Marauder Minute (October 26-November 1, 2026)

Hamilton, Ont. - The Marauders were busy this weekend with many sports making appearances in playoff or championship matches. It was a difficult weekend for Men's Football and Men's Soccer as they both fought against tough match ups to end their seasons with a loss. Both Men's and Women's cross country found success at the OUA championships taking home the gold only two weeks before McMaster is set to host the USPORT National Championships. Rowing also saw success at OUA championships with several athletes qualifying for A and B finals. Wrestling opened their season at the McMaster open as Men's and Women's basketball played their first double header weekend of the season against Toronto and TMU.

Women's Basketball 
October 30th - W: 105-47 vs Toronto | Box Score

The McMaster Marauders (2-0-0) took on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (1-2-0) on Friday.

The Marauders got off to a great start. Highlighted by a steal and a score executed by Veteran Guard, Emily Frankovic (Thornhill, Ont.), the Marauders jumped out to a 15-6 lead just after three minutes into the game.

After second-year guard, Keira Daly (Hamilton, Ont.) executed a strong and-one finish, and great work from forward, Teja McCormick (Toronto, Ont.), to get the offensive board and dish off an assist to second-year guard, Carly McBain (Guelph, Ont.) for a layup, McMaster went on a 10-2 run taking a 25-8 lead to the second quarter.

The second quarter started with some back-and-forth play. Layups from rookie forward, Tayler Scott (Burlington, Ont.), and third-year guard, Grace Ammendolia (Hamilton, Ont.) gave McMaster a fourteen-point lead. McCormick had a great steal and score, while Daly had a nice putback finish as the Marauders cruised to a 44-28 lead at half-time. Daly led the team with nine points and two steals, while McCormick had seven points, and 6 rebounds.

McMaster continued their dominance in the third quarter. McCormick found Ammendolia on a great cut for a layup. Frankovic assisted a three-pointer from Daly who continued her great quarter with two steal-and-score plays. McMaster held a forty-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

Frankovic started the fourth quarter with two assists, first to Ammendolia and then to Daly. Scott had a big block and Frankovic added to her points with multiple scoring plays late. McMaster finished with a 105-47 win.

Daly had a game-high twenty-one points, while Frankovic had twenty points and Ammendolia had nineteen points. Rookie guard, Natalie Keys (Peterborough, Ont.) and McCormick both finished with four assists. McCormick had nine rebounds while Daly had seven steals.

Men's Basketball
October 30th - L: 69-77 vs Toronto | Box Score

The McMaster Marauders (1-1-0) fell to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (3-0-0) in a tight matchup.

McMaster dictated the pace of the game early, taking a 14-8 lead after fourth-year guard, Kailon Nicholls (Toronto, Ont.) completed an incredible and-one play. After McMaster's lead was cut to three, fourth-year forward, Oliver Lucas (Toronto, Ont.), responded with a jumper. McMaster held a three-point lead heading into the second quarter. 

A great effort on the offensive board from guard, Elijah Bethune (Toronto, Ont.) led to fourth-year forward, Riley Bleich's (Fonthill, Ont.) triple early in the quarter. Late in the half, fourth year forward, Riaz Saliu, had a monster block and Nicholls scored on the other end. McMaster led by two at halftime.

McMaster scored thirty-seven points and were led by Nicholls and Bethune who both scored nine points. Saliu had nine rebounds and two blocks to along with his four points. 

The third quarter was played extremely tight, but UofT began to slowly take control. After a tough layup by Nicholls, McMaster was 13-4 and found themselves down by ten heading into the fourth quarter. 

Despite, a strong 7-0 run to start the quarter, McMaster could not climb their way back into the game. McMaster would drop game two of the season 77-69. Nicholls scored eight points in the quarter, finishing with a team-high nineteen points and Bethune had five in the quarter and seventeen points in the game. Riaz Saliu had sixteen rebounds along with his six points.

Football
October 31st - L: 17-33 vs Ottawa | Box Score (OUA Playoffs)

The McMaster Marauders' 2026 campaign came to a close Saturday afternoon following a 33-17 loss to the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the opening round of the OUA playoffs. Despite taking an early lead and holding a 14-8 advantage late in the first half, the Marauders surrendered a touchdown in the final seconds before halftime, allowing Ottawa to take a 15-14 lead into the break.

Quarterback Lucas Barresi (Hamilton, Ont.) connected with Shane Wismer (Stoney Creek, Ont.) for a three-yard touchdown in the opening quarter before running back Micah Duchene (Brantford, Ont.) added a three-yard rushing touchdown late in the second. Michael Horvat (Hamilton, Ont.) contributed a field goal in the third quarter, but Ottawa's offence continued to build momentum, scoring 18 unanswered points in the second half to secure the victory.

Barresi led the Marauders offensively, completing 22 of 41 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown while adding 69 rushing yards. Nathan Denkers (Hamilton, Ont.) led the receiving corps with eight catches for 92 yards, while Duchene contributed 77 receiving yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Aidan Moore (Stoney Creek, Ont.) led McMaster with 12.5 total tackles, including a sack, while Jaden Briscoe (Oakville, Ont.) added 4.5 tackles and a pass breakup.

McMaster finished with 376 yards of total offence and 25 first downs but was unable to keep pace with an Ottawa offence that recorded 462 total yards. The loss brings the Marauders' 2026 campaign to a close with a 6-3 overall record following their postseason appearance.

Men's Cross Country
October 31st - 1st (OUA Championships) | Results

The nationally No. 1-ranked McMaster Marauders men's cross country team captured the OUA championship on Saturday, delivering a dominant performance to secure gold with just 30 points. McMaster placed all five scoring runners inside the top 10, finishing well ahead of the Guelph Gryphons, who claimed silver with 68 points.

Samuel Patrick (Guelph, Ont.) led the Marauders with an individual silver medal, completing the 8km course in 24:22.3. William Weist (Toronto, Ont.) followed in fifth place, while rookie Jack Gregory (Napanee, Ont.) finished sixth and Iain Thomson (Dundas, Ont.) placed seventh. Austin McGoey (Whitby, Ont.) rounded out McMaster's scoring group with a 10th-place finish.

The Marauders' depth continued beyond their top five, with Tristan Bouius (Hanover, Ont.) finishing 12th and rookie Eli Bouius (Hanover, Ont.) placing 23rd. With seven runners inside the top 23, McMaster demonstrated the strength and consistency that have defined its season.

The OUA championship marks another major achievement for the nationally top-ranked Marauders, who now turn their attention to the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships

Women's Cross Country
October 31st - 1st (OUA Championships) | Results

The McMaster Marauders women's cross country team captured the OUA championship on Saturday, securing gold with 40 points in an impressive display of team depth. The nationally No. 6-ranked Marauders finished ahead of the Windsor Lancers, who earned silver with 54 points, and the Guelph Gryphons, who claimed bronze with 61 points.

Ana Morariu (Kincardine, Ont.) led McMaster with an individual bronze medal, finishing third overall with a time of 28:18.1. Rookie Ruby File (Collingwood, Ont.) delivered another outstanding performance, placing fifth, while Sophie Trott finished ninth. Emma Elliott (Guelph, Ont.) and Kara Tichbourne (Meaford, Ont.) completed the scoring group with 11th- and 12th-place finishes, respectively.

McMaster's ability to place five runners inside the top 12 proved decisive, giving the Marauders a 14-point advantage over Windsor despite the Lancers claiming the top two individual positions.

The championship caps an impressive season for the women's squad, which now looks ahead to the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships following its gold-medal performance at the provincial level.

Women's Basketball
October 31st - L: 57-78 vs Toronto Metropolitan | Box Score

There was a lot of excitement coming into the game between the McMaster women's basketball team and the TMU Bold women in an early season matchup of two teams ranked in the top five nationally with TMU coming in at #2 and the Marauders at #5. Both teams were unbeaten in OUA play this season with McMaster having two lopsided wins at home against Nipissing and the University of Toronto.

Veteran 4th year player Emily Frankovic (Thornhill, Ont.) responded to TMU's early pressure by putting the first points on the board for McMaster. However, a 12-0 run by TMU put the visitors up by 14 points at 18-4. Not willing to let the game get out of hand, McMaster immediately struck back with a 9-0 run of their own keyed by 7 points from Frankovic and 2 from Keira Daly (Hamilton, Ont.). The first quarter ended with TMU up 20-13.

Natalie Keys (Peterborough, Ont.) got the Marauders started with the first bucket of the second quarter and another trifecta from Frankovic closed the gap to just two points at 20-18. The second quarter was a seesaw affair that saw the Marauders take the lead at 25-23 following a tough and-one by Grace Ammendolia (Hamilton, Ont.).  However, the TMU women replied with another run (12-0) that put them up 35-25 before a Daly bucket from deep downtown stopped the slide. Another late three from Sophia Urosevic (Kitchener, Ont.) completed the first half scoring with the Marauders trailing only by 8 points at 39-31.

The third quarter was challenging for the Marauders. TMU shot 69% from the field outscoring the Marauders 26-15 and pushing their lead to 19 points. The Marauders were led in the quarter by Teja McCormick (Toronto, Ont.) who was a perfect 3 for 3 from the field with 6 points and Daly who added 5. The fourth quarter was fairly even with the visitors outsourcing the Marauders 13-11. The Marauders were led in the fourth quarter by Daly with 7 points and 3 steals.

The final score ended with the Marauders coming up on the short end of a 78-57 score. Daly led the way with 17 points with Frankovic adding 14 and McCormick 7 points. The Marauders struggled to shut down the two TMU stars who combined for 53 of their 78 points. There were some positives for the Marauders including forcing TMU into 19 turnovers (committing only 12) and scoring 23 points off those turnovers.

Next up for the Marauder women is another back to back next weekend. They travel to Laurier on Friday night November 6th (gametime at 6:00 p.m.) before coming home for a tilt against the Badgers of Brock University on Saturday night November 7th (gametime at 6:00 p.m.).

Men's Basketball
October 31st - L: 70-94 vs Toronto Metropolitan | Box Score

The Marauder Men entered the contest with the USPORTS Preseason #6 team from TMU with a 1-1 record in the OUA after getting a split from a pair of close contests with Nipissing and the University of Toronto.

A basket from Kailon Nicholls (Toronto, Ont.) got the Marauders on the board at 2 apiece early in the first quarter. A bucket from Oliver Lucas (Toronto, Ont.) gave McMaster a brief early lead at 6-5 before a 13-0 TMU run put the hometown visitors down 18-6. A 6-0 McMaster run which included 4 points from James Kelly (Burlington, Ont.) cut the lead in half and a buzzer beating three from deep by Kelly ended the first quarter with the home side trailing only 19-15. Kelly led the Marauders with 7 points in the first quarter despite only entering the game with 2:22 left in the quarter.

Two quick buckets from Isaiah Flores (Whitby, Ont.) and Shakir Yakubu (Brampton, Ont.) to open the second quarter levelled the contest at 19 apiece. A tremendous block from Lucas gave the ball back to McMaster who took their first lead on a pair of Yakubu free throws. The Marauders stayed close through most of the second quarter until a 6-0 run to close the quarter by TMU pushed the visitor's halftime lead to 38-30. Yakubu led the way for the Marauders with 5 points while Lucas had 5 rebounds including 4 on the offensive end.

The third quarter proved to be difficult for the Marauders as they were outscored by TMU 28-16 and the lead ballooned to 20 points. The Marauders were led in the quarter by Elijah Bethune (Toronto, Ont.) and Riaz Saliu (Oshawa, Ont.) with 4 points each while Riley Bleich (Fonthill, Ont.) added a three pointer. Bethune also contributed 3 assists and Saliu had 4 rebounds.

Although McMaster ultimately lost by a 94-70 score, the final quarter was their best offensively as they scored 24 points with Kelly leading the way with 11 points. The Marauders scored 7 points in the final minute of the game with a bucket from Samson Van Koughnett (Hamilton, Ont.), a dunk from Kelly, and a buzzer beating old fashioned three with the hoop and the harm from Jacyn Taylor (Pickering, Ont.).

For the game, Kelly scored 20 points off the bench in only 18 minutes of action while Bethune had 9 points and Yakubu and Taylor (Pickering, Ont.) added 8 points each. Lucas and Saliu were effective on the boards with 9 rebounds apiece with 6 of Lucas' boards on the offensive end. Bethune had 6 helpers.

Next up for the McMaster men are back to back games next weekend with an away game at Laurier on Friday night November 6th at 8:00 p.m. and then at home in the friendly confines of Burridge gymnasium against the Badgers of Brock University on Saturday night November 7th at 8:00 p.m.

Men's Soccer
October 31st - L: 0-1 at TMU | Box Score (OUA Semifinals)

The McMaster Marauders men's soccer team's pursuit of an OUA Championship came to an end Saturday evening following a narrow 1-0 loss to the TMU Bold in the OUA semifinal at Downsview Park.

Despite controlling much of the offensive play, McMaster was unable to overcome an early deficit, finishing with a 13-7 advantage in shots and a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.

TMU opened the scoring just 3:32 into the contest when Exosse Kadiebue found the back of the net, giving the hosts an early 1-0 lead.

McMaster responded with sustained attacking pressure throughout the opening half. Karl Espiro (Mississauga, Ont.) led the Marauders with six shots, including two on target, forcing saves from TMU goalkeeper Dante Ferraro in the 19th and 40th minutes.

Brayden Truong (Coquitlam, B.C.) added a header on target late in the half, but McMaster entered the break trailing 1-0 despite outshooting TMU 8-2.

The Bold nearly doubled their lead in the 48th minute when Ivan Nechyporuk struck the crossbar.

McMaster continued searching for an equalizer, with head coach Tristan Joyce introducing Cristian Alfieri (Milton, Ont.) in the 69th minute.

AJ Robichaud (Oakville, Ont.) had an attempt blocked in the 73rd minute, while Nico Fontecha (Windsor, Ont.) sent another effort wide.

Despite continued pressure, McMaster was unable to find the breakthrough, bringing its OUA postseason run to a close one victory short of the championship final.

Men's and Women's Rowing
October 30th and 31st - OUA Championship - Women (73 pts. - 8th place) - Men (35 pts. - 10th place) - Results

The McMaster men's and women's rowing teams traveled to the Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course in St. Catharines for the 2026 OUA Rowing Championships. On Friday morning, teams competed in the Ontario University Development Regatta (OUDR) which included time trials, heats and finals for Novice and Junior Varsity (JV) crews. The afternoon featured the varsity qualifying heats for the Varsity A and B championship finals which took place on Saturday. Points towards the team championships were earned from the Saturday varsity finals.

In the Novice competition, McMaster had crews competing in men's and women's eights and women's fours. The men's eights had a second place finish in the novice B final trailing only Western by 4.866 seconds. The team members were Noah Al Hashemi, Henry Spratt, Toby Szeto, Oliver Dixon, Aidan Scully, Eli Griffith, Finley Pyle, Lowyn Taylor-Zelaya, and Noemi Blake. The women's eights came out winners in the B final besting Western by 2.450 seconds. The team members were Rowan Allderdice, Jane Freake, Claire Czerwony, Amanda Vormittag, Lauren Calbeck, Lilly Chisholm, Emily Alway, Madeline LeBreton, and Sakina Syed. The novice women's fours qualified for the A final in their category and finished in third place with team members Sienna Zeyl, Kailey Carruthers, Renee Ji, Lyla Nolan, and Isabella Chiumera.

The varsity teams took to the water on Friday afternoon for the event heats that would set up the Saturday finals. There were a number of positive performances from the varsity crews. The McMaster women's pairs ended up in fourth place with crew members Lillian Bleecker and Macy Mullen. Elizabeth Rudkovsky was second in the women's single sculls B final. The McMaster women's four took first place in the B final pulling away from Carleton who trailed by 5.557 seconds. The crew consisted of Olivia Richardson, Brooke Chow, Elizabeth Warner, Hailey Lay, and Alexis Reeder. Elizabeth Rudkovsky and Naomi Marzurek placed second in the B final of the lightweight pairs. The lightweight pair of Naomi Mazurek and Caitlyn Horton qualified for the A final finishing sixth.

On the men's sides, the fours qualified for the A final with crew members Miles French, Shane Brooks, Luka Mahrt-Smith, Connor Kelly, and Molly Hazel. Veteran Marauder Frank Feng qualified for the A final in the men's single scull event finishing fifth.

At the end of the regatta, the Women found themselves tied for 8th position with the host Brock Badgers earning 73 points and the Men were in 10th place with 35 points. Next up for McMaster is the 2026 Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC) which will be held November 6th to 8th at the Doug Wells Rowing Centre at Fanshawe Lake in London. McMaster will have 7 entries (four women and three men) that have qualified for CURC with the specific lineup for those crews to be named before November 6th. The women's crews will be the lightweight single scull, the eights, the lightweight double sculls and the pairs. The men's crews qualifying will be the pairs, single scull and the eights.

Women's Wrestling 
November 1st - McMaster Open

McMaster had three players contribute to their sixth-place finish, scoring 13 points with two podium finishes. 

Shareen Gulacha (Mount Hope, Ont.) captured the silver medal in the 50KG group. After a 3-0 start that saw her score 30 points, Gulacha would eventually fall in the finals. Her second-place finish added seven points to McMaster in the standings.

Briannah Dumouchelle (Windsor, Ont.) participated in the 56KG group and earned the bronze medal. Dumouchelle finished the day 3-1 and earned 47 points in her four matches.

Her third-place finish earned McMaster five more points. Alexandria Lieu (Port Moody, B.C) finished in sixth place in the 53KG Group. McMaster gained another point, as Lieu would win her first match but fell in final three, including an injury loss in the semi-finals.

Next up, McMaster will visit Toronto to participate in the York Open on Saturday, November 8th.

Men's Wrestling
November 1st - McMaster Open

The Marauders finished in fifth place with 16 points at their home event on Sunday. McMaster had three players earn points for the team, with two podium finishes.

Omogbai Asekohme (Mississauga, Ont.) earned the gold medal in the 125KG group. Asekohme earned 21 points across his two matches and took home the 10 points in the standings for McMaster.

Aaharen Piranavan (Pickering, Ont.) picked up five points for the Marauders. Piranavan participated in five matches in the 57KG group, going 4-1. He was defeated in the semifinals but bounced back with 28 points in his final two matches to capture the bronze medal.

Ali Mahran (Milton, Ont.) earned one point in his sixth-place finish. After a strong performance in his first match, Mahran was unable to win his next three matches and fell to sixth place in the 57KG group.

Upcoming Events (Nov 2 - 8)

November 6
6:00pm: Women's Volleyball vs Western
6:00pm: Women's Basketball at Laurier
7:30pm: Men's Volleyball vs Western
8:00pm: Men's Basketball at Laurier

November 7
8:30am: Swimming at McMaster Intersquad Meet
6:00pm: Women's Basketball vs Brock
8:00pm: Men's Basketball vs Brock
Men's Waterpolo at NCWP Championship
Women's Waterpolo at NCWP Championship

November 8
1:00pm: Women's Volleyball vs Western
2:30pm: Men's Volleyball vs Western
Men's Waterpolo at NCWP Championship 
Women's Waterpolo at NCWP Championship