AROUND OUA: Lions begin title defence with wins over UOIT and Western

Lions begin title defence with wins over UOIT and Western

The York University Lions women's tennis team began its OUA championship defence with a pair of convincing wins over the UOIT Ridgebacks and Western Mustangs on the road this weekend.
 
The Lions swept the Ridgebacks by earning all seven points in their season opener in Oshawa, Ont., on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 19) and returned to the courts the following day, this time in London, Ont., to post a 5-2 victory over the Mustangs.
 
The men's team also had a strong showing against UOIT, winning by the same 7-0 score. They were less successful against the two-time defending OUA champion Mustangs, however, falling by a score of 6-1.
 
Against the Ridgebacks, the Lions women's team had three singles matches end without the opposition earning a game as Nikki Carnovale (Woodbridge, Ont.), Ivana Banovic (Oshawa, Ont.) and Rita Kryeziu (Toronto) all swept their opponents. The three of them were also successful in doubles, with Banovic and Kryeziu teaming up to win their match 8-1 and Carnovale partnering with Randa Hassan (Toronto) to win 8-0.
 
Banovic, who played out of the third spot against the Ridgebacks, moved up to the second spot on Sunday against Western and was just as impressive, coming back from one set down to defeat Mellissa Lee 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in her singles match. She and Kryeziu also played a hard-fought doubles contest, falling 7-3 in the tiebreaker to lose the match 8-7.
 
Also winning their singles matches against the Mustangs were Heather Hills (Markham, Ont.), Isabella Baston (Toronto) and Hassan, all of them taking down their opponents in straight sets.
 
On the men's side, Filip Obucina (Etobicoke, Ont.), playing out of the top spot for the first time, made an impressive debut at the position by winning both of his singles matches, including a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 comeback victory over Western's Andre Szilvassy and a lopsided 6-1, 6-0 triumph over UOIT's Robert Petrican.
 
The Lions will be back in action again this weekend, first travelling downtown to face the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday (Sept. 26) beginning at 12pm. They will play their home opener against the McGill Redmen/Martlets starting at 10am on Sunday (Sept. 27).

Source: York Lions

Warrior cruise past UOIT for season opening win

Unfortunately, the match on Saturday against the McMaster Marauders was aborted when rain fell at intervals throughout the day. With no access to indoor facilities, the teams agreed to reschedule the match at a later date yet to be decided.

On Sunday, the teams traveled to the Oshawa to battle the UOIT Ridebacks for what may possibly be their last year in OUA tennis as the tennis facility will be converted for use by other sports.

UOIT was able to field only half a women's team, so the three rookies on the Waterloo team were selected to make their debut to varsity tennis on this occasion. Linda Pipkorn (Gothenburg) and Karli Fiaes won their matches comfortably while Jessie Cui lost in two sets against UOIT's no. 1 player. The final score was 6 –1 to Waterloo.

The men squad also had a comfortable win sweeping the Ridgebacks 7-0. Led by no.1 Joe Zeng (Markham), last season's OUA and Waterloo's Rookie of the Year, the Warriors were too powerful for their opponents. The winning Warriors team on Sunday included rookie Noah Matsui (Toronto).

Results: Women – Waterloo 6, UOIT 1

Singles:

Linda PipKorn bt Laura Rojas 6-1, 6-1

Karli Fiaes bt Vanessa Theophile 6-0, 6-3

Jessie Cui lost to Zsastynne Torne 2-6, 5-7

Men – Waterloo 7, UOIT 0

Doubles: John Chan (Whistler) & Eddie Wang () bt. Rob Petrican & Tushar Faur 8-3

Joe Zeng (Markham) & Nate Flach (Toronto) bt. Thomas Hicky & Zach Winn 8-4

Kamil Ladhani (West Vancouver) & Noah Matsui (Toronto) bt Riley Theirren & Jackson McGregor 8-1

Singles:

Zeng bt Petrican 6-1, 6-1

Chan bt Faur 6-2, 6-3

Wang bt Hicky 6-2, 6-1

Flach bt Winn 6-1, 7-5

Daniel Ben Yona (Toronto) bt Tristan King 6-2, 6-0

Noah Matsui (Toronto) bt Harsh Patel 6-1, 6-0

Source: Waterloo Warriors