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Celebrating the Ridgebacks tenth anniversary with its top ten moments
As the university celebrates the 10th anniversary of varsity athletics, we thought we would look back at the top 10 moments in Ridgeback history.
1. Acceptance into the OUA – January 2006
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) welcomed the university as its 19th member in a unanimous vote by the league's Board of Directors.
2. University hosts first OUA championship – October 2009
The Ridgebacks hosted their first OUA championship welcoming the province’s top tennis players to the Campus Tennis Centre. The university has gone on to host six other championships including tennis (2012), golf (2014 and 2015), women’s field lacrosse (2014 and 2015) and curling (2017)
3. First varsity medals in rowing – October 2012
The rowing team won its first medals at the OUA Championship, earning two bronze medals. The tandem of Nik Vantfoort and Colm Shannon finished in third place in the heavyweight men’s doubles event while Allison Demaiter won a bronze medal in the heavyweight women’s singles event.
4. Ridgeback earns a top-10 finish at golfing provincials – February 2014
James Krantz became the first Ridgeback to earn a top-10 finish and an all-star award in golfing at the OUA championship. He had a two-day total of 149 points.
5. Men’s soccer playoff victory – October 2014
In their first post-season appearance, the men’s soccer team defeated Carleton 4-2 in penalty kicks to advance to the OUA quarterfinals. The Ridgebacks won their final five games of the regular season to advance to the post-season.
6. Women’s soccer wins university’s first medal in a team sport – November 2014
The women’s soccer team defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks 2-0 in the OUA bronze medal game at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton to earn their first berth to a CIS (now U Sports) championship.
7. Women’s lacrosse team reaches the final four – November 2014
The women’s lacrosse team advanced to the OUA final four for the first time in program history after an 11-9 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks. That season, Taylor Landry was named OUA Offensive MVP while coaches Amy Lance (Fincham) and Liane Chornobay were both named OUA Coach of the Year.
8. Ridgebacks reach the OUA quarterfinals – February 2015
The men’s curling team made their lone appearance in the quarter-final of the OUA curling championship after finishing the round robin with a 5-1 record at the Guelph Curling Club.
9. Men’s hockey wins first-ever playoff series – February 2016
In front of a capacity crowd at the Campus Ice Centre filled with students, alumni, family and fans, the men's hockey team won their first playoff series in the nine-year history of the program. The Ridgebacks beat the Queen’s Gaels 4-3 in game three.
10. Women’s soccer OUA Championship/U Sports bronze medal – November 2016
The women's soccer team defeated the Queen's Gaels 1-0 at Mustangs Field in London to claim both the program and school's first OUA banner. Two weeks later, the Ridgebacks defeated the Gaels 1-0 in the bronze medal game in Wolfville, N.S. to win their first national medal.
