This coming weekend, both the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's and women's squash teams head to White Oaks Resort in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., to compete in the 2025 OUA Squash Championships from Feb. 7-9.

For the men, Toronto finished the 2024-25 regular season with an 8-1 record and are looking to maintain their streak of five consecutive OUA medals, which was continued with a bronze medal last year. The Blues are more determined than ever to bring home gold, having themselves in contention for their first OUA championship since 1982-83.

"Our strength comes from everyone enjoying the game, the team spirit, and we seem to enjoy winning," said Blues men's squash head coach John Lennard. "We hope to continue to beat everyone we play against, but I just like to see everyone play their best and see what happens," added Lennard.

The strong group of Blues is highlighted by veteran players Will Harris and Usman Khan. Harris, a fourth-year kinesiology student, has been one of Toronto's top players all season, competing in the top slot and winning all nine of his matches. Khan, in his fourth year of computer science, has also had a dominant season, going 8-0 in his matches. Khan and Harris were both integral members of U of T's bronze medal win last season, and Harris was named a 2024 OUA all-star.

As for the U of T women, the Blues finished the regular season with a 6-2 record, putting them in prime position to compete for an OUA gold medal, a feat that they have not accomplished since 2013-14.

The Toronto women are led by a trio of standouts in Keira Rawlins, Aayah Shalaby, and Deena Shah. Second-year player Rawlins was named an OUA all-star last season and built on her strong 2023-24 campaign by earning the top spot on the Blues lineup this year. Shalaby, a Mississauga, Ont. native, will be competing in her fourth OUA championship and will be a crucial component of the team as she has won four of her six matches played this season. Shah will be another crucial piece of the puzzle for Toronto, as her 4-1 record as the No. 3 player in the lineup has allowed the Blues to have success.

"Our team has been amazing this season," said Blues women's squash head coach Amr El Mehelmi. "With nearly half the players being new students, it's been incredible to see how everyone has come together as one. The experienced players, captain and assistant captains have really stepped up to help the new teammates blend. It's been a true team effort, and that's why we're seeing such great results and aiming for OUA gold this season."

The U of T men open their provincial championship run with round-robin matches versus Queen's, Guelph and Ottawa across the first two days, while the women face-off against Ottawa, McMaster and Queen's as their first three matches of the provincial showcase.