PIZZA PIZZA OUA TEAMS OF THE MONTH
HAMILTON, Ont. – The following Ontario University Athletics (OUA) teams have been named Pizza Pizza OUA Teams of the Month for February 2012.
All Pizza Pizza OUA Teams of the Month will receive a pizza party, courtesy of Pizza Pizza.
MALE: Toronto Varsity Blues Swimming
The Varsity Blues men’s swimming team claimed their ninth consecutive provincial title at the 2012 OUA championships in February. The Blues followed that up by earning the silver medal at the CIS championships in Montreal. The Blues earned their eleventh OUA title in the last 12 years with a combined team score of 816 points, 145 points ahead of the second-place McMaster Marauders. Byron MacDonald and Linda Kiefer earned coach of the year honours, while first-year standout Graham Hayes was named the OUA male rookie of the year. The Blues reached the podium 20 times, including nine gold-medal performances with four in OUA record times.
Toronto did not stop there. The Blues finished the three-day CIS championships with 547 points, just behind the national champion UBC Thunderbirds (558). MacDonald and Kiefer were again recognized as national coaches of the year. U of T had five national champions, highlighted by Mike Smerek’s CIS record breaking time in the 50-metre butterfly. The St. Catharines, Ont., native also finished first in the 100 butterfly. Frank Despond claimed the CIS men’s 400-metre freestyle title, while also claiming a bronze medal in the 200 freestyle. Rookie Matthew Myers finished first in the 200 backstroke, while Jeremie Holdom took the top spot in the 400 IM. The Blues finished the national event with 12 podium finishes.
FEMALE: Queen's Gaels Volleyball
The Gaels women's volleyball team went undefeated during the month of February as they beat the Western Mustangs in four sets and the Windsor Lances in straight sets to wrap up their regular season. In the playoffs, the Gaels topped the Brock Badgers in straight sets to advance from the quarter-final to the OUA Final Four. In their semifinal they beat the Toronto Varsity Blues in a close five set match to advance to the OUA Championship game where they beat the Ottawa Gee-Gees in four sets to win the first OUA title in Queen's women's volleyball history.
