Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. — The Queen's Gaels battled through a competitive field at the 2025 OUA Squash Championships, finishing with a bronze medal in the men's division and a fourth-place result in the women's division.
On the first day, the women's team, defending a streak of nine consecutive OUA titles, opened the tournament with a 6-1 victory over the McMaster Marauders before sweeping the Ottawa Gee-Gees 7-0. Gabby Waite (Mining Engineering) led the way with a dominant performance, helping Queen's finish pool play undefeated.
On the men's side, Queen's battled in a thrilling opener but fell just short in a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues. The deciding match saw Akasham Rajagopaul (School of Medicine) take an early two-set lead before Toronto's Will Harris mounted a comeback to win 3-2. The team responded with a 7-0 sweep over Ottawa to close out the first day.
Day two saw the men's squad sweep the Guelph Gryphons 7-0 in the quarterfinals, setting up a semifinal clash with the powerhouse Western Mustangs. Looking for a 41st consecutive OUA title, Western proved too strong, handing Queen's a 7-0 defeat and sending the team to the bronze medal match.
In the women's division, a semifinal meeting with Western saw Queen's fall 5-2, ending an eight-year championship reign and setting up a third-place showdown against Waterloo. Gabby Waite and Sage Eberhard won their respective matches for Queen's.
The final day featured a 6-1 victory over Toronto in the men's bronze medal match, securing a spot on the podium. Wins from Rajagopaul, Sayeed Mavani (Law School), Felix Scholberg (Arts & Science), Salah Elsherif (Health Sciences), Justin Weller (Arts & Science), Duncan Genge (Applied Science), and Logan Elder (Arts & Science) sealed the win. Rajagopaul's outstanding performances earned an OUA All-Star selection.
The women's team fought hard in the bronze medal match but fell 4-3 to Waterloo in a tight contest, finishing fourth overall. Waite's consistent play throughout the tournament earned an OUA All-Star selection.
MAJOR AWARDS & ALL-STARS
Major Awards - Women
MVP - Niki Shemirani, Waterloo
Rookie of the Year - Ashley Hall, Western
Coach of the Year - Amr Elmehelmi, Toronto & Tom Panabaker, Western
All-Stars - Women
Niki Shemirani, Waterloo
Gabby Waite, Queen's
Ashley Hall, Western
Keira Rawlins, Toronto
Shirin Batra, Toronto
Sofia Quon, McMaster
Major Awards - Men
MVP - Salaheldin Eltorgman, Western
Rookie of the Year - Shamil Khan, Toronto
Coach of the Year - Musa Huq, Waterloo
All-Stars - Men
Salaheldin Eltorgman, Western
Will Harris, Toronto
Rayan Hashmi, Waterloo
Connor Jinks, Waterloo
Akasham Rajagopaul, Queen's
Daniel Deverill, Western
Final Standings - Women
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Record
|
|
1
|
Western
|
5-0
|
|
2
|
Toronto
|
4-1
|
|
3
|
Waterloo
|
3-2
|
|
4
|
Queen's
|
2-3
|
|
5
|
McMaster
|
3-2
|
|
6
|
Brock
|
2-3
|
|
7
|
Guelph
|
1-4
|
|
8
|
Ottawa
|
0-5
|
Final Standings - Men
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Record
|
|
1
|
Western
|
5-0
|
|
2
|
Waterloo
|
3-2
|
|
3
|
Queen's
|
3-2
|
|
4
|
Toronto
|
3-2
|
|
5
|
Guelph
|
3-2
|
|
6
|
Ottawa
|
1-4
|
|
7
|
Brock
|
2-3
|
|
8
|
McMaster
|
0-5
|
