Queen’s battles for provincial and national banners

Gaels have banner potential on the court, track, and ice

Image by: Curtis Heinzl
After five banners so far this year

It’s time for Queen’s to build another banner rack—there’s potential for a few more OUA and U SPORTS titles this season.

Queen’s is currently in the running for provincial titles in Women’s Basketball, Women’s Volleyball, and Figure Skating. The Gaels have also earned spots in the Track and Field and Women’s Basketball national championships.

After defeating the Waterloo Warriors in Wednesday’s provincial semi-final game, Women’s Basketball is preparing for this Saturday’s Critelli Cup final at home against Carleton.

The Ravens and Gaels have split their two games this season; Queen’s beat Carleton at the ARC while Carleton beat Queen’s at the Raven’s nest. However, Queen’s was the only team to enter the playoffs with a perfect home record, so hopefully the court advantage can contribute to them having more success this weekend.

Wednesday’s win also punched Women’s Basketball’s ticket to the U SPORTS National Championships in Sydney, Nova Scotia on March 9 to 12. Right now, Queen’s is ranked first in the nation; however, the road to the final eight hasn’t been easy.

Queen’s Women’s Volleyball is on a similar quest to the OUA Championships. After an incredible upset and 3-0 sweep of number two ranked Western, the Gaels head to the semifinals this weekend, the next step in an unpredictable and exciting season.

Mary Stewart, Arielle Palermo, Hannah Duchesneau and Amanda Siksna have each played a vital role in Queen’s continued success. Time and time again the Gaels have shown they won’t give up.

When playoffs started, Queen’s was ranked ninth seed in the OUA; to date, the team sits tenth in the country. This progress speaks to their resilience and grit on the court.

Although Women’s Volleyball is taking it one set at a time right now, consistent wins like this will eventually earn them a well-deserved U SPORTS playoff bid.

The road to the top for Queen’s Track and Field looks a little bit different as only six Gaels qualified for the U SPORTS championship at the OUA championship last weekend. Therefore, Queen’s athletes look to bring home individual hardware and titles on March 9 to 11 in Saskatoon.

Jude Wheeler-Dee is the runner to watch next weekend after his gold medals in the OUA’s 1,000 and 1,500-metre races. He’s currently seeded second in the country for the 1,000-metre event.

Miles Brakenbury will join Wheeler-Dee in Saskatoon to compete in the 3,000-metre race. The Queen’s Women’s 4X800 metre relay has also clinched a spot for their race.

The cross country and track and field team have been breaking records all season long, so it will be exciting to watch what other mischief this young roster can cause in the weeks ahead.

Queen’s is also anticipating magic on ice as the figure skating team prepares for the OUA championship on March 7 and 8.  After a successful season—including a sixth-place finish at the Fall Invitational Competition in Niagara—they hope their hard work so far this season will lead to results at the OUA championship.

“The varsity figure skating team is super excited to be attending OUAs this year,” co-captain Trina Dykstra-MacPherson said in a statement to The Journal.  

“Everyone has been training so hard and committing so much time on—and off—ice to their events and synchro.”

Although the winter season is wrapping up, the excitement isn’t over. As Gaels clinch playoff positions, they look to their fans for extra support.

Women’s Basketball will play for the Critelli Cup at the ARC on Saturday at 7 p.m. and the Women’s Volleyball semifinal game will be livestreamed at OUA.tv at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Tags

banner season, Basketball, Figure skating, playoffs, Track and field, Volleyball

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