The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's water polo team returned home to Toronto following a three-city four-game tour of NCAA DI opponents this weekend.

In the games, the Blues stayed competitive and showed great promise for the next phases of the competitive year, but fell short of the victory in all four matches.

"It is always hard when you are looking at major obstacles like travel and injuries ahead of a full tour weekend like this," commented Blues head coach George Gross, Jr. "First, three starters did not make the trip due to injury. And then travelling 10 hours on a bus to get to the first stop, followed by a couple of two hour rides in the region after is tough on any athlete. That said, the missing players provided an opportunity for some others to step up and find out how they stack up at this high-level of collegiate water polo. I was extremely happy with the way the team played as a whole, and the players individually kept pushing back against each opponent, especially in the instances where the games were played in a shallow end pool, something none of our players ever really experience do."

BLUES 8 Mount St. Mary's  14
The Blues began their tour by jumping off the bus after a 10 hour ride to Emmitsburg, Maryland and dived straight into the pool to play The Mount.  The long drive and the presence of a shallow end unnerved the players leading to a 4-0 deficit in the first half of the first quarter. But a switch flipped at that point and Toronto players ran off four straight goals of their own to tie things up. The Mount then retook the lead only to see the Blues respond with two more markers to lead 6-5 at the end of the opening period.

Said Gross, Jr., "This quarter was the worst of times and the best of times. It certainly was the strangest quarter in recent memory. And to score six goals in half a quarter against a DI school was astounding and a huge credit to the determination of our players. It certainly quieted the home crowd that packed the small pool and was so loud players couldn't hear each other in the water."

In the second, the teams battled to a 7-7 score with three minutes to go, but Mount St. Mary's struck for two goals to end the half up 9-7.

Two minutes into the third quarter, the Blues were still in it trailing just 10-8. However, fatigue became evident as the team gave up three unanswered scores to fall behind 13-8 heading into the final frame.

The Blues still fought on and gave up only one more goal, but could not generate enough of their own to complete a comeback.

Third-year attacker Hannah Levin paced the Blues attack with a hat-trick and first-year utility Josie Andrist popped in a pair. Second-year utiility Rose Esplen, along with rookies Ava Stimson and Lillian Wheatley each added singles.

Both fourth-year Toronto netminders Averi Doxtator and Hana Truchla were strong in the cage as they split the game.

BLUES  9 Villanova  11
Having driven the two hours to the outskirts of Philadelphia the night before, the Blues were facing two games in one day beginning in the morning at Villanova to play the Wildcats. Last year, the Blues ended their East Coast Tour with a game at Vilanova and were routed 19-4 by the hosts. This time it was a far different story.

In the opening quarter, both teams missed several scoring opportunities and the Blues ended up trailing only 2-1 at the end of the frame.

Both offences found their grooves in the second period. Toronto tied things up 2-2 early only to fall behind twice more and have to tie the game each time. The Blues then took a brief 5-4 lead only to see Villanova once again score twice to take a 6-5 lead into the second half of play.

The teams played an see-saw third quarter with the Wildcats maintaining their narrow one goal advantage at 9-8 heading into the final frame.

In the fourth, the Blues tied things up at 9-9, but conceded twice after that in losing 11-9.

Levin again led the Blues attack with a hat-trick. Six different U of T players tallied singles: Chloe MacVicar, Alexandra Lee, Sarah August, Amy Pearce, Andrist and Stimson.

BLUES  9 La Salle  13
The second game of the day in Philadelphia saw the Blues travel across town to face the La Salle Explorers.

In the first, Toronto matched La Salle's first two scores, but then gave up four straight before responding with one. The Explorers added one more as time expired to carry a quick 7-3 lead into the second period.

The Blues came out sluggishly and gave up three soft goals while only netting one of their own and then found themselves on the short end of a 10-4 score at the half.

The third quarter was close and low scoring with the home team scraping out a 2-1 margin to increase its lead to 12-5 entering the final frame.

But the Blues came to life in the latter stages of the game producing three unanswered goals at the end. However, it was too little, too late.

Levin notched her third consecutive hat-trick, supported by a pair from Andrist in a repeat of their performance against Mount St. Mary's the night before. August also added a pair, while fourth year co-captain Julia DeCaire and first-year forward Liana Sheridan each scored once.

BLUES 6 Wagner 17
The final stop on the Blues tour was a trip to Staten Island, New York and a date with NCAA No. 20 nationally ranked Wagner Seahawks.

The Seahawks' pool proved to be troublesome for the Blues being the shallowest the team competed in throughout the entirety of the tour.

Toronto fought through the unfamiliar territory in the opening quarter, but still trailed 3-0 heading into the second.

The Blues came to life with the change of ends and battled to a 5-4 loss in the quarter, leaving the team with an 8-4 deficit at half time.

The third period proved to be disastrous for Toronto as the hosts pressed and countered to an 8-2 margin, which would inevitably put the game out of reach with the Seahawks holding a 16-6 advantage with one quarter to go.

The Blues tightened up the defence, giving up only a single tally down the stretch, but could not generate anything on the attack.

DeCaire paced the Blues attack with a pair of goals while Andrist, August, Levin and Stimson chipped in with a goal apiece.


For the second week in a row, it is a quick turnaround for the Blues with a game in Hamilton on Wednesday (Oct. 25) night against NCWP rival McMaster. The late night contest is slated for a 9:35 p.m. start.