York’s field hockey and cross country teams finished their 2015 seasons on Saturday afternoon at Ontario University Athletics championship events held in Toronto and Waterloo. The field hockey team finished in fourth place in the OUA Final Four Championships after losing the bronze medal match to the Waterloo Warriors by a score of 1-0. The men’s and women’s cross country squads both placed 11th in the OUA championships, scoring 300 and 324 points, respectively.
The Lions had a strong run going into the championships. Their third-place ranking in the OUA was their best since 2007.They had a 5-5-2 record and a total of 17 points, an improvement by two wins and three points from last season. On Thursday, the Lions’ Mikhaela Slavin and Rebecca Titus were named OUA all-stars.
On Friday, the Lions faced the defending OUA champions, the UofT Varsity Blues, in the semifinal match in Toronto. The Blues easily defeated the Lions by a score of 3-0. The Guelph Gryphons defeated the Warriors the same day, moving on to face the Varsity Blues in the finals and leaving the Lions and Warriors to battle for third place.
In Saturday’s bronze medal match, the Lions and Warriors focused on defense, led at both ends of the field by the goalkeepers. The Warriors scored in the 24th minute, however, and the Lions remained unable to even up the game, leading to a 1-0 victory for the Warriors.
Meanwhile, the Lions’ cross country teams were competing in the OUA championships in Waterloo, the Warriors’ hometown. Coming into the season, both the men’s and women’s team were optimistic. The men’s team ranked ninth in the OUA, a two-spot improvement since 2013 and their best result since 2008. Several young rookies joined the women’s team, giving it much-needed depth after it featured only one athlete in 2014.
In Saturday’s meet, however, the men’s team scored 300 points and was pushed back to 11th place in the OUA, while the women’s team scored 324 points and improved to 11th place after their 12th-place finish in 2013. The Lions’ best finishers were Suraj Sharma, who placed 44th in the men’s 10 kilometre race, and rookie Nina Sieh, who placed 46th in the women’s 6 kilometre race.
Both teams can now look forward to building on this season’s progress next year.
Hassam Munir, Sports and Health Editor
