The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's and women's curling teams enter this weekend with high expectations following a strong season of play as they head to the OUA championships hosted by UOIT at the Oshawa Golf and Country Club
 
On the men's side, U of T just missed out on challenging for a medal at last season's provincial tournament, tying with the Western Mustangs during round robin play before falling in a tiebreaker match to determine which team would move on. 
 
Looking to establish certainty in their podium quest, Toronto has been outstanding this season as they have delivered a 3-1 record at the Brock Invitational, which included wins over the aforementioned Mustangs, along with convincing 8-2 victories over Queen's and Brock.
 
The squad will be led into the OUA championships by third-year skip Jack Lindsay, who previously served as vice for two seasons with the Blues, including in U of T's last banner winning season in 2014.  Joining the veteran Lindsay will be second-year lead Jacob Weber, rookie second Travis Ackroyd, fifth-year vice Geoffrey Elliott, and first-year alternate Justin Chung.
 
Meanwhile, the Varsity Blues women will be looking to capture the second OUA championship banner in program history, with the last coming in 2001.
 
The veteran duo of fifth-year skip Deanna Caldwell and third-year vice Deborah Hawkshaw will once again lead the team following a quarter-final appearance at the 2016 tournament. Along with rookie lead Montse De Los Rios, third-year second Sabrina Ribau, and fourth-year alternate Brittany Prevost, the Blues have had plenty of preparation this season taking in both the Brock Invitational and McMaster Bonspiel. 
 
At the Brock event, the team went undefeated dropping the Western Mustangs, Queen's Gaels, and McMaster Marauders before finishing the tournament with a draw against the Marauders. Then, at the bonspiel, U of T statistically played some of their best games despite a 1-2-1 (W-L-T) record.
 
All the action on the ice will commence Thursday morning (Feb. 16) with the Varsity Blues women's team challenging a very familiar opponent in the Marauders at 8 a.m., followed by the men taking on the host Ridgebacks at 3 p.m.
 
Full Schedule
 
Men
Thurday, February 16
vs UOIT 3 p.m.
vs Brock 9:30 p.m.
 
Friday, February 17
vs Lauentian 2:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, February 18
vs Waterloo 8 a.m.
vs Carleton 2:30 p.m.
 
Sunday, February 19
vs Guelph 8:30 a.m.
vs Ryerson 5:30 p.m.
 
Women
Thursday, February 16
vs McMaster 8 a.m.
vs Brock 6 p.m.
 
Friday, February 17
vs Windsor 11 a.m.
vs Algoma 5:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, February 18
vs Waterloo 11 a.m.
vs Queen's 9:30 p.m.
 
Sunday, Feburary 19
vs Guelph 11 a.m.
 
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