar year, but in different academic years. The questionnaire does not mention that this is the MSU Constitutional Referendum about electing vice-presidents at large. The assumption that everyone taking the survey either already knows this or that it is not important to the survey is odd considering that first-year students would be unlikely to know what referendum was conducted twice and upper-year students can easily miss out due to a turnout of 44.5 per cent in the 2016 MSU presidential election when it was first voted on.
Retires shortly after these close calls would be impossible if term limits are introduced, and would limit your ability to advocate on the affirmative side for topics you think would benefit McMaster students.
The only reason for including as little context as possible would be to bias voters towards time limits by emphasizing voter fatigue, de-emphasizing anything that may remind people how close the referendum was and reducing the incentive for responders to do external research. It gives off a fearful impression that attempts to guide people away from how bizarre it would have been to wait a significant amount of time for another round of voting after the first failed by so little in 2016.
This doesn’t even get into the fourth response to this question that reads, “I already said, no.” Not only is this redundant when “No time limit” would have made more sense to the question being asked, but the wording could be interpreted as a more aggressive tone than what is necessary. Second guessing yourself over not wanting to seem hostile is a real possibility, and introduces even more response bias to the survey in favour of time limits.
This survey sucks. It is understandable why there’s bias though. If I were part of the SRA, I wouldn’t want to talk about the vice-president referendum for a while too after dealing with it two times in 12 months, especially after taking neutral and negative stances for the first and second times respectively. A pro-time limit response could allow an extended break if implemented immediately and would guarantee the same status quo internally for years to come.
However, the willingness of the SRA to put a changed version of the Athletics and Recreation Space referendum back up for voting March 28 after failing on Jan. 26 by 10 votes in the second round of voting, one day after publication of the survey, represents a want to change policy based on good feedback without time limits. Retries shortly after these close calls would be impossible if term limits are introduced, and would limit your ability to advocate on the affirmative side for topics you think would benefit McMaster students. Don’t let survey bias dampen the voice of the people.
Students will be heading back to the polls for Student Representative Assembly elections, and for the third time this year, they will be met with a referendum question.
The Pulse expansion and Student Activity Building are back on the ballot because the university has committed to spend $10 million on the project.
Via email, dean of students Sean Van Koughnett explained that the funding is coming from money that “exist[s] for strategic priorities.” Originally, the university was spending $1.1 million per year for the operating costs of the building.
Provost and vice-president (Academic) David Wilkinson wrote a memo to the SRA about the increased funding. There are a few parts that have me scratching my head.
Wilkinson writes “[w]e also understand from student feedback that cost is a concern.”
Uh, yeah. Cost is at the heart of every student issue because post-secondary costs continue to rise and employment prospects are only getting worse for many students. The university obviously knows this because it has been a talking point for at least the six years I have been at Mac.
It is disingenuous for them to issue this memo because they had to know that the doubling of a fee is going to be the reason this project doesn’t happen.
McMaster students have voted down cost increases when given the chance in recent years.
The memo also states “the results of the failed referendum points to strong student support for space expansion.”
The need for more space has been documented for years, and for the university to pretend that this referendum result does more to cement that is an insult to both research done by the university and students who took the time to submit feedback.
As we wrote in a news piece in the Feb. 2 issue, a 2011 campus capacity study cited data from 2008-2009 that classified the need for more student “lounge and service space” as a top-five priority.
According to the presentation made to the SRA in Nov. 2016, 80 per cent of students identified student space as their top priority.
That number comes from a 2015 McMaster Students Union space survey. 90 per cent of students identified unprogrammed space in their “top ten student space wishlist” in student focus groups run by the MSU in 2016. The McMaster University Student Affairs logo is on the front of this presentation, so they know about these numbers.
The optics are not good. In the span of a month, McMaster has decided to spend $10 million to contribute when this project has been in the works since the summer of 2016 and the need for the expansion and new building have been apparent for much longer.
Prior to the failed referendum, the university was comfortable with saddling the students with a near doubling of a student fee. Was this the plan all along? Highball students with the full price, drop in with a cheaper rate if it fails and see if they will take that?
On the other hand, the politics of this are fantastic. The university can say they spent $10 million on a student building that is completely controlled by the students. That contribution could carry into future negotiations about who should bear the cost for certain projects. And the university will get something they really need: a new student building to put in their marketing materials.
This $10 million is not free; students just don’t know what the cost down the line will be. The money should have always been on the table as the need and want for the building has existed for years. Students should not celebrate that the university is contributing the money, they should ask why it was not there in the first place.
The original version and print version of this article states that the university was spending $1.1 million for operating costs. In fact, the university is spending $1.1 million a year for operating costs.
The Student Representative Assembly has voted to hold a special referendum in March on the creation of an Athletics and Recreation building.
The referendum differs from the one held in January as the University has offered to contribute $10 million to the budget, decreasing the fee students would have to pay from $3.95 per unit to $2.99 per unit.
The referendum will be held in late March, with polling ending no later than March 28.
On Feb. 11, the McMaster wrestling team welcomed teams from across the province at the Ontario University Athletics Championships in Sports Hall.
While OUA teams like Western and Guelph showed promise during the season, it would take a lot for anyone to match the Brock Badgers, who came in as the defending champions and the number one ranked team in the country.
Overall, the hosting Marauders grabbed 12 medals at the event, and will be sending 12 wrestlers to the University of Winnipeg on Feb. 24 to compete in the U Sports Championships.
"Cipriano does a good job in preparing us for the big tournaments. I have full confidence in him and myself that I will be where I want to be in two weeks right before the championships."
Jobanjit Phulka
Fourth year
McMaster wrestling
Leading the way on the men’s side was fourth-year Jobanjit Phulka, who was the lone Marauder to finish first in his weight class. Phulka, wrestling in the 90kg weight class, beat out Clayton Pye from Brock to capture gold, and was a huge contributor to the McMaster men’s team, who placed second overall. Winning gold is special in its own right, but for Phulka, doing so in front of the Maroon and Grey faithful made it even sweeter.
“It’s always nice to compete at home,” Phulka said. “I have competed at Mac before, but this being the OUA Championship was a little more special. Having the home crowd cheering you on adds to the excitement and winning in front of them makes it more special… I’d rather focus on the competition at hand, but being at home is definitely nice.”
Phulka highlighted the efforts of wrestling head coach Nick Cipriano as a key contributor to his success and for the rest of the team.
“Cipriano does a good job in preparing us for the big tournaments,” Phulka said. “I have full confidence in him and myself that I will be where I want to be in two weeks right before the championships.”
The McMaster men’s team came into the championships ranked third in the U Sports top ten rankings, and was always going to have their work cut out for them. The Brock Badgers, the top team in the nation, ran away with the overall gold, having captured eight gold medals out of a possible 11 on the men’s side.
“Brock runs a good program, and it shows in their results,” Phulka said. “They are definitely one of the top teams in most weights, but there were a lot of other great schools like Western and Guelph. We were more focused on the competition as a whole and not really just one team in particular.”
The men’s team managed to place second overall ahead of Western, thanks in large part to the gold medal performance of Phulka. The Marauders found success in most of the weight divisions, with multiple wrestlers – including third-year Robert Smith, rookie Bennet Zahra, and team captain and fifth-year Ahmed Shamiya – all capturing silver in their respective weight classes.
On the women’s side, Monica Wood and Nicole Roach both managed to capture silver medals, while Jenna Leslie and Charlene Forde-Smith finished third. Thanks to their respective podium finishes, all four women will also be travelling to Winnipeg. Overall, the women’s team fell just shy of reaching the podium, finishing fourth, just three points behind Western.
As the team shifts their sights to the U Sports Championships, the Brock Badgers are not the only power house team in front of them. The Marauders will face stiff competition from wrestlers from the University of Alberta, who have been ranked second behind Brock for the majority of the season. The University of Winnipeg – hosts of the tournament – rank fourth, while the University of Calgary rounds out the top five.
With two weeks to prepare for the last tournament of the season, the team will hope to bring their hometown success out west with them.
By: Camila Stupecka
Born and raised in Hamilton, fourth-year outside hitter Joanna Jedrzejewska shines on the court with her motivating attitude and impressive volleyball skill. But like anything, the spark has to start somewhere small.
Jedrzejewska, along with her brother, fourth-year libero Pawel, have always played competitively in a variety of sports. Her passion for volleyball was first inspired by watching her older brother, Marcin.
“We would go to Marcin’s practices in our spare time and just watch,” Jedrzejewska said. “When they would go for water breaks, Pawel and I would play on the side. We admired the athleticism it took to play volleyball.”
At the age of 13, Jedrzejewska started playing in competitive leagues, taking her passion for the sport and putting it into practice. Living with her three brothers, who all played volleyball, gave her the competitive edge and the mental toughness she needed to excel in these leagues. As the years went on, her passion grew into a serious interest. Shortly after, McMaster became her next goal.
Jedrzejewska’s mission began with a message sent to head coach Tim Louks, asking about a position on the team. Unfortunately, the team was full and they weren’t looking for any more players. Louks still went out to see her on the court and was happily surprised. He saw the potential in her and granted Jedrzejewska a spot on the team. But that didn’t mean the fight was over quite yet.
Her 5'7" height, which may be seen as a disadvantage to some volleyball players, only motivated her to work harder.
“The transition was hard because I was so used to starting on a competitive team and when I came to [McMaster], I was sitting on the bench pretty much my whole first season,” Jedrzejewska said. “[Even when head coach] Tim Louks would put me in, I was like ‘okay, this is my moment, if I want to start I have play well now.’ But for ten games in a row I would play really poorly and I would be taken off right away.”
The disappointment she felt after every game, knowing that she hadn’t been able to contribute to her team’s win, pushed her to keep working. Her 5’7” height, which may be seen as a disadvantage to some volleyball players only motivated her to work even harder, causing her to become one of the highest jumpers on the team.
“I had to earn my spot.” Jedrzejewska said. And she did.
It was the last home game of the season against the best team in the league at the time, the University of Ottawa. The Marauders were down two sets. For the first time since her start with the team, Jedrzejewska went in and played one of the best games of her life.
“I was getting all my kills, I was really efficient,” Jedrzejewska said. “And we ended up beating them three [sets] to two. And this was the number one team in Ontario at the time. I had proved myself.”
Since then, Jedrzejewska has shone on the court as a spectacular volleyball player and a positive leader for her teammates, even in challenging circumstances such as playing all of this season with a torn labrum. Rather than dwelling on misfortune, she has put her injury to good use.
“It taught me to fight through the pain,” she said. “And because I couldn’t hit as hard as I used to, it improved my mental IQ.”
“You have to make do with what you’ve got. In volleyball, in my position, you’re usually pretty tall. And I’m 5’ 7” and a half so it will be pretty tough to find someone who can give me a chance [at professional volleyball]. Tim gave me that chance and I proved myself. I just need someone to believe in me.”
Her mentality in overcoming challenges continues to make her resilient in the face of adversity, allowing her to use what she has to the best of her ability both on and off the court.
“It doesn’t matter about the size of the player in the game, but the game in the player,” said Jedrzejewska. “And my heart makes up for [the limitations]. I don’t give up.”
It is an incredible feeling for varsity athletes to be able to represent their school colours. It is even better when you are able to compete in front of your friends and family.
As is such for the McMaster wrestling team, who closes out the season as the hosts for the Ontario University Athletics Championships on Feb. 11. The Marauders have performed well throughout the 2016/2017 season, with both individual wrestlers and the team finishing on the podium in multiple events.
Heading into the OUA Championships, the men’s team is ranked third in the University Sports top ten rankings behind powerhouses Brock and Alberta, while the women’s team sits ninth after starting the season unranked. Both teams will look to improve on last year’s competition, in which they placed second.
“Brock is the perennial favourite, and for good reason,” head coach Nick Cipriano said. “We’ve been second at the national level for the past two years. For anyone to get close to beating Brock, all the stars need to align.”
Other teams within Ontario will look to make their mark this weekend and look to spoil any homecoming festivities that Marauder athletes may enjoy.
“Within the province, Guelph will be competitive,” Cipriano said. “Same with Lakehead and Western.”
"We've been second at the national level for the past two years. For anyone to get close to beating Brock, all the stars need to align."
Nick Cipriano
Head coach, McMaster wrestling
Hosting the championship at home will have special meaning for fifth-year wrestler and team captain Ahmed Shamiya, who will compete in his final OUA championship in in the 76kg weight class. He is the defending OUA gold medalist and two-time defending Canadian Interuniversity Sports champion in the weight division. A podium finish this weekend will give Shamiya the opportunity to be a three-time U Sports champion.
There is plenty of other talent to look for on the Mac team. Freshman phenom Ben Zahra has enjoyed immediate success this season, having won a gold medal at the Brock University Open on Jan. 14. Third-year Robert Smith has been ranked no. 1 in the 54kg weight class for the year, and should have a great opportunity to make the finals this year.
“There are at least half a dozen wrestlers on the men’s side that I expect to make a big noise in the OUA championships,” Cipriano said. “The same goes for the women’s side; Nicole Roach in particular has been a finalist in the past, and there is no reason she can’t be one again.”
Fifth-year senior Roach has made impressive strides this year, recently winning a silver medal in the 63kg weight class at the Western Open on Jan. 28.
Other wrestlers on the women’s side to look for include fifth-year Monica Wood and second-year Cassandra Rufenach, who both also won silver in their respective weight classes in the most recent wrestling event in Western.
To compete in the U Sports Wrestling Championships at the University of Winnipeg on Feb. 24-26, wrestlers must finish in the top three of their weight class. Cipriano, along with the rest of the team, will rely on their hard work to carry them through, with the added benefit of playing in front of a home crowd.
“We’re looking forward to the championship,” Cipriano said. “The team is looking forward to competing at home in front of their friends and family.”
On a weekend filled with other varsity action, it will be the wrestling mat that will take centre stage.
