A review is nothing less than taking a thousand-step journey, except the footsteps lie in front of you. Looking back, our UTM Eagles have come a long way since the day we began the journey on September 5. In fact, this school year, the Eagles have sustained phenomenal victories, heartbreaking losses, and profound change.
It being the first year having a varsity team for women’s basketball, the players sure have hit the ground running and accumulated five wins overall. However, this year serves as nothing but an opportunity for the team to find its sea legs and set up a good base from which their successors can build on. As such, the team members have established great chemistry both on and off the court. Not to mention, both the coaches and players have received their first taste of varsity-level competition. Comprehending this rubric for women’s varsity basketball will be the first vital step for these Eagles to shape their future. The men’s basketball team also entered the varsity level for the first time this year and won two games against the Sault College Cougars. They also dominated two tournaments, as well as an exhibition game.
The Eagles have demonstrated phenomenal prowess within the realm of cross country. Sophie Glanz made it into the UTM record books by being an OCAA award winner by achieving OCAA Cross Country Rookie of the Year, and making it into first-team All Ontario. As if this wasn’t enough, Glanz placed fifth overall in provincials. The UTM women’s team placed fourth overall at provincials. Glanz and Nevison, who made it to second-team All Ontario, as well as two runners from the men’s team, Kale Heino and Haseeb Malik, all qualified for the national competitions. These results serve as a testament to the huge splash the Eagles made in the domain of cross country for this year.
Switching to varsity soccer, the men’s team have garnered three wins, three ties and five losses throughout the year, whereas the women’s team won their first outdoor game since entering the OCAA. The men’s indoor soccer team has worked admirably to receive nine wins, seven losses, and a tie. They also finished in third place at the OCAA Provincial Championships—a remarkable accomplishment for our Eagles. These statistics just serve as evidence that the Eagles are facing tremendous resistance within varsity soccer.
Such a progression of success is also visible in UTM’s varsity badminton. This team has an aggregation of devoted players that qualified for regionals last year and provincials this year. In fact, they placed in second at the OCAA regionals for women’s singles, both women and men’s doubles, as well as mixed doubles. As for provincials, UTM’s very own Rachel Wong even received bronze for her outstanding performance.
Unfortunately, the D-Leagues are where the Eagles ran out of luck. Over the course of the year, the men’s ice hockey team had three wins, the men’s soccer team had two, and men’s indoor soccer had one. The rest of the D-League teams are still looking for their first win, and the 2018-2019 year will be their opportunity to redeem themselves.
The HCC and RAWC have also hosted several events to promote athleticism on the campus. These included Meet a Friend Café, Move-U Motivator, Glice, YOLO Pub Night, a cooking class event, Let’s Talk UTM, and many others. These pursuits were all focused to act as simple monthly reminders for students to make healthy choices and stay active.
Bringing the year to a close, the Eagles have accomplished a lot and have an even more unfathomable future ahead. To do so, the Eagles must remember to stay as they always have: to stay hungry and to stay determined.
