Courtesy Tennis Canada
The time has come for the best university players in the country to compete for the National University Championship at Rogers Cup presented by National Bank on August 12-13, 2017.
Four women’s teams and four men’s teams from across Canada qualified by winning their regional championships earlier in the 2016-2017 academic year. Coming off these significant wins, all of the teams come into the National Championships with high hopes of being crowned the best Canadian university team in the country.
The two-day event gets underway tomorrow with semifinal matches beginning Saturday at 11 a.m. Teams will square off in three doubles matches and six singles matches to determine a winner.
Teams compete alongside professional events
The championships are hosted during the final weekend of Rogers Cup action with the women’s championships taking place at Toronto’s Aviva Centre and the men’s championships hosted at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal.
The players relish the chance to compete alongside the professional tour events where their tennis idols, including Simona Halep and Roger Federer, are competing for Rogers Cup title. It is a unique opportunity for them to play in a professional sport atmosphere, enjoy large crowds of adoring fans and showcase the best of university tennis.
Atlantic region makes their debut
The Atlantic region will compete in the Championships for the first time marking the first time that there has been cross-country representation, a significant milestone in the tournament’s short history. The Atlantic region will be represented by Dalhousie University who is fielding teams in both the men’s and women’s draw.
Women’s draw to see a new champion
The women’s draw is wide open with defending champions York University absent from the field this year. York failed to qualify after narrowly losing 4-3 to the Western University in the finals of the Ontario Championships. Western has set its sights on a national title but they will have to battle a confident University of Montreal team in the first round. Montreal also qualified for the Championships with a 4-3 win, edging McGill at the Quebec Championships. On the other side of the draw, Dalhousie will make its first National Championships appearance after winning the Atlantic Championships in March. They will face-off against the University of Alberta, who won the championships in 2014.
Alberta looking to repeat in men’s draw
On the men’s side, first round action will kick off with Dalhousie making their National Championship debut against the Western. In the other semifinal match-up, a motivated McGill team will take on the defending Champions, University of Alberta who are keen to add a second consecutive Championship title and third national title in the program’s history.
The teams compete mostly in their regions throughout the year so the national championships are the only time that they face-off in a regulation match. With little competitive history between the teams, there is no clear favourite. The drama and excitement will no doubt intensify as we wait to see which team emerges victorious.
Come out and cheer on your alma mater and cheer on these great athletes. You’ll see some competitive tennis and experience first-hand the unique team atmosphere that makes university tennis so fun and exciting to watch. You can also tune in to RadioTennis.com to listen to live broadcast of the championships. Full tournament schedule is listed below.
2017 Women’s Canadian University Championships
Aviva Centre, Toronto
Saturday August 12, 2017 – Semifinals
11:00 a.m.:
Western University vs. University de Montreal
Dalhousie University vs. University of Alberta
Sunday August 13, 2017 – Championship Match
11:00 a.m.: Teams TBD
2017 Men’s Canadian University Championships
Uniprix Centre, Montreal
Saturday August 12, 2017 – Semifinals
11:00 a.m.:
McGill University vs. University of Alberta
Western University vs. Dalhousie University
Sunday August 13, 2017 – Championship Match
11:00 a.m.: Teams TBD