The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's curling team earned a fourth-place finish at the 2024 OUA Men's Curling Championship, concluding the three-day showcase event on Sunday (Feb. 4) evening at the Guelph Curling Club.

The Blues team of Daniel Hocevar, Landan Rooney, Matthew Prenevost, Quinn Heffron, Marshall MacPherson, and Ben Whitehouse earned their spot in the final four after a 7-5 Sunday morning quarter-final win over the Queen's Gaels. From there, U of T conceded a 7-2 semifinal versus the eventual gold medalists from Laurier, before falling 6-5 in the bronze medal match against the host Guelph Gryphons. Both Hocevar and Rooney would be honoured as OUA second team all-stars following the conclusion of the event.

"The men had an outstanding championship and played very well all three days," said Varsity Blues curling head coach Guy Yerama. "They ran up against some very strong teams in the medal rounds, but Daniel and Landan were well deserving of their all-star selections."

In the quarter-final match, Toronto utilized an exciting three-point eighth end, which lifted the Blues to victory after entering the final stanza down by one. The win propelled the Blues into their first final four appearance since 2020.

However, the Blues were in tough in the semifinal round. After entering the elimination matches as the No. 5 seed following pool play, Toronto matched up against the No. 2 seed Laurier Golden Hawks. Laurier entered the championship as a heavy favourite, having won the past three consecutive OUA titles, along with two national championships over that three season stretch. The Blues went shot-for-shot with the Golden Hawks early, holding a 2-1 advantage after the second end. But Laurier would go on to score six over the next three ends to punch their way back to the OUA title match. The Golden Hawks would go on to secure their fourth straight provincial banner.

Next facing the host Gryphons in the late evening bronze medal match, U of T was in a position to battle back throughout the full eight end contest. Guelph quickly jumped ahead 3-0 after the first three ends, however, a three point fourth for the Blues evened the match back up. The Gryphons once again pushed ahead by three points heading into the seventh end, where Toronto nearly pulled off a second come-from-behind effort. But Toronto came up just one rock short of tying the game and sending the bronze medal match to extras.

A strong showing for the Blues men, they concluded the championship event with a 4-3 record overall. With a depth of talent across the entirety of the men's curling roster expectations will remain high for future season.