With these two weeks in 2026 proving to be a monumental time for global sport: The Winter Olympics kicking off in three days, and the NFL season concluding at week's end; for the Warriors, and the Battle of Waterloo Trophy, knowing OUR fate is to be with you.
In what was an exciting weekend on the ice for men's and women's Hockey, (See Ben Robinson and Sam Bellerose's respective articles), women's Hockey's 4-3 OT win down the road against the Laurier Golden Hawks, clinched YOUR Warriors the honour of being Waterloo's Best in 2025- 2026.
Back-to-back battles goes beyond the final scores, and points collected. It represents a group of student-athletes, coaches, trainers, equipment personnel, team managers, and game day staff who have demonstrated exceptional acts of consistency, resiliency, teamwork, and Warrior pride. This victory was achieved by an athletics program greater than the sum of its parts.
All this fun…and we are only a month in, to yet another wonderful year to be a Waterloo Warrior.
Basketball: Western Stalemate
In a face-off against two opponents have become used to seeing one another in the early goings of 2026, women's and men's Basketball this time met up with the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs on the road this past weekend. On Friday night in Windsor, the division-leading Lancers looked to continue their strong form against the Black and Gold this season, having defeated them back in Waterloo only 14 days prior. The Warriors were led by the firepower of Kymora Stafford (Toronto, Ont./), who picked up eight rebounds on the evening; five at the defensive end of the court. The second-year guard also netted 12 points, and has now scored at least 10 in four of her last five games. Stafford's performance was accompanied by the defensive masterclass of Ashlyn Norris (Ottawa, Ont./), who had a team-high nine rebounds; eight of them defensively. Stafford and Norris's defensive mindset was necessary for a squad playing without their backbone in the paint, Jaime Newell (Brussels, Ont./). The Lancers despite this, took a 71-56 victory.
Saturday night, and a fresh look at a new opponent in Western. The squad sitting just above the Warriors at third in the OUA West, looked to take the finale of their season series. After a game in Windsor where she saw limited time on the court, Ghiselle Poblete (Brampton, Ont./) went back to work on the Mustangs; this time away from home. With four makes from three-point-land, she broke her single-game high for the season, and shot an even 50% from the field entirely. She had also nearly amassed her second-highest single-game points tally on the season, netting a team-high 19. With the Warriors playing a more complete team game, with Yemi Oladipo's (St. Catharines, Ont./) team high five assists, and Carina Fiore (Newmarket, Ont./) as well as Norris notching eight rebounds each, Waterloo fell to another West rival; 78-62.
On the men's side, Friday night in Windsor is one the team loves. The Warriors, having won their past two meetings in Windsor, looked to continue that trend against a team that who is battling for the second spot in the division. After dropping a five-point thriller last time in Waterloo back on January 16th, the man of that weekend, Isaiah McRae, continued his route of Windsor. Shining offensively and defensively, McRae bagged a team-high 15 points, nine rebounds, and three steals. Four Warriors had surpassed 10 points on the night, with Moses Anvari (Ajax, Ont.) (14), Stefan Prica (Etobicoke, Ont.) (13), and Cristian Craciun (Hamilton, Ont./) (12), all reaching double-digits. The Warriors strong net drive and physicality at the offensive side of the court had earned them 19 shots from the free throw line, in which they hit 14 of them to shoot at a near 74% from the line. An exceptional Friday business trip resulted in a huge 82-69 win for Waterloo.
Saturday in London, and the Warriors looked to double down on the Mustangs, away from home, after the thrill of the Saturday Stunner on Totzke. The Warriors, full of confidence after the W in Windsor, looked to take back-to-back victories against the nation's number seven seed. In yet another standout performance from Anvari, who had a game-high 25 points, the Warriors bench could not find the opportunity to activate against a Mustangs side who forced 22 turnovers. Trailing by only one point after the first quarter, the Warriors fell 85-74.
Both squads on the court will return home this upcoming weekend for a date with the Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday night. The women will take to Carl Totzke Court at 6:00 PM, and the Men at 8:00 PM.
Swimming: Blew 'Em Out Of the Water(loo)
A complete takeover of the leaderboards. In St. Catharines this past weekend at the Badger Invitational, Swimming had rushed through the water and struck gold. Right out of the gate in Event 1, the women's 100m Butterfly, the Warriors had filled each of the top five spots. With Hannah Gallagher (Waterloo, Ont./Waterloo Collegiate Institute) taking victory, she was followed by four of her teammates; Noor Bansal (Mississauga, Ont./Glenforest Secondary School) in second, Sara Bergamasco (Bend, Oregon/Summit High School) in third, Ema Masic (Toronto, Ont./Michael Power - St. Joseph High School) in fourth, and Nicole Lau (Aurora, Ont./St Theresa of Lisieux CHS) in fifth. Collecting 82 points out front from the first event, set the stage for a weekend to remember. In the 200m Butterfly, they did it again. Gallagher and Bansal finished one-two, and this time, Masic took third, Bergamasco fourth, and Megan Frost (Pointe Claire, Que./John Rennie High School) placing fifth. In the men's 100m event, four Warriors filled the top five spots. Alex Boden (Dundas, Ont./Westdale Secondary School) and Kevin Zhang (Mississauga, Ont./St. Francis Xavier Secondary School) secured a one-two finish, with Austin Williams (Belleville, Ont./Centennial Secondary School) and Aidan Iapicco (St. Catharine's, Ont./St Francis) taking fourth and fifth. The men's 200 as well, secured yet another Warriors one-four placement. Boden and Zhang nabbed another top two placement, Christian Florea (Mississauga, ON/) took third, and Williams fourth. The 100m Backstroke saw another Warrior takeover of the podium, with Louie Yin (Toronto, Ont./Parkdale Collegiate Institute), Declan Kay (Pickering, Ont./Dunbarton High School), and Noah Bradwin (Guelph, Ont./Guelph Collegate Vocational Institute) taking the top three spots. Cristian Ciorogariu (Waterloo, Ont./Bluevale collegiate institute) took the victory in the 100m Freestyle, Issie Grecoff (Penticton, B.C./Penticton Secondary) won the women's 800m Freestyle by nearly 20 seconds, and Thomas Gishler (Whitehorse, YT/Aurora Virtual School) and Robert Yin (Markham, Ont./Markville Secondary School) taking a one-two in the men's event.
With Su Yeong Choi, Zoe Le (Mission Viejo, California/Santa Margarita Catholic High School), Quitze Bracho, Kaelyn Kelly (Thornton, Ont./St Joan of Arc), and Nyla Smith (Calgary, Alta./Rundle College) all achieving podium finishes. In total, the Warriors had 19 swimmers step into the top three spots across the weekend individually, with more Warriors stepping up in the relay events.
With 885 points from the women, and 893 from the men, a combined 1,926 points placed the Warriors in first, and winners of the Badger Invitational. A monumental performance at this tri-meet with Brock and Laurier sets the Warriors up perfectly for a trip to the OUA Championships from February 19-21 in London.
Track and Field: Syiera Stardom
In a superb showing at the York Open over the weekend, Waterloo shone in the pentathlon through one Syiera Stuart (Belle River, ON/). Finishing in first place with 2880 points, Stuart's remarkable run through the event had only furthered the successes of the Warriors program at the Open, with the all-time event pentathlon record being held by former Warrior Hannah Blair (Waterloo/Waterloo). In the women's Triple Jump, Gloria So (Markham, ON/) took third place with a distance of 10.88m. In the men's Long Jump, Silas Coxson (Kitchener, ON/) also placed in third at a distance of 6.62m. After yet another strong weekend event, the team will take to Windsor this upcoming weekend to do it all again. February will see them additionally compete in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, and back in the provincial capital at the OUA Championships.
Volleyball: A Sentimental Senior Send-Off
One final weekend at home for Volleyball's super seniors. With Western in town, sitting at third in the OUA women's standings, the Warriors had a tough test ahead of them. Friday night brought with it, a thrilling first two sets. With the Mustangs taking the first 25-23, Waterloo stormed back with a 26-24 victory in the second, to tie the game. A huge second set for Avery Isaacs (Calgary, Alta./Bishop Carroll High School) and Molly White (Fall River, N.S./Lockview High School), Isaacs taking two kills and an ace, while White took a kill of her own, as well as a huge block to draw the Warriors to within one point of the Mustangs late in the set. Despite the second set heroics, Western were 3-1 winners on this night.
On Senior Day, the Warriors would not waiver in closing out the home season in style. Isaacs was back at it again, with a game-high 20 kills – a season high for her. A point total of 21.5 for the Calgary native also set a season high, as well as Warrior Athlete of the Week honours. White, in her final game on Carl Totzke Court pulled out all the stops. 13 kills and four of the team's seven blocks on the afternoon. On the defensive, two seniors in their last home game were the stars in clinching the home side a 3-2 victory. Ashlynn Freiburger (Kitchener, Ont./St Mary's Highschool) and Samantha Loshusan (Markham, Ont./Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy) were as dynamic as can be on the Warrior side of the net. Apart from Madison Seo (Ancaster, Ont./Westmount Secondary School), Loshusan finished with the second-most assists on the team, collecting seven, and Freiburger picking up a couple of her own. Defensively, Freiburger picked up a game-high 21 digs, with Loshusan reaching 19 over the course of the afternoon. A win in the home finale for our super seniors, lets them bow out as queens of their court.
On the men's side, the Mustangs gave the Warriors a rough go to close out their home campaign. With Kai Abdool (Oakville, Ont./St. Ignatius of Loyola), AJ Nichols (Aurora, Ont./St. Andrew's College), Owen Paddock-Thiessen, and Fehin Awobodu (Oakville, Ont./Hillfield Strathallan College Men's Volleyball Team) taking to the Warriors floor for more weekend double, emotions were high. Awobodu wanted to make it a Friday to never forget. His one service ace and a game-high eight blocks set the tone for the Warriors to stay in it. Despite achieving 61 kills to the Mustangs' 53, Waterloo dropped the game 3-1. Saturday afternoon, and one final look at our home crowd for the aforementioned quartet. Paddock-Thiessen's nine kills and eight digs, as well as Nichols's and Awobodu's two blocks, showed a resilient finale to the home careers of these athletes.
For the men's team, they head north this weekend. A trip to North Bay will bring the Nipissing Lakers for a double on Friday and Saturday. The women's side will play in their final two games of the season in Guelph on February 13 and 14, 6:00 PM start times for both.
Saturday on Carl Totzke Court as a whole was for celebrating our Volleyball seniors. For our eight graduates across our women's and men's teams, the impact they have made both on and off the court has been exceptional. The ways in which they have carried their Warrior spirit alongside them wherever they walk, will only continue to be true. Once a Warrior, always a Warrior.
January was certainly a fun one. Let's see what February will bring our Warriors.
