A Men’s Volleyball
The men’s volleyball team went into this season as defending champions, and did not disappoint. With a first place regular season finish in the OUA, the Gaels won two 3-2 games over York and McMaster to repeat as OUA Champions. Unfortunately, Queen’s dropped their quarter-final match against UBC at the national championships to bow out of the tournament early. Four players were named as OUA All-Stars, while setter Devon Miller was named the OUA Player of the Year. Miller was also named to the All-Canadian first team. In addition to these player accolades, coach Brenda Willis was named the OUA Coach of the Year.
A Women’s Wrestling
Gael Shannon Mullins was a model of consistency this season, winning a medal in almost every tournament she entered. Mullins nearly took the gold medal at the Queen’s Invitational, but lost in the final to defending national champion Terri McNutt from Western. With the third place finish at provincials, the third-year student qualified for the national championships where she placed sixth overall.
B+ Women’s Hockey
This year, the Queen’s women’s hockey team posted a 13-8-1 record in the regular season, good for a third place finish in their division. The Gaels posted a 3-1 quarter-final win over Waterloo and a 2-1 semifinal win over Toronto to advance to the OUA Finals against Laurier. Queen’s was 0-2-1 in three close games against Laurier during the regular season and fell 5-1 to the Golden Hawks. Team scoring leader Michelle Clark-Crumpton was named as a second team OUA All-Star, while Elizabeth Kench was named the OUA Rookie of the Year and to the conference all-rookie team.
B Fencing
The fencing team had good team results this season, but the season was noted for its stellar individual results. At the provincial championships, Joanne Ko captured the bronze medal in the individual women’s epee event, while foilist Ryan Nelson took the gold medal and Charles Walters trophy for winning the individual men’s foil event. Nelson was also part of the men’s foil team that captured a bronze medal. In addition, Nelson was awarded the George Tully Award for the male fencer “most proficient in skill, style, and sportsmanship.”
B Figure Skating
The three-time defending provincial champions went into this season with high hopes, and gave great team and individual performances throughout the season. But, in the provincial championship, the Gaels saw the end of their three-year winning streak when they finished in third place behind Western and Brock. The Gaels will lose six skaters to graduation at the end of the year and look to rebound next season.
B Men’s Curling
The men’s curling team went into the provincial championship ranked third overall, and finished with the same result. Queen’s finished with two wins and a loss in the round robin to secure a semifinal berth against Brock University, a team they beat 10-6 in round robin play. However, the Gaels fell in a close, up-and-down match 8-6 to the eventual champions from Brock.
B Track and Field
The track and field team had a strong season, but were unable to repeat the success of last season. Queen’s took home three silver medals and two all conference honours at the provincial championships. Sprinter Dupe Oyewumi won one of the three silver medals for Queen’s and also set an all-time Queen’s record in the process. The Gaels had less luck in the national championship, coming home empty handed for only the sixth time in the 26-year history of the championship.
B Women’s Basketball
Queen’s women’s basketball had bouts of inconsistency in their regular season, but put together a strong push down the stretch to secure home-court advantage in the OUA Quarter-Finals against Laurentian. The Gaels, who had split their regular season games with the Voyageurs, come out on top 64-58. The win set up a match with the York Lions, who had only two regular season losses. The eventual OUA Champions dismissed the Gaels in 65-41.
B- Men’s Basketball
For the fourth straight season, the men’s basketball team qualified for the playoffs after finishing in fifth place in the OUA East division. This year was marked by upset wins over nationally ranked Cape Breton in the pre-season and Ottawa in the regular season. Although the Gaels eventually fell 95-73 to the York Lions in the quarter-finals, the future looks promising with rookie Mitch Leger, who was named to the OUA East All-Rookie team.
C+ Women’s Volleyball
Though the women’s volleyball team struggled to find their form in the first half of the season with a seven-game winless skid, they picked up their play in the second half en route to their first playoff berth in three years. There, they were up against the University of Toronto, last year’s provincial silver medallists. The Gaels’ season came to an end with a 3-1 loss. Captain Amanda Digel was named to the OUA First All-Star team, while teammate Louise Hamill was named the OUA East Rookie of the Year.
C Men’s Hockey
Goaltender Ryan Gibb started every game in net for the Gaels, and led the CIS in shots faced per game. He gave Queen’s a fighting chance in two playoff losses against Ottawa, stopping 72 of 74 shots. Gibb was the only Gael to garner all-star recognition when he was named OUA East Rookie of the Year.
C Men’s Wrestling
The men’s wrestling team battled injuries and illness during a season that was highlighted by a gold medal performance by Chris Levy at the Queen’s Invitational in the 54-kilogram event. At the provincial championships, Levy narrowly missed a medal with a fourth place finish after a loss in the bronze medal match.
C Nordic Skiing
Queen’s Nordic skiers put together a fine regular season that gave them high hopes for the provincial championships, but unfortunately returned without any medals. Rookie Julie McVicar was the closest Gael to medalling at the provincials with a fourth place finish in the 10-kilometre race. She also finished eighth in the 5-kilometre race and fifth in a relay. For the men, Jakob Van Dorp had the best individual result with an eighth place finish in the 10-kilometre event.
C Women’s Curling
The women’s curling team were not as fortunate as the men, and did not qualify for the playoffs this year. In a qualifying tournament, the women went 3-1, which put them in a three-way tie for the final two playoff spots. The Gaels were unable to come out on top in the tiebreaker, and their post-season hopes came to an end.
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