By Mitchell Fox
With past near-misses in the back of their minds, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s curling program has their sights set on championship banners at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships.
Taking place on Feb. 10-12 at the Peterborough Curling Club, the tournament will feature 16 teams from across the province.
The TMU men earned the silver medal last season, falling to the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks in the finals after turning an opening game loss into a successful run to the final game.
Perry Marshall, the Bold’s head coach, said the team is confident things can go their way in a similar fashion to last year.
“We came very close to bringing home our first banner with these guys,” said Marshall. “I think they feel that’s a capability they have.”
The men will hope to build on the success of the TMU women’s team, who won a bronze medal and earned a U Sports National Championship berth at their tournament last weekend. The women’s team had to win three one-point games, reflecting the kind of competition that comes with university-level curling in Ontario.
The OUA Championships, like much of the curling world, have moved to a new format in recent years. 16 teams are now split into four pools with just four games of pool play, so two losses often mean missing the playoffs.
“[You have to] just assume that everybody is of a quality that you have to play well,” Marshall said. “We try and prepare for how well we need [the teams] to play and then how well we think they can play.”
In addition to a silver medal, last year’s squad was granted an opportunity to play in a qualifying tournament for the Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) World University Games in Ottawa, where they played for the opportunity to represent Canada at the international competition. They will hope to draw on that experience as they seek the gold this year.
The FISU qualifying tournament was held Sept. 22-24 and the team finished fifth with a 2-3 record.
Third-year skip Weston Oryniak explained how the team was “happy just to be at the dance” and said they were able to gain valuable experience and confidence as they pursue OUA success this season.
“The couple of games we won there just highlighted the fact that we could compete at that high level,” Oryniak said. “We’re going to definitely take some of that experience into OUAs this year.”
The men currently hold an 8-1 record in tournament play against other OUA teams, highlighted by an undefeated first-place finish at the McMaster Invitational in January. Oryniak said the team was able to win at the tournament despite some “less than stellar” games.
“Anytime when you can win five games in a weekend, you’re gonna take that,” he said.
Marshall said the McMaster tournament was “an early taste” of what the team can do against strong opponents.
The men’s schedule is set for the group stage of the OUA tournament, with games against Waterloo, Queen’s, Algoma and Carleton spread across Friday and Saturday. If the tournament looks anything like the women’s did, there will be few easy games.
According to Oryniak, the team knows it will face stiff competition and that the tournament can come down to certain teams getting hot and stepping up in important games.
He said the team is more confident this year than last, as they are more cohesive. “I think the squad is firing on all cylinders right now,” he said. “As long as the bounces go our way, we have a good chance.”
In preparation for the big event, the team has been working hard. Along with regular practices, they play in a club league at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club to stay sharp and improve ahead of the OUA competition.
Marshall explained that the league play allows the team to work on strategy, tactics and team dynamic, while the tournaments with peer schools are the real judge of where the team stands.
“Our reason for being is to win OUA banners, to make it to U Sports [nationals],” he said. “It’s not to win the club championship.”
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