The women’s squash team claimed Queen’s second OUA championship banner of the year with key victories last weekend in St. Catherines. The Gaels beat the Western Mustangs 4-2 in the semifinals, setting the stage for a close final with the second-ranked McGill Martlets. Queen’s and McGill each won three of the six matches, but the Gaels were awarded the championship, having won 12 games to the Martlets’ 10.

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams finished their weekend on the road with a Friday victory and a Saturday defeat.
On Friday the women’s team avenged a loss earlier in the season, earning a 68-66 victory against the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The win solidified the team’s hold on a fourth-place playoff spot in the OUA East.
The Gaels opened strongly offensively, scoring 15 points to Ottawa’s six in the first quarter and leading 30-21 at halftime.

Former Dean of Student Affairs Bob Crawford said he’s “very pleased” with Principal Karen Hitchcock’s response to the athletics review he co-authored and released last June.

The men’s volleyball team came up with a huge three-set victory over the 13-5 Guelph Gryphons on Friday, improving their record to 14-5 and clinching the second playoff spot in the OUA.

Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Jan. 24 that Western Mustangs football player Matt Baxter tested positive for Letrazole, a drug frequently used in steroid cycles to block estrogen production and increase testosterone levels. Baxter was banned from CIS competition for the next two years; the OUA-champion Mustangs weren’t punished.

The women’s basketball team upset the Laurentian Voyageurs 75-69 on Friday night and suffered a heartbreaking 71-66 overtime loss to York, but Sarah Barnes displayed talent that the OUA recognize her as one of the week’s “Peak Performers”.

The Queen’s track and field team visited the Louis Riel Dome for the Ottawa Winter National Invitational Feb. 2 and came home with an impressive 12 medals, including four golds and six silvers. Head coach Melody Torcolacci said she was pleased with the results.

Principal Karen Hitchcock released her long-awaited response to the Athletics Review yesterday. In her response to the June report, originally due Dec. 31, she accepted the review’s recommendations with a few reservations and supported the proposed restructuring of Queen’s interuniversity sports to provide them with “the level of resources required to achieve excellence.”
Hitchcock delayed the restructuring’s time frame, however, which the review had recommended take place “as soon as possible.”

It was a historic win for the men’s hockey team.

The Gaels women’s hockey team returned home from Toronto Sunday night after achieving mixed results.
Queen’s was shut out 4-0 Saturday against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues but rebounded Sunday to defeat the York Lions 5-3.
The second-place Blues dominated the play from the opening faceoff. Queen’s starting goalie Melissa John, last week’s CIS athlete of the week, was peppered with 39 shots throughout the game. At the other end of the rink, the Gaels’ offence put in a lacklustre effort, mustering a measly 12 shots on net.

The men’s basketball team beat the 3-14 Laurentian Voyageurs and 5-13 York Lions on the weekend to improve to 12-7 on the season. The Gaels gave the Voyageurs an 81-57 drubbing Friday night, led by forward Mitch Leger’s 24 points in only 25 minutes of playing time. Leger also recorded a game-high 12 rebounds.

Sunday night saw an upset as the 4-14 Laurier Golden Hawks knocked off the 13-4 Gaels in men’s volleyball. The loss dropped Queen’s back into a tie for second place in Ontario with the 13-5 Guelph Gryphons, who beat the Windsor Lancers in straight sets Sunday night.

The men’s hockey season is down to one game.
With an opportunity to maintain sole possession of first place in the OUA’s Mid-East Division at last-place Ryerson, the Gaels started horrendously and couldn’t catch up, losing 6-5.
Queen’s sits tied for first in the division with the University of Toronto, who beat the Royal Military College 1-0. The Gaels play RMC in the annual Carr-Harris Cup tomorrow night.

Three days after their shocking loss to the 2-16 Ottawa Gee-Gees, the women’s basketball team rebounded in a major way with a 75-69 upset of the 13-5 Laurentian Voyageurs Friday night in Bartlett Gym.

The Queen’s fencing team competed in the OUA East Qualifiers held at Carleton University on Jan. 26 and 27, catapulting 14 members—more than half the team—into the finals to be held Feb. 16 and 17 at the Royal Military College.
Qualifying for the men’s individual events were epee fencers Dimitry Balashov, Steve Betts, Anton Oentoro and rookie Jack Chen.