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ST. LAWRENCE HOSTS OCAA MEN’S RUGBY GOLD MEDAL MATCH

ST. LAWRENCE HOSTS OCAA MEN’S RUGBY GOLD MEDAL MATCH

KINGSTON, Ont. - The 2021 fall championship season in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) wraps up on two fronts this Saturday.

Two teams with unfinished business will lock horns in the OCAA men's rugby gold medal match as the St. Lawrence Surge host the Georgian Grizzlies. These teams met previously on Oct. 3, with the outcome a 12-12 stalemate. St. Lawrence went on to go undefeated in regular season play as it cruised to a 3-0-1 record and a first place finish, while Georgian finished second with a record of 2-1-1.

In a unique turn of events, this contest will feature the co-2021 OCAA Men's Rugby Players of the Year. Georgian's Jed Bricknell (Alliston, Ont.) a third-year second row player, starred in all four of Georgian's regular season matches. St. Lawrence's Travis Zelinski (Kingston, Ont.), a fourth-year prop, also played in four games for St. Lawrence, scoring four tries.

For Georgian, it marks their third consecutive visit to the gold medal match, having lost the previous two times to Durham. The Grizzlies avenged those losses with a 24-22 comeback victory over the Lords in last Saturday's OCAA semi-final. Georgian last won the OCAA championship in 2016 and will earn a sixth consecutive provincial medal no matter the outcome on Saturday.

St. Lawrence will make its first appearance in a title match since 2017. Its only title came as the Vikings in 2008 in OCAA Division II play. The Surge needed late-game heroics to down Humber 17-15 in last Saturday's semi-final.

The match also features a St. Lawrence team that scored the most points (86) during the regular season, and a Georgian squad that allowed the fewest (29).

The other medal match for bronze will take place Thompson Rugby Park in Oshawa, Ont., and will feature the Durham Lords and Humber Hawks. These teams previously met on Oct. 15 with Durham prevailing 7-0. Both Durham and Humber finished with 2-2 regular season records, with the Lords winning the tiebreaker, and the hosting duties for this contest.

First-year full-back Alex Shewchuk (Ottawa, Ont.), who scored a try against Humber in the last meeting, led Durham with four tries during the regular season. Two-sport fifth-year athlete Zack Shurtleff (Toronto, Ont.), who is a reigning OCAA Championship MVP in curling, led Humber with two tries in three games.

- OCAA -

ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

For over 50 years, the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association has been a dedicated leader in amateur athletics through the provision of quality varsity and recreational athletic opportunities at the collegiate level.

For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com