The first few months of the 2016-17 academic year saw the Mustangs triumph over the competition for the most successful fall season in recent history. Between September and the beginning of the holiday season, Western captured seven provincial titles and three national titles.
Mustangs baseball, softball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s cross country, and both the men’s and women’s rowing teams all earned provincial championships, while men’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, and cheerleading all picked up national titles.
Three of those titles came after substantial upsets, with men’s cross country and both men’s and women’s tennis exceeding expectations and taking down giants on their way to success.
Men’s Cross Country last took first place in 1988, with Guelph dominating at both the provincial and national levels for just over a decade now. The purple and white victory ended an 11-year long reign by the Gryphons, as Jack Sheffar, Ben Carson, and Chris Balestrini all recorded top 10 finishes to push Western to victory.
Men’s tennis fought through the defending OUA champion Varsity Blues to take the title, while women’s tennis defeated the top-seeded York Lions in the final round of the championships to sweep both titles for the first time since 2012.
While some Mustangs teams were the underdogs headed into their respective championships, the majority of title winners were favoured from the start.
Baseball’s OUA title is the team’s second in as many years, while softball continued program tradition with an undefeated regular season and seventh consecutive OIWFA championship.
Mustangs rowing also earned consecutive banners, with the men’s team becoming the most successful program within the OUA in terms of championships, after their second straight title and the perennially strong women’s team securing their fourth straight title. As expected, women’s rowing continued to dominate at Canadian University Rowing Championships for the program’s fourth consecutive banner.
The purple and white coed cheerleading team, to the surprise of no one, won the program’s 31st PCA Collegiate Cheerleading Nationals Championship with a score that far exceed that of the second place Queen’s Gaels. The title is the ninth straight for the Mustangs, and in the 32 years of competitive collegiate cheerleading in Canada, only in 2007 has a school other than Western been able to call themselves national champions.
Meanwhile, men’s lacrosse headed into the Baggataway Cup as one of the top seeded teams in the nation with an 11-1 record before winning the fourth title in program history.
However, now that the fall season has come to an end, Mustangs fans should keep an eye on men’s swimming, men’s wrestling, and women’s volleyball.
All three teams appeared on the final U Sports Top Ten release before the winter break, with volleyball claiming the highest spot of the purple and white teams.
Led by head coach Melissa Bartlett, Mustangs volleyball has undergone a transformation in recent years that has led to back-to-back OUA bronze medals over the last two seasons. This year, Western has amassed an 8-0 record to head into 2017 as one of only two undefeated teams in the league. The only other team to find themselves with a perfect season thus far are the defending CIS champion Varsity Blues.
Story by Pam Bialik
