The men's tennis team was involved in three days of hard fought matches at the OUA Championships hosted by York. The yearend tournament was played at two sites in Markham, Mayfair East and Mayfair Parkway. Â Waterloo would finish the championship in fourth place overall.
Waterloo 4, York 3
The Warriors, seeded fifth were up against the fourth-seed York University on Friday. Waterloo drew first blood by taking two of the three doubles games, earning the first point. The Warriors no. 2 and 3. Joe Zeng (Markham) and Eddie Wang () posted wins while Kamil Ladhani (West Vancouver) at no. 4 and no. 1 John Chan (Whistler) playing with a slightly injured shoulder lost.
The score was even at 3-3 when no. 5 Nathan Flach lost his match leaving the outcome for both universities on the racquets of no. 6 Daniel Ben Yona (Toronto) and York's Gabriel Begnino. In a nail-biter finish, Ben Yona came out triumphant and the hero of the day as Waterloo moved on to the semifinals on Saturday against Western, the season's only undefeated team and the OUA defending men champions for the past three years.
Western 5, Waterloo 2
On Saturday it was Western that grabbed the first point of the day when the no. 2 team of Joe Zeng (Markham) and Nate Flach (Toronto) lost 6-8 with the doubles score at 1-1. In singles action, wins from Joe Zeng (Markham) and rookie Eddie Wang () playing against Western's top rookie Brent Moffat put the Warriors in a temporary leading position but just as hope for an 'upset' win over Western seemed possible especially as two of the ongoing matches were very close, the Mustangs dashed the Warriors hopes by coming through with four wins, three of them close ones, notably one over John Chan (Whistler) who lost in three sets to Andre Szilvassy, an opponent he crushed in the regular season play. Chan whose shoulder got more painful as the match went on, lost in three sets. The battle between the two schools finally ended four hours after it began, a testament to the long matches that were fought between them.
Montreal 6, Waterloo 1
Following the late night loss to the Mustangs, the Warriors were back in action against the Montreal Carabins on Sunday afternoon with the bronze medal up for grabs. Without the services of their no. 1 player John Chan (Whistler) whose painful shoulder made it impossible for him to play, the Warriors all moved up to play in a higher spot than they were accustomed to. Two rookies, Adam Hunter (Waterloo) and Noah Matsui (Toronto) made their OUA debut to fill the gaps left by Chan in doubles and singles.
The Warriors had another long and hard fought battle with the Carabins similar to the one they had with Western the day before. The Carabins won 6-1. The lone point came from rookie Eddie Wang () playing at no. 2 beating Sebastien Hirt 6-1, 6-1. Joe Zeng (Markham) lost in three sets to Hugo Maurice with each player winning their sets by a service break. The very last match to end the day and the season was played by Kamil Ladhani (West Vancouver) at no. 3 who gave a gutsy performance against Columban Bounine saving four match points in the second set before winning it in a tie break and then three more at 4-5 in the third set to before losing 5-7. Just like Saturday, Sunday's score belied the closeness of play. The Warriors ended their season on a positive note despite losing the fight for third place.
