Brock in contention to add to medal haul
Brock University began the month sweeping the men’s and women’s divisions at nationals in wrestling, and the Badgers could end March with team medals in three more sports.
On Friday, the U Sports men’s basketball championship tips off at Laval University in Quebec, where Brock, the Cinderella at the tournament, is three wins away from being fitted for a slipper.
Though they went .500 in league play and finished the regular season fourth in the Central Division, the Badgers qualified for nationals with victories over defending U Sports champion Carleton (13-9), Ottawa (19-3) and Western (16-6).
In their last game, the Badgers played host Queen’s (19-3, regular season; 2-0, playoffs) for the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship and lost, 79-76, on a three-pointer at the buzzer. Both teams took the court in the Wilson Cup final at Kingston assured of playing for a Canadian championship.
Jevon Brown, with 20 points; Jordan Tchuente, 17; and Kevaughan Ellis, 12, scored in double digits for Brock, which was trying to improve to 2-1 versus Queen’s. The Badgers lost a non-conference game, 61-55, on the road in October and won, 76-72, in league play a month later in St. Catharines.
Brock’s quest for its third U Sports title in men’s basketball — and first since 2007-08 — continues in a quarterfinal matchup against fourth-seeded Dalhousie (11-9, regular season; 2-0, playoffs).
Canada West champion Victoria (17-3, 3-0) is the top seed, followed by Queen’s, Quebec (11-5, 2-0), Dalhousie and Brock. Rounding out the field are Ottawa, Winnipeg (15-2, 2-1) and Laval (6-10, 0-1), the host team at the three-day tournament.
Volleyball
The OUA women’s volleyball championship is on the line Friday when Brock (18-2, 2-0) hosts McMaster (15-5, 2-0) in the Quigley Cup final beginning at 6 p.m. at Bob Davis Gymnasium.
McMaster needed only four sets to defeat Queen’s in the semifinal round, but the Badgers staved off elimination in a 3-2 victory over Toronto Metropolitan after coming back from a 2-0 deficit — 16-25, 16-25, 25-22, 25-13, 15-6.
Emily Foest, Fonthill, Notre Dame College School; led Brock in points with 17. Laurin Ainsworth, Gigi Markotic and Sadie Dick, St. Catharines, Governor Simcoe; added 13.5, 12 and 9.5 points, respectively.
Brock defeated McMaster, 3-2, at a pre-season event and followed up a 3-1 loss with a 3-0 sweep in league play, both on the road.
Sara Rohr, the Badgers’ fifth-year setter, earned OUA co-player of the year honours and was named a first-team all-star.
Hockey
After falling 2-1 to Toronto Metropolitan in a best-of-three OUA semifinal, Brock can end 2023-24 on a winning note.
The Badgers (21-7, 3-2) host McGill (21-7, 3-2) for the OUA bronze medal in a 4 p.m. faceoff Saturday at Canada Games Park in Thorold.
Brock tripled Toronto Metropolitan, 3-1, in the opener on goals from Christophe Cote, Tyler Burnie and Jordan Stock, before dropping 5-1 and 2-1 decisions to the Bold.
Justin Brack scored for the Badgers in Game 2 and Jacob Roach in the third game.
Wrestling
Brock continued its dominance on the mat winning its ninth consecutive U Sports championship — and 22nd overall — in men’s wrestling and 11th in women’s wrestling.
On Saturday, Brock returned home from nationals in Guelph with eight gold medals, six silver and two bronze.
Among gold medallists as the Badgers took men’s and women’s titles in the same year for the ninth time were Callum Knox and Francesca Lo Greco, the university’s male and female athletes of the week, respectively.
Knox pinned down first place in the men’s 100-kilogram division. The kinesiology student from Kitchener went 3-0 in pool play and defeated Canada West champion Aidan Stevenson, 14-4, in a technical fall in the final.
After also going 3-0, Lo Greco, a neuroscience major from Angus, Ont., near Barrie, took a 10-2 decision over Saskatchewan’s Abby Wolff for the gold in the women’s 50 kg.
Brock’s other gold medallists: men: Garettee Saunders, 61 kg; Nicolae Gandrabura, 65 kg; Bobby Narwal, 72 kg; Roger Li, 125 kg; women, Mia Friesen, 56 kg; Brianna Fraser, 83 kg.
Lo Greco, female rookie of the year; Marty Calder, men’s coach of the year; and Dave Collie, women’s coach of the year, were the major award winners from Brock.