The University of Toronto Varsity Blues celebrated the champions of the fall 2016 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) season with a banner raising ceremony at the U of T Athletic Centre on November 29. Banners were raised for the Varsity Blues field hockey, women’s golf and men’s water polo teams. Joining them on the podium was the women's water polo team, who won the National Collegiate Water Polo (NCWP) championship.
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues celebrated the champions of the fall 2016 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) season with a banner raising ceremony at the U of T Athletic Centre on November 29. Banners were raised for the Varsity Blues field hockey, women’s golf and men’s water polo teams. Joining them on the podium was the women's water polo team, who won the National Collegiate Water Polo (NCWP) championship.
Huddling with her team mates and coaches in anticipation of the ceremony was Laura Upenieks, a PhD student in sociology, and member of the Varsity Blues women’s golf team for the past 8 years. The team has been on an extended winning streak, defending five OUA championships in a row.
Upenieks calls the consistency of the team’s success incredible and believes it’s all due to a great team.
“The girls get along really well, we have a great time, and we have phenomenal coaching staff with David Woods, Chris Tortorice and Pat Reilly. We have a good team of players and we take it seriously, practice hard and try to maintain our focus.”
Professor Ira Jacobs, Dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, congratulated the championship teams telling them how proud they make U of T with their ambassadorship.
“We know how hard it is to balance the rigours of your academic programs with your training. We know it’s tough, but I also know you’re going to remember this for a very long time,” said Jacobs. “I know that, because every year I have a chance to meet with alumni who still remember and talk about the place sport had for their inner development during their U of T experience.”
Women’s water polo coach George Gross Jr. thanked U of T staff for their support. “I don’t think you know how incredibly hard it is to administer 43 sports and the fact that we have the largest number of sports at a university in North America is a real credit to this university,” Gross Jr. said. “Our biggest challenge this year was to incorporate ten new rookies with six returning players. The other challenge we faced is that we have athletes from all over the world literally,” he said, before introducing the team whose members were recruited all the way from Austria, Florida, California, and closer to home, British Columbia and Ontario.
Vancouverite Marianne Tout, a fourth year Kinesiology student and member of the women’s water polo team for four years, had never lost a game in her career.
“I think part of it is that we have strong players coming in each year, but we also have very strong team dynamics. We all get along really well, we’re like one family, so in the water, we’re all one big unit,” said Tout. “Additionally, the facilities are amazing. We always have a full pool to practice in. We have so many resources and everyone is really helpful and making sure we are ready and healthy to play.”
Daniel Ugray, a third year international student from Hungary and member of the Varsity Blues men’s water polo team, was proud to climb the podium with his team mates. “It’s a great thing,” said Ugray, who is majoring in international relations and economics. “We scored 25 goals in two games and got zero.”
Commenting on the diversity of his team, Ugray said water polo was a universal sport. “We play everywhere in the world and we have people from all over the world on our team, Canada, Turkey, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia. We are a multicultural community and probably this diversity helps us move forward.”
The Varsity Blues field hockey coach John De Souza rounded up the speeches, congratulating his team on another winning season and recognized the support and facilities available to all U of T athletes that contributes to their success. The team captured their 32nd title in OUA’s history.