Alberta, British Columbia win Canadian University Tennis Championships

Photo Credit: James Hajjar / Tennis Canada

The Canadian University Tennis Championships concluded on Sunday in Montreal, marking the end of a three-day event that saw eight teams from five schools, four men’s and four women’s, battling to be crowned USPORTS Champions.

The Université Laval took on the University of British Columbia in the men’s final, while Laval’s Rouge et Or took on the University of Alberta Pandas in the women’s final.

Women’s Finals

The University of Alberta Pandas continued their dominant run on Sunday, defeating the Laval Rouge et Or 4-1 on Sunday to win their fifth-consecutive national title.

Alberta got off to a quick start, winning the doubles point, followed by two of the first three singles matches.

The Panda’s Alexandra Jewitt won all four matches she played over the two days of play, including two singles and two doubles matches. Emma Rutherford and Emily Granson, who were both named to the All-Star team, each won three of their four matches.

During their current national title streak, Alberta owns a 35-1 team record and a combined 173-42 record in singles and doubles matches.

The Pandas cruised to the final, winning all seven semifinal matches against Dalhousie without dropping a set, winning 87 per cent of the games.

Laval reached the final after a 5-2 win over the University of Toronto in the semifinal.

Toronto defeated Dalhousie 4-0 to win the third-place matchup.

Individual Awards

Most Valuable Player: Érica Di Battista (Laval)

Coach of the Tournament: Ivan Quintero and Kyle Sluchinski (Alberta)

Fair play award: Britany Daigle (Laval)

Rookie of the Year: Sonia Skobkareva (Alberta)

All-Star team: Emma Rutherford (Alberta), Emily Granson (Alberta), Érica Di Battista (Laval), Émilie Corbett (Laval), Jenny Klenner (Dalhousie), Anastasiya Dyadchenko (Toronto)

Men’s Finals

In a closely contested team match, British Columbia defeated Laval 4-2 to claim the University Championship. The Rouge et Or took the first doubles match to gain an early lead but UBC’s Thunderbirds would win the ensuing two doubles matches and three of the first four singles matches to clinch the title.

This was the Thunderbirds’ second Canadian University Championship in the past three years, having won in 2022.

The difference between the teams was razor-thin, as each school won 82 games apiece with British Columbia finishing with a small 9-7 edge in sets won.

Both teams dominated their semifinal opponents en route to Sunday’s final. The Rouge et Or swept Dalhousie 7-0 without giving up a set, while British Columbia topped Toronto’s Varsity Blues 6-1, losing one doubles match and one singles match in the commanding victory.

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues beat the Dalhousie Tigers 4-2 to win the third-place matchup.

Individual Awards

Most Valuable Player: Marvin Kao (British Columbia)

Coach of the Tournament: Barak Jacob (British Columbia)

Fair play award: Payton Nicol (Dalhousie)

Rookie of the Year: Alexandre Lescoulie (Laval)

All-Star team: Jared Maclean (British Columbia, Kiran Phaterpekar (British Columbia), Charles-Antoine Boily (Laval), Othman Ennaciri (Laval), Rassem Yazdi (Toronto), Hielke Moore (Dalhousie)

This was the first time the University Championships were hosted under both the Tennis Canada and U SPORTS banners as the two organizations have collaborated to make tennis the first Pilot Sport in program history.

As a Pilot Sport, tennis will be part of the Partnership Sports category of U SPORTS’ new sport model program. Under the Partnership Sports umbrella, events are primarily funded by the appropriate National Sports Organization and operated in partnership with U SPORTS.

Written By

Jonathan Chan