WELLAND, Ont. - The Mohawk Mountaineers and Humber Hawks successfully defended their respective men's and women's team titles, while Humber also won the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2023 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Curling Championships on Saturday.

The bonspiel which consisted of mixed doubles, men's and women's team competitions was hosted by Niagara College at the Welland Curling Club in Welland, Ont.

The Humber doubles team of Kevin Genjaga (Mississauga) and Sierra Hardwick (Midhurst) avenged an earlier loss on Thursday to the Niagara-1 duo of Nick Lemieux (St. Catharines) and Claire Randell (St. Catharines) in the gold medal game, scoring two in the final end to win 8-7. Niagara-1 had won the previous meeting by the same score in extra ends. Both teams finished with identical 4-1 records in the round robin, as both proved to be worthy adversaries throughout the competition. It is the first time Humber has won the OCAA gold medal in mixed doubles.

Mohawk's Elias Whittington (Campbellville) and Ashley Verhees (Elmwood) took the mixed doubles bronze medal, defeating the Confederation-1 team of Sean Maurik (Thunder Bay) and Katrina Slomke (Fort Frances) 8-4. Genjaga and Hardwick were named First-Team Championship All-Stars, while Lemieux and Verhees were named Second-Team Championship All-Stars.

The Mohawk men's team led by skip Jacob Jones (Brantford) doubled up Humber 8-4 in the gold medal game, as the Mountaineers were the only squad at the bonspiel to go undefeated with an unblemished 6-0 record. Jones was named Championship MVP for the second straight year.

The Humber rink led by skip Jacob Dobson (Haliburton) needed an extra end in the semi-final to defeat Sault 6-5. The latter rebounded in the bronze medal game, defeating Fleming 9-2. Connor Simms (Sault Ste. Marie) was the skip of the third-place Sault squad.

First-Team Championship All-Stars included three members of the Mountaineers, Jones, Joel Matthews (Waterdown) and Liam Little (Hailburton), as well as Humber's Noah Garner (Mississauga). Dobson, Mohawk's Eric Just (Ancaster) and Sault's Charles Darling (Sioux Lookout) and Avery Berry (Sault Ste. Marie) were named Second-Team Championship All-Stars.

Humber's women's team, led by skip Meaghan Mallett (Waterloo), avenged an earlier loss in the competition and thwarted Niagara's bid for a perfect tournament, winning the gold medal game 5-2. Niagara, skipped by Melissa Borowski (Welland), had previously won five straight. It marks a third straight OCAA championship for Humber in women's team curling. Mallett was named Championship MVP for the second straight year.

Fanshawe, guided by skip Veronica Van Broekhoven (Port Stanley), won the women's bronze medal match defeating Sault 8-2. First-Team Championship All-Stars include Borowski, Niagara's Alexa Desrochers (Welland), Humber's Jessica Byers (Haliburton) and Emma Rebel (Ottawa). Mallett, Humber's Parker Doig (Egmondville), Niagara's Amelia Bender (Welland) and Emma Hill (Dundalk) were named Second-Team Championship All-Stars.

Coaches of each of the gold medal winning teams were all named OCAA Coaches of the Year. Betty Calic took the honours for Mohawk, while Sean Turriff (women) and Brittany Elson (mixed doubles) of Humber were also recognized.

OCAA curling has a long history of honouring fair play. The Ron Fearon Fair Play Award (men) went to Fanshawe's Kapish Kaushal (India); the Vern Dow Fair Play Award (women) went to Sault's Ileana Ramirez Aguilar (Mexico); and the Hap Holman Fair Play Award (mixed doubles) went to Amy Danen (Tavistock) and Matthew Brenneman (Woodstock) of Niagara-2.

The top men's and women's teams will advance to the 2023 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association/Curling Canada College Championships taking place in Sudbury, Ont., from Mar. 15-19.

Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/curl

2023 OCAA CURLING AWARDS

OCAA Curling Medalists
Men

Gold: Mohawk Mountaineers

Silver: Humber Hawks

Bronze: Sault Cougars

Women

Gold: Humber Hawks

Silver: Niagara Knights

Bronze: Fanshawe Falcons

Mixed Doubles

Gold: Humber Hawks

Silver: Niagara Knights-1

Bronze: Mohawk Mountaineers

OCAA Curling Championship MVPs

Men: Jacob Jones, Mohawk

Women: Meaghan Mallett, Humber

OCAA Curling Coaches of the Year

Men: Betty Calic, Mohawk

Women: Sean Turriff, Humber

Mixed Doubles: Brittany Elson, Humber

OCAA Curling Fair Play Awards

Men's Fair Play (dedicated to Ron Fearon): Kapish Kaushal, Fanshawe

Women's Fair Play (dedicated to Vern Dow): Ileana Ramirez Aguilar, Sault

Mixed Doubles Fair Play (dedicated to Hap Holman): Matthew Brenneman & Amy Danen, Niagara

OCAA Curling Championship Men's First-Team All-Stars

Skip: 
Jacob Jones, Mohawk
Vice: 
Noah Garner, Humber
Second: 
Joel Matthews, Mohawk
Lead: Liam Little, Mohawk

OCAA Curling Championship Men's Second-Team All-Stars

Skip: 
Jacob Dobson, Humber
Vice: 
Eric Just, Mohawk
Second: 
Charles Darling, Sault
Lead: Avery Berry, Sault

OCAA Curling Championship Women's First-Team All-Stars

Skip: 
Melissa Borowski, Niagara
Vice: 
Alexa Desrochers, Niagara
Second: 
Jessica Byers, Humber
Lead: Emma Rebel, Humber

OCAA Curling Championship Women's Second-Team All-Stars

Skip: Meaghan Mallett, Humber
Vice: Parker Doig, Humber

Second: Amelia Bender, Niagara

Lead: Emma Hill, Niagara

OCAA Curling Championship Mixed Doubles First-Team All-Stars
Men: Kevin Genjaga, Humber
Women: Sierra Hardwick, Humber

OCAA Curling Championship Mixed Doubles Second-Team All-Stars

Men: Nick Lemieux, Niagara
Women: Ashley Verhees, Mohawk

- OCAA -

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