After their second consecutive undefeated season, the York Lions’ women’s tennis team fell to the Montreal Carabins in the 2015 Ontario University Athletics Championships held at Mayfair Parkway this past weekend.
The contest also kicked off the 2015-16 OUA “banner season” as the playoffs for several different sports begin.
Before the championship weekend, the Carabins, who represent the Université de Montréal stood at second place in OUA rankings, just behind the Lions. The Carabins were silver medalists in the 2014 season, having lost to the Lions in last year’s finals.
In the final week of the 2015 regular season, they met the Lions again, and were narrowly defeated by them by a score of 4-3.
Nevertheless, Isabella Baston, who played her second season with the team, is looking on the bright side.
The season “turned out great,” she says, pointing out that her team remained undefeated this season, that they won the silver medal in the OUA championships, and that they have qualified to compete in the national-level competition.
The biggest challenge for Baston this season, apart from the stress that comes with being a student-athlete, came from a rather unexpected source: mother nature.
The team had to transition from “getting sunburnt one weekend at the matches,” she says, “to six days later having to bring out our winter jackets and play wearing many, many layers in the freezing cold.”
Baston emphasizes the support of the people around her, from her teammates and head coach Chris Field to the wider York community. Older students on the team help their younger teammates with their academic work, she says, and York offers recognition for the team’s achievements, accommodation for classes and assignments, and athletic therapy.
She adds that “Chris is [also] very supportive of us, giving us the extra motivation we need.”
With the 2015 season now behind them, the team looks forward to off-season training as they prepare to participate in the nationals next summer, where they can hopefully get some revenge on the Montreal Carabins.
The Lions’ men’s tennis team also took part in the OUA championships, entering the contest at fourth place in the OUA rankings, an improvement from their seventh place finish from last season.
They were unable to go very far in the contest, however, as they fell to the Waterloo Warriors in the quarter-finals by a score of 4-3 on Friday.
Earlier, the men’s tennis team started off their season. The Lions won their regular season with a victory over the UOIT Ridgebacks before falling to Western Mustangs, UofT Varsity Blues, and McGill Martlets in the three matches that followed.
They then earned another victory against the McMaster Marauders before losing to the Carabins to end off the season.
Hassam Munir, Sports Editor
Featured image courtesy of York Lions
