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Banner photo of the western women's and men's Squash team after winning the OUA Championship with a blue gradient on the bottom and the OUA Squash Championships logo and the logo on the bottom and the word Champion in large white letters.
C/O Brayden Swire
February 8, 2026

Banner Season: Western Mustangs sweep OUA podium for second year in a row

St. Catharines, Ont. (C/O the McMaster Marauders) — The Western Mustangs swept the podium this weekend, with both the men’s and women’s teams capturing OUA Squash Championship titles in a dominant showcase of program excellence.

 

Women

Western University completed a dominant weekend at the OUA Squash Championship, defeating Queen’s 6-1 in the gold medal match to secure the women’s banner and finish the tournament undefeated.

The Mustangs closed the championship with a perfect 5-0 record while pacing the field with 28 individual match victories, an 87-19 games record, and an impressive 1113-590 points differential. Western’s depth across the ladder proved decisive all weekend and was evident again in the final, where the team earned wins in multiple positions to clinch the title. Straight-game victories from Caitlin Ng, Katie Boulanger, and Sophie Pinfold helped swing momentum, while Sienna Grossi secured the championship point with a four-game win.  Queen’s lone victory came from Gabby Waite at the top of the ladder.

Head coach Tom Panabaker praised his group following the championship result.

“It feels awesome. The girls do all the hard work. They plan, work all year, and train hard. We’ve got a fantastic group of girls,” said Panabaker.

For the players, the moment reflected years of preparation and commitment to the program.

“Back-to-back gold, this is something we’ve been working for a long time… winning with the boys too makes it so much better,” said Western’s Madison Draayer and Sophie Pinfold.

The championship also highlighted several standout individual performances. Western rookie Caitlin Ng was named Rookie of the Year after a flawless 5-0 weekend without dropping a game, while Waterloo’s Niki Shemirani earned Tournament MVP honours with a perfect 6-0 record. Queen’s head coach Lisa Coates was recognized as Coach of the Year.

OUA All-Star selections included Shemirani (Waterloo), Gabby Waite (Queen’s), Reese Maclean and Ashley Hall (Western), Sofia Quon (McMaster), and Ananya Maheshwari (Waterloo).

Toronto rounded out the podium with a 5-2 victory over Waterloo to claim the bronze medal.

With elite performances throughout the lineup and a statistical profile that led the tournament, Western’s championship run reinforced its status as the standard in OUA women’s squash.

 

Men

Western capped off another dominant season on Sunday, defeating the University of Toronto 7-0 in the gold medal final to claim the 2026 OUA Men’s Squash Championship.

The Mustangs controlled the tournament from the opening matches, finishing atop the standings with a perfect 5-0 record while compiling a remarkable 34-1 individual match record. Western also posted a commanding 103-9 advantage in games and outscored opponents 1208-605, underscoring their consistency across the entire ladder.

Head coach Chris Hanebury credited the team’s lineup strength as a major contributor to the championship run.

“I think our depth really helped. Being able to sit our top guys one match each so they were fresh for the finals was a big difference,” said Hanebury.

The victory marks Western’s 42nd straight OUA title, continuing one of the most impressive dynasties in Canadian university athletics. Veteran Antonio Mendes spoke to the challenge that comes with maintaining such a streak.

“It feels amazing. Every year we come out here, obviously we have a lot of pressure on our backs from having that streak, but I think the guys really live up to it every year,” Mendes said.

Queen’s secured the bronze medal with a win over Waterloo to round out the podium.

OUA All-Star honours were awarded to Waterloo’s Cameron Seth, Western’s Daniel Deverill, Toronto’s Will Harris, McMaster’s Arham Izhar, Brock’s Tyson Schille, and Queen’s Akasham Rajagopaul.

Major tournament awards saw Seth named MVP, McMaster’s Mostafa Khobyari recognized as Coach of the Year, and Izhar earning Rookie of the Year honours.

With another undefeated performance and a decisive showing in the final, Western once again reaffirmed its position as the standard in OUA men’s squash.