Men’s rugby solidifies top position in OUA against Guelph

When they took the field against Guelph on Friday, the Gaels knew a test awaited them. With both teams heading into the game undefeated, it was the likeliest matchup for this year’s OUA championship. Playing away at Guelph, Queen’s came out with a convincing 40-13 win.

The victory continued Queen’s 15-game winning streak, which dates back to the 2016-17 OUA Championship, where the Gaels lost to Guelph.

This season, the Gaels’ defensive play has been their most notable asset to the winning streak.

Through five games, the Gaels averaged 9.8 points-against per game. In addition, Saturday’s 27-point difference was the Gaels’ closest margin of victory this year—the second being an early season game against Laurier that Queen’s won 55-22.

With three remaining games on deck for the regular season, Queen’s might go undefeated for the second straight year. A win this weekend means the team is on track to host the OUA championships, if they survive the first rounds of playoffs.

Men’s and women’s cross country succeed over the border

After watching the women’s cross country team enjoy two weekends of early success, the men stepped up this weekend. Racing at the Paul Brown Invitational at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, the team picked up first place in the eight km race.

Second-year Mitchell De Lange continued his strong start to the season, leading the Gaels for the third straight race and earning sixth place. 

For the women, rookie Brogan MacDougall added to her gold medal collection this weekend with a first place finish. The women’s team collectively closed in seventh. 

WXC – Brogan MacDougall takes in Gold Division NCAA Paul Short Run at Lehigh University #LeadTheWay pic.twitter.com/B3G9rzzRJG

— Queen’s Gaels (@queensgaels) September 29, 2018

Both men’s and women’s teams will enjoy a slight reprieve after three consecutive race weekends, with their final invitational coming on Oct. 12 at McMaster. The OUA championships are four weeks ahead, and will take place in London, ON.

Rowing’s national athletes have strong showing in first race of season

This weekend saw the beginning of the Queen’s Rowing team’s season at the Head of the Trent regatta, hosted by Trent University.

The Gaels had a banner day, with fourth-year athletes Alex Bernst and Gavin Stone placing first and second in the men’s top tier race, respectively.

On the women’s side, third-year Louise Munro was runner-up after snagging a 15 second penalty for missing an early buoy in the first-tier race. In the Lightweight race, Greta Chase finished third, closely followed by Rebecca Hisey in fourth.

Overall, 13 Gaels raced on Saturday. 

With only a month left before OUA championships—the two-day regatta is scheduled for Oct. 26-27—the Gaels will set out to race again at the Brock Invitational on Oct. 6.

Men’s soccer swept by U of T, Ryerson in weekend series 

This weekend, the men’s soccer team suffered a setback at the hands of the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and the Ryerson Rams while on the road. 

On Saturday, Queen’s fell to the Rams 4-1, and dropped their game against the Blues 3-1 the next day. 

The results were a step back from what the team saw earlier in the season—while the Gaels have yet to beat Ryerson, they reeled in a 2-1 win against U of T in early September.

With the two losses, Queen’s is in a three-game slump. The Gaels distanced themselves from U of T by six points for third place in the OUA East. They are holding down the fourth position closely, as the Nipissing Lakers sits three points behind them.

It may all change the next few games. On Friday, they’ll play the RMC Paladins, followed by a weekend doubleheader at home against the Laurentian Voyageurs and Nipissing. 

The Gaels have just five games remaining this season.