S6 • THE SILHOUETTE
THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2012
Women’s Basketball
Swimming
makes Chiarot earns All-Star nod Mac team-wide season long with the Mustangs, who finished with an identical 11-11 record. Notably, Coach Theresa Burns was unable to be on the sidelines for her team’s final game after suffering a concussion while playing pick-up hockey. The Marauder women struggled all season long to capture positive momentum and put any kind of streak together. It was indeed a season characterized by mediocrity, as the squad was never far below .500, but never surged up the standings either. The team suffered numerous injuries, especially in the new year, most notably to rising star Abby Hurd. Coach Burns struggled with putting a consistent starting five on the floor night in and night out. The injuries forced the youth of the team to rise to the occasion, and rise they did. Along with Hurd, a rookie, Liz Burns, Vanessa Bonomo and Hailey Milligan all had strong campaigns in their third season competing for McMaster. The brightest spot of the season came in the form of fifth-year senior and captain, Taylor Chiarot. After a standout season that saw her average 17 points a game and grab 126 defensive rebounds, Chiarot was named an OUA West First-Team All-Star for the first time in her illustrious career at Mac. Her 1,289 career points are good enough for 13th all time in OUA history and make her the all-time leading scorer for the McMaster Marauders women’s program. Jessica Clemençon of Windsor won her second straight Player of the Year award and her coach, Chantal Vallée, took home Coach of the Year honours. The Lancers completed the season with a 20-2 record, the best in the in the province. Not surprisingly, the top four teams from the regular season will compete at the OUA Final Four at the University of Ottawa this weekend. In the semi-finals, the Brock Badgers will take on the hosting Gee-Gees and the Taylor Chiarot was named an OUA West First-Team All-Star on Feb. 28. Carleton Ravens will take on the aforemenBen Orr mosphere surrounding the program heading tioned Lancers, who will look to defend their title. OUA supremacy will be decided Silhouette Staff into the off-season is a positive one. The season began at Burridge Gym in on March 3 at 8 p.m. It is fitting that the Marauders would finish the form of a loss to a strong Carleton Ra- The Marauders may have to watch from the season with an 11-11 record, as the 2011- vens team, which went on to win 17 games home, but the promising young squad will 12 season was an up-and-down one some- and capture second in their division. It end- surely be motivated to add their name to the times defined by a struggle to compete with ed on the same floor with a loss to the rival marquee at next year’s Final Four. the elite in the OUA. Western Mustangs, as the Maroon and Grey And with a solid combination of youth Still, much can be said for a young failed to advance to the conference quarter- and leadership, the Maroon women might just be the surprise of the OUA come next women’s squad winning 11 games and earn- finals. ing a playoff berth, and undoubtedly the at- The Marauders jockeyed for position all season. PHOTO C/O RICHARD ZAZULAK
strides
• CONT’D FROM S2 cess has changed dramatically for him and he’s getting what he deserves.” Bailey’s achievement was the obvious high point of the Marauders’ weekend, but many other McMaster swimmers notched personal bests over the course of the event, and several earned second swims. On the topic of his team’s collective results, Cole was exceptionally upbeat and indicated that the event represented the most impressive performance he had witnessed at the helm. “We had 11 swims in the finals and another eight or nine in the consolation finals,” said Cole. “To have that many athletes make it into the finals was great. We knew that we were going to do well because we’ve consistently improved so much in the last four years. We hadn’t been winning medals but there comes a point when you can’t possibly improve any more without winning. “I’m really pleased with the athletes. They were brilliant and really kept focused on what they needed to do. It didn’t come without its challenges, as you would expect at that high level. But it was an amazing experience and I’m very encouraged by what this means for us in the future.” That future is perhaps best exemplified by Konrad Bald, the sophomore Marauder who narrowly missed the podium in two separate events at the national championship event. The 50m breaststroke provided particular heartbreak for the young Marauder, as he finished only 0.07 seconds behind the third-placed swimmer. Despite losing out on a medal, Cole believes that Bald was satisfied with his weekend performance as he notched two personal bests over the course of the event. “You know, we’re in a weird sport,” said the Marauder coach. “You always want to win a medal, but any time you make a lifetime-best time, you’ve done better than ever before. So he [Bald] came back very happy in knowing that he put together the best race that he could on that day. His angle of improvement – his trajectory – has been unbelievable.” For young Marauders on the ups like Bald, this year’s event is only the beginning.