The University of Toronto Varsity Blues tennis team won the bronze medal at the inaugural University and College National Championships, August 20-22, at York University.

The Blues defeated the University of Victoria Vikings 7-4 in the bronze-medal match to secure a spot on the podium.

U of T swept the men’s doubles matches, as Toronto natives Stan Szczepanski and Rowan Thompson came away with a 6-0, 6-4 victory, while Rob Schmidt (London, Ont.) and Andrei Melochesedic (Toronto) recorded a convincing 6-3, 6-0 win.

On the women’s side, Joceylin Luk (Toronto) and Pavithra Venkataraman (Oakville, Ont.) won their match 7-5, 6-2. This left the Blues with a slight 3-2 advantage heading into singles action.

Toronto dominated women’s singles and secured the third-place finish as Aisha Bhimla (Toronto), Maia Kirk (Mississauga, Ont.) and Venkatarman each won their match. On the men’s side, Thompson cam out on top of a 7-6, 6-4 battle, while both Szczepanski and Schmidt lost very close contests to their Viking counterparts.

Earlier in the tournament, U of T lost to eventual champion University of Montreal and tournament silver medalist University of Simon Frasier 7-4.

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