The Queen’s Gaels men's rugby team won their fourth consecutive OUA Championship on Sunday with a 24-23 victory over the Guelph Gryphons, in a gripping, intense match in Guelph.

After the Gaels were penalized for a straight arm in the opening minutes, the Gryphons got things started with a kick from just inside the halfway line for a 3-0 lead.

Queen's soon replied as third-year winger Kainoa Lloyd got the Gaels on the scoreboard with a try and the conversion made it 7-3. But Guelph responded immediately when the Gaels muffed a lineout and turned the ball over. Guelph's Benjamin Wust, only moments after going to the ground clutching his shoulder in pain, courageously ran in the Gryphons’ first try. The convert made it 10-7.

Guelph added to their lead when Adam Maahs ran in another try but a missed conversion meant the hosts went into the half up 15-7. The Gryphons were given a yellow card as the half ended and Queen's took full advantage with Guelph down a man.

With both sides desperate, there was a flurry of scoring early in the second half. After Lloyd scored his second try, Guelph fullback Jonathan West scored three points on a beautiful drop goal. OUA MVP Lucas Rumball then added another try for the Gaels and Alex Colborne made the convert to give Queen's a 24-18 lead entering the late stages of the game. The Gryphons' Riley DiNardo had a great run for a try late to bring the game within a single point. The Gryphons missed the convert which kept the Gaels in the lead which ultimately held up as the difference in the game.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

The Queen's Gaels finished fifth following a shootout win over the Cape Breton Capers in the consolation final at the CIS women's soccer championship in Vancouver on Saturday.
 
For the third straight game, the OUA champions’ fate was at the hands of kicks after a 1-1 tie with the Capers after regulation. They earned the 4-2 decision.
 
In the shootout round, Brittany Almeida, Tara Bartram, Lidia Bradau and Jessie de Boer all scored for Queen's. Two key saves from Gaels 'keeper Madison Tyrell on Cape Breton's gave Queen's the fifth-place finish.
 
Queen's head coach Dave McDowell was pleased with the result and the experience his team got from being on the national stage.
 
“I was telling the girls that we had a run when we were in the finals three years in a row and we won two of those, but the year before we lost in the finals on penalties to Trinity Western,” he says. “It was a good experience in terms of understanding for our younger players and what we have to do to win at this level and how hard it is to get here and what you have to do when you get here. I think it's been a great experience for our kids to play a team from each conference.”

Queen’s lost their opener against Sherbrooke on penalty kicks after the match ended 1-1 Thursday in the quarterfinals.

On Friday the beat Calgary in a shootout after no one could score in regulation and overtime.

CROSS COUNTRY

The Queen’s Gaels women's cross country team saw All-Canadian performances from Julie-Anne Staehli who finished fifth and Claire Sumner ninth to lead the Gaels to a fourth-place finish while the men placed eighth at the CIS Cross Country Championship in Guelph.

Staehli finished in a time of 20:27.5, just missing out on a medal by a second. Teammate Sumner came through with a ninth-place result in a time of 20:49.8 to finish as an All-Canadian for the second straight year. Charlotte Dunlap, Shannen Murray and Lindsay Kary rounded out the Gaels scorers finishing 23rd, 50th and 54th respectively.

For the men, the best result on the day came from Jeff Archer who placed 21st in a time of 31:24.2 while OUA champion Alex Wilkie settled in with a 30th place finish followed shortly by Eric Wynands who was 40th.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

The Queen’s Gaels men’s volleyball team (6-1) swept their weekend road trip, topping the Western Mustangs (4-2) on Sunday in straight sets 25-19, 26-24, 25-18. A day earlier the Gaels trumped the Windsor Lancers (0-5) in four sets 25-21, 25-21, 25-27, 15-8.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

The Queen’s Gaels women’s volleyball team (3-4) earned a split on their weekend road trip, finishing with a five-set win over the Western Mustangs (4-1) 25-27, 27-29, 25-20, 25-14, 15-8. The Gaels went the distance after losing the first two sets on Saturday as well but fell to the Windsor Lancers (2-2) 21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 13-15.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Queen's Gaels men's basketball team (3-0) defeated the Nipissing Lakers 69-57 on Saturday in North Bay, completing their weekend road trip with two victories while stretching their winning streak to three games early in the regular season. The Gaels were led by fourth-year guard Mark Paclibar, who had a game-high 16 points. On Friday, Sukhpreet Singh recorded a team-high 21 points as the Gaels slipped past the Laurentian Voyaguers 69-68 in Sudbury.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Queen's Gaels women's basketball team (3-0) extended their regular season winning streak on Saturday evening, wrapping up their weekend road trip with a 71-42 victory over the Nipissing Lakers. Robyn Pearson recorded a game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds to earn a double-double. On Friday, Jenny Wright netted 20 points and the Gaels defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs 61-51.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

The Queen's Gaels women’s hockey squad (6-1-1-1) hit the road for their only game this week to take on the UOIT Ridgebacks (2-6-1-0) in Oshawa coming away with a 5-1 win. Katrina Manoukarakis scored twice and Caitlyn Lahonen made 21 saves for her second shutout of the season.

MEN’S HOCKEY

The Queen's Gaels men’s hockey team (7-2-0) downed the Concordia Stingers (5-4-0) 4-0 on Friday night at the Memorial Centre in Kingston. Kevin Bailie made 39 saves for the shutout while Shawn Boudreau netted a pair of goals.