The University of Toronto Varsity Blues are the proud hosts of the 2017 OUA Tennis Championships this Thanksgiving weekend, October 6-8, at the Mayfair Toronto Parkway Club in Markham, Ont.
 
The Varsity Blues men enter the provincial tournament as the No. 2 seed overall, finishing the season with a 7-2 record. U of T kicks off the championships versus the No. 7 Brock Badgers, with the quarter-final match set to begin on Friday at 11 a.m.
 
Toronto will be vying for their fourth OUA championship title in the past 10 years, having last won the provincial banner in 2015.
 
Now in his third-year, computer science major Sasha Obucina will serve as the team's No. 1 player, having lost only one singles matchup throughout the entire season. The 2016 OUA all-star has been a constant for the Blues in recent years, serving as No. 1 for last year's OUA silver medal squad.
 
The group will be bolstered by a host of veteran talent, with Andrew Bourne-Kaponeridis and Cameron Chiang all having competed alongside Obucina on the Blues banner winning team just two seasons ago. Felix Fan, Brett Stinson and Nathan Wong will also be players to watch this weekend.
 
On the women's side, a strong complement of veteran and youth will be utilized by a Varsity Blues squad. Toronto is ranked No. 3 after going 6-3 in regular season play, shutting out opponents in five of their six victories. The Blues will also open the championships versus the Brock Badgers, who enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed, on Friday at 10 a.m.
 
The Blues women last won the OUA banner in 2013 and, prior to that, claimed four straight championships from 2004-07.
 
Carmen Lai will serve as Toronto's No. 1 player. The first-year Varsity Blue played four seasons at NYU in NCAA Division III action and has been a huge threat for the Blues so far this season.
 
Mara Stroe has delivered several stellar performances in her first season as a Varsity Blue, enough to garner the No. 2 position for U of T. A native of Ajax, Ont., Stroe has dominated opponents only losing one doubles match at the hands of the OUA defending champion Western Mustangs.
 
The Varsity Blues young talent will also feature Sama Qaedizadeh, Alara Demirag, Salma Dessouki and Jasmine Nguyen.
 
Championship Schedule
 
Friday, October 6
BYE: Women's #1 York
BYE: Men's #1 Montreal
Match 1 – Women's #3 Toronto vs. #6 Brock – 10:00am
Match 2 – Men's #2 Toronto vs. #7 Brock – 11:00am
Match 3 – Men's #4 Waterloo vs. #5 York – 12:30pm
Match 4 – Women's #2 Western vs. #7 McMaster – 2:00pm
Match 5 – Men's #3 Western vs. #6 McMaster – 3:30pm
Match 6 – Women's #4 Montreal vs. #5 Waterloo – 5:00pm

Saturday, October 7
Match 8 – Women's Semifinal – York vs. Winner of 4v5 – 11:30am
Match 9 – Men's Semifinal – Montreal vs. Winner of 4v5 – 12:30pm
Match 10 – Women's Semifinal – Winner of 2v7 vs. Winner of 3v6 – 2:00pm
Match 11 – Men's Semifinal – Winner of 2v7 vs. Winner of 3v6 – 3:30pm

Sunday, October 8
Match 12 – Women's Bronze Medal Match – Loser (Match 9) vs. Loser (Match 11) – 10:30am
Match 13 – Women's Gold Medal Match – Winner (Match 9) vs. Winner (Match 11) – 11:30am
Match 14 – Men's Bronze Medal Match – Loser (Match 10) vs. Loser (Match 12) – 3:00pm
Match 15 – Men's Gold Medal Match – Winner (Match 10) vs. Winner (Match 12) – 4:00pm
 
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