Football team advances to the 114th Yates Cup after beating Ottawa Gee-Gees 35-13 at Richardson Field.
A quick roundup of Queen’s Gaels varsity teams in action over the weekend.
WOMEN’S RUGBY
The Queen’s Gaels women’s rugby team finished the U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship as silver medalists. The Gaels fell to the Laval Rouge et Or 22-5 in the championship game on Sunday in Victoria, B.C.
Laval opened the scoring with a penalty conversion by Audrey Champagne in the fifth minute and added two more to give Laval a 9-0 lead at half time. Queen’s would get on the board when Maddy Donnelly found the try zone in the 43rd minute.
Laval would score their first try of the game six minutes later and add one more penalty conversion and try later in the half on their way to the 17-point win.
Queen’s, the OUA champions, reached the final after defeating the Ottawa Gee-Gees 22-17 in the semifinals on Friday, and the Victoria Vikes 13-10 in overtime on Wednesday.
FOOTBALL
The Queen’s Gaels football team is heading to the Yates Cup for a second season in a row after defeating the Ottawa Gee-Gees 35-13 in the OUA semifinals on Saturday at Richardson Stadium.
The Gaels dominated on the ground with Jared Chisari finishing the game with 129 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and Anthony Soles finding the end zone twice on 14 carries for 58 yards. Quarterback Alex Vreeken and receiver Richard Burton led Queen’s strong passing effort with Vreeken going 11-for-17 for 176 yards and Burton catching a team-high five receptions for 108 yards. Burton also returned an Ottawa punt for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
Queen’s defence was a force all game, holding the Gee-Gees to 280 total yards and 13 points. Defensive tackle Darien Newell applied constant pressure, finishing with two sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss.
Rookie kicker Tyler Mullan continued his impressive run, connecting on two field goals.
The 114th Yates Cup is a rematch of last year’s game, with Queen’s facing the Western Mustangs, this time in London on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m.
MEN’S RUGBY
The men’s rugby team’s season came to an end as they lost to the Laurier Golden Hawks 34-27 in the OUA semifinals Saturday at Nixon Field.
The Gaels had finished the season atop the East Division standings with a perfect 4-0 record.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The women’s volleyball team got their season off to a good start, sweeping their weekend series with the Toronto Blues. On Saturday, the Gaels won in straight sets (25-7, 25-21, 25-22), and followed that up with a five-set victory (25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 19-25, 18-16) on Sunday.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The men’s volleyball squad earned a split with the Toronto Blues in their season-opening weekend, losing the opener in five sets (21-25, 25-23, 32-30, 21-25, 13-15), before rebounding on Sunday with a straight-sets win (27-25, 25-23, 27-25).
MEN’S HOCKEY
The men’s hockey team beat the visiting Nipissing Lakers on Friday night at the Memorial Centre, rallying for a 4-2 win and improving their record to 3-5.
The Gaels fell behind 2-0 early but bounced back with goals from Ryan Cranford, Josh Curtis, Nolan Hutcheson, and Matthew Hotchkiss.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
The women’s hockey team topped the Brock Badgers 2-1 in St. Catharines with Sarah Campbell scoring the winner just nine seconds into overtime.
Quinn Johnston started the comeback scoring with 30 seconds left in the game. The win improved the Gaels record to 2-2-1.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The women’s basketball team scored a big 81-41 win over the Nipissing Lakers on Friday at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC).
Julia Chadwick led the Gaels with 22 points and also had 13 rebounds and three steals as the team improved to 2-0.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
The men’s basketball team improved to 2-0 with a 98-84 win over the Nipissing Lakers on Friday at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC).
The Gaels were led by Luka Syllas who netted 31 points.
