After five seasons as national champions, University of Alberta’s reign at the U SPORTS Women’s Tennis Championships came to an end at the hands of Université Laval. The Rouge et Or defeated the Pandas 4-3 at Saint-Victor Park in Laval on Saturday.
Université Laval cruised through their semi-final against Dalhousie University, winning all nine matches while only dropping a total of six games. University of Alberta beat University of Toronto 5-2 in their tie to set up a rematch of the 2024 final.
The Pandas secured the doubles point but the Rouge et Or got the edge in singles play over the next five matches, winning three of the first five. Both sides then had to wait for the end of the sixth match between Alberta’s Sonia Skobkareva and Laval’s Maya Thabet.
Photo: Anthony Paré
Skobkareva was one set away from extending the Pandas’ title streak to six after taking the opener in a tiebreak. However, Thabet rallied and won the match 6-7(1), 6-2, 6-4 to secure the title.
Each match in the final went to a third set as the Rouge et Or won their first national championship in program history.
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Alberta’s Emma Rutherford won Most Valuable Player, going undefeated across her four matches. Laval had two players win awards – Minnie Kim was named Rookie of the Year and Érica Di Battista took the Fair-Play Award – and their coaching staff won Coach of the Year honours.
University of Toronto came away with bronze, defeating Dalhousie 7-0.
All-Star Team
Emma Rutherford (University of Alberta)
Alexandra Jewitt (University of Alberta)
Marie-Laurence Denis (Université Laval)
Maya Thabet (Université Laval)
Anastasiya Dyadchenko (University of Toronto)
Anna Nicolela (Dalhousie University)
Western Defeat Defending Champions UBC to Earn Second Title
Western University were crowned men’s tennis national champions for the first time in eight years, beating University of British Columbia 4-1 on Sunday.
The Mustangs won a majority of their doubles matches and didn’t drop a set in singles play to sweep their semifinal tie against Dalhousie. The Thunderbirds defeated Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières 5-2 to advance to their third national final in four years.
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Western once again earned the doubles point then, in singles, the London, Ont. side dropped just one of four matches against UBC as Koby Lai clinched the title for the Mustangs with a three-set victory.
Photo: Demian Aquino
Western’s Liam Drover-Mattinen earned both Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year honours, winning all four matches across singles and doubles play. The Mustangs coaching staff won Coach of the Year while Dalhousie’s Payton Nicol took home the Fair-Play Award.
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières secured bronze, their first-ever medal at the national championships, with a 6-1 win over Dalhousie University.
All-Star Team
Liam Drover-Mattinen (Western)
Koby Lai (Western)
Daniel Kim (UBC)
Graeme McIntosh (UBC)
Hamza Elthouki (Dalhousie)
Jonathan Bédard (Trois-Rivières)
Feature Photo: Anthony Paré
