Lions women’s volleyball prepares for Lakehead

The York Lions women’s volleyball team puts its 9-4 record on the line this weekend when it plays host to the Lakehead Thunderwolves in a pair of contests at the Tait McKenzie Centre. Games are scheduled for 2pm on both Saturday and Sunday. The OUA East Division’s second place Lions have won three straight after defeating the Queen’s Golden Gaels (3-2) and the Ottawa Gee-Gees (3-1) last week. Elizabeth Salas was exceptional for York, leading the team in kills in both games as she amassed a total of 38.

Left: Players from the York Lions women’s volleyball team in action

The men’s volleyball team split a pair of weekend matches, dropping a 3-1 decision to the No. 9-ranked McMaster Marauders, before rebounding with a 3-1 victory over the Guelph Gryphons. With a 10-4 record, the squad sits fourth in the OUA. Fifth-year middle Ryan Anderson led the team with 28 points over the two-game set. This week, the Lions hit the road for games against Windsor and Western.

The Lions track and field team had a terrific weekend at the 26th Annual Can-Am Track Classic at Windsor. First-year sprinter Erica Broomfield set a new meet record en route to claiming the gold for York in the 60 metres. With her time of 7.46, she ranks 11th in the world and first in the CIS. Broomfield also added a gold medal in the 4x200m relay and is this week’s Female Athlete of the Week. Also grabbing gold on the women’s side was Sarah Katz in the 600m, while a trio of Lions earned silvers. For the men, Jared Lewis led a strong team effort, winning gold in both the 60m and 4x200m relay and Marlon Nangle won gold in the triple jump. This week, the Lions compete in the Toronto Track Classic at U of T.

The No. 6-ranked women’s basketball team improved to 6-0 at home and 11-2 on the year after posting wins over Carleton and Ottawa on the weekend. In Friday’s 67-47 victory over the Ravens, four different players registered double-digits in scoring. On Saturday, three different players recorded 10 or more points in a 73-53 win over the Ottawa Gee-Gees. This week the Lions face city rivals the Ryerson Rams and Toronto Varsity Blues on the weekend.

The men’s basketball team split a pair of weekend contests against Top 5 teams last week. On Friday, the Lions welcomed the No. 1-ranked Carleton Ravens. Despite a 27-point effort by Rohan Steen, the team fell to the country’s top squad, 85-69. The following night, the Lions rebounded with a 64-61 upset of the No. 5 Ottawa Gee-Gees. Centre Jordan Foebel paced the squad with team-highs in points with 20 and rebounds with seven. York travels to Ryerson and Toronto this week.

The men’s hockey team extended its win streak to four games after posting back-to-back 4-3 overtime victories over the University of Guelph. Second-year centre Tyler Harrison continued to find ways to score, extending his point streak to 11 games. Over the two games against the Gryphons, Harrison scored twice, including the overtime winner in the first contest, and added three assists. Harrison, this week’s Male Athlete of the Week, helped the Lions post a 6-1-0-1 record against divisional opponents. The Lions hit the road this week for games against Laurier and Brock.

York’s women’s hockey team continued to struggle, dropping two games last week against Western and Waterloo. The team has now five straight. After opening a 1-0 lead over the Mustangs, the Lions gave up a pair of goals over the final period and a half to lose 2-1. On Sunday evening, the team suffered a similar fate, after seeing a 1-0 lead erased in a 3-1 loss to the Warriors. This week task doesn’t get any easier, as the squad looks to right the ship when they take on the No. 6 Toronto Varsity Blues.

In the pool, both the men’s and women’s swimming teams fell short in a single meet against the Waterloo Warriors. Richard Tse led the men’s contingent with a first-place finish in the 200m individual medley, while Alex Struk and Dimitry Rogozhnikov finished first and second in the 50m breaststroke. For the women, Lane Chong placed first in the 50m freestyle. The Lions next action comes on January 27, when they participate in a quad meet at Brock University.

This report was submitted to YFile by Stephen Reid, Sport York’s information assistant.