Oct. 3 Niagara College report: OCAA golf; soccer; basketball
Niagara College is hosting the 54-hole Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Golf Championships Monday through Wednesday on the Battlefield course at Legends on the Niagara.
More than 60 golfers representing 10 Ontario colleges will be competing, including Confederation College, Durham, Fanshawe, Georgian, Humber, Lakehead University Orillia, Niagara, St. Clair, St. Lawrence College and Sault College, are taking part in the event.
Niagara’s golf team is made up of Tegan De Dellis, Reid Perusini, Johnny Romak (A.N. Myer), Anthony Sartor (Denis Morris) and Owen Tope (Sir Winston Churchill).
“We have a very young, kind of raw team. There’s a few coming out of competitive golf and a few venturing back into some competitive golf,” Niagara coach Adam Steinschifter said. “The team got off to a bit of a slow start but again we are lucky that we are going to have some good weather and we have a great host in Battlefield. It looks like the weather is going to be fantastic for the next couple of days.”
Steinschifter is excited about the week.
“We are looking forward to getting a couple of big events under these guys’ belts and hopefully we can build for the future. Our goal is to rebuild some of our fame that we had in 2015 and 2016 when we were provincial and national champions,” he said. “Obviously that’s our goal but we are a ways away from that right now.”
Humber College’s Hayley McCallum will be looking to become the first women’s golfer to win three straight OCAA championships while 2021 bronze medalist Christian Leduc from Georgian is the only returning podium finisher back for another crack at the men’s title.
The top OCAA golfers and teams will advance to the 2022 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Golf National Championships Oct. 17-21 at the Deer Creek Golf Club in Ajax.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Niagara Falls native Sydney Sica netted a hat track to power the Niagara College women’s soccer team to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Fanshawe Falcons.
The winless Falcons scored first before the Knights rallied with four unanswered goals.
Rylan Greatrix opened the scoring for Niagara with her fourth goal of the season before Sica began to fill up the scoresheet.
Niagara improved to 5-2 on the season while Fanshawe fell to 0-4. The Knights are at Redeemer Wednesday before hosting their final home game of the season Friday at 6 p.m. at Youngs Sportsplex in Welland against St. Clair.St,
MEN’S SOCCER
Niagara’s men’s soccer team’s winless streak continued with a 4-0 loss Saturday afternoon at home against the Fanshawe Falcons (2-2-2).
Leading the way for the visitors was Michael Sneddon with a hat trick.
Niagara is at Redeemer (1-4-1) Wednesday before completing the home portion of its schedule Friday at 8 p.m. at Youngs Sportsplex against St. Clair.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara’s women’s basketball went 2-0 in exhibition play on the weekend, defeating Loyalist 67-49 and 89-49.
“Overall it was a good weekend for us. We took a few steps forward but we still have a long way to go,” Niagara head coach Chris Rao said. “Our newcomers showed that they can impact winning moving forward and I’m excited to see where this season goes.”
Leading the way in the 67-49 victory were: Janee Harrison, 18 points, five rebounds and four assists; Jamira Rousseau, 16 points; and, Angelica Lapensee, eight points and 14 rebounds.
Top performers in the second game were: Eden Ferraro, 10 points and 25 rebounds; and, Taryn Mitchell, 16 points.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara’s men’s basketball team split a pair of exhibition games against Loyalist, losing 80-64 in the first game and winning the second 88-82.
“We stumbled in our first game and then played much better in our second against Durham,” Niagara head coach Phil Mosley said. “We have plenty of work to do, but the guys are committed and we feel good about the group we have. We will continue to work through our exhibition schedule and try to learn and get better from every game.”
Top Niagara performers in the first game were: Ethan Dela Cruz (Mississauga Xavier),13 points; and, Rahim Bardi (Governor Simcoe),12 points.
Leading the way in the second game were: Bardi, 18 points; Delroy Grandison, 18 points; Khayden Stewart, 12 points; Kennan Larmand (Centennial/Ridley College), 11 points; and, Reggie Williams, 10 points.
Niagara has home games this Friday at 8 p.m. versus Hilbert College of Buffalo) and Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. against the Rochester Institute of Technology.
WELLAND GIRLS SPORTS DAY
Niagara College will be hosting the Welland Girls Sports Day Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Welland Empire Sportsplex at 16 Townline Tunnel Rd.
It is a day for girls ages six to 12 to come out and learn to play a bunch of different sports.
Niagara College varsity coaches and athletes as well as people from the community will be on hand to teach the technical aspects of the sports as the girls try various sports from 10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Adaptive sports will also be available.
Niagara College’s student council is assisting in providing lunch for all the girls at 12:30 p.m. After lunch, participants will have free time to return to whatever sport they want.
To register, visit the City of Welland website.
