Sports
Monday Digest
From a Canadian perspective, the US Open is giving off some 2021 vibes with Leylah Annie Fernandez and Félix Auger-Aliassime shining under the lights.
The two Canadians are playing some of their best tennis at the final major of the year, with Fernandez doing so alongside one of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
Here’s what you need to know.
In Case You Missed It: Fernandez-Williams Duo Steals the Show
It is hard to imagine that a team with two big-name players like Fernandez and Venus Williams could “come from nowhere” but that is essentially what happened in week one of the US Open. A last-minute phone call from the 23-time (singles and doubles) Grand Slam champion to the young Canadian created a team that is now into the quarter-finals of the US Open.
Fernandez and Williams, who quite literally entered the event the night before the draw, reached the last eight in New York without dropping a set. That included two wins over seeded teams: No. 6 Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez in round one and Ekaterina Alexandrova and Shuai Zhang in the third round.
For the 45-year-old Williams, it is her deepest run at a major in any field since 2017. For the 22-year-old Fernandez, she last reached the quarter-finals of a major at this same venue in the same draw back in 2023 alongside Taylor Townsend.
It is not just Williams turning back the clock. Albeit in a much less dramatic fashion, Félix Auger-Aliassime is in the midst of his best run at a Grand Slam in years. The Montrealer is through to the quarter-finals of the US Open, his first time in the last eight of a major since the 2022 Australian Open.
He has done it in style too. The Canadian has dropped just one set in four matches. In round three, he scored his biggest win at a Grand Slam event, defeating world No. 3 Alexander Zverev for his first Top 5 win at a major.
That win came after straight-set victories over Billy Harris and Roman Safiullin, the first time since the 2024 French Open that the Montrealer got past the second round of a slam. He followed up the upset of Zverev with a dominant straight-set win over Andrey Rublev, whom he had only beaten once before in eight meetings.
Gabriela Dabrowski’s strong run of form in the summer has carried over to New York as well. She and Erin Routliffe are also into the women’s doubles quarter-finals. Their road was a little rockier than Fernandez and Williams, needing three sets in their second-round win. But they backed it up with a straight-set victory over their first seeded opponents, No. 13 Cristina Busca and Nicole Melichar-Martinez, in the third round.
Fernandez and Denis Shapovalov suffered similar fates in singles, both putting up respectable fights but ultimately falling to the world No. 1 in the third round.
Like Auger-Aliassime, Fernandez had her best showing at the US Open since 2021, her miraculous finals run, beating countrywoman Rebecca Marino on her way to round three, where she went down in two tough sets against Aryna Sabalenka. Shapovalov managed to take the first set against Jannik Sinner before ultimately falling in four sets.
Montreal champion Victoria Mboko’s US Open debut did not go the way anyone hoped. Up against a brutal first-round draw in the form of two-time Grand Slam singles champion Barbora Krejcikova and dealing with a nagging wrist injury, the 18-year-old bowed out in her opening match.
Gabriel Diallo was unable to back up his third-round appearance in New York from 2024, stumbling in round two against Jaume Munar.
Cleeve Harper made his Grand Slam debut last week at the US Open, partnering Jean-Julien Rojer in the men’s doubles and picking up his first major win in a thriller against Theo Arribage and Benjamin Bonzi. The Canadian-Dutch duo lost in round two to 10th seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.
In the juniors draw, Nadia Lagaev got to the second round of the girls singles where she lost to top seed Julieta Pareja. Nicolas Arseneault lost in round one on the boys side. Both Canadian juniors are still in their respective doubles draws.
Click here for more news from the ATP and WTA Tours.
What to Watch: Opportunity for Auger-Aliassime
Coming into the 2025 US Open, the bar for Félix Auger-Aliassime to improve on his recent performances in New York was pretty low. Now in week two, the Canadian No. 1 has a very real chance to match his best-ever performance at a major.
On Wednesday, the Montrealer will take on world No. 8 Alex de Minaur for a spot in the semifinals, which would tie Auger-Aliassime’s deepest run at a slam. That also happened at the US Open back in 2021.
Auger-Aliassime leads their head-to-head 2-1, having won both of their previous hard-court meetings in straight sets. De Minaur did win the most recent meeting, but it was by the skin of his teeth last year in Rome on clay.
The winner will face an Italian in the semis, either world No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner or world No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti.
Read also: ATP Power Rankings – Sinner, Alcaraz Looking for History in New York
While Auger-Aliassime is the lone Canadian left in singles, Canada is well represented in women’s doubles. At time of publication, both Gabriela Dabrowski and Leylah Annie Fernandez are still alive in that draw and both play their quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Fernandez faces a big challenge as she and Venus Williams look to keep their Cinderella story going. They are taking on top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in the quarters.
Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, the third seeds, are facing off with the 11th-seeded team of Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani and could play second seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the semis.
Read also: WTA Power Rankings – Can the Stars Bounce Back at the US Open?
Rob Shaw joins the fray in New York this week as the wheelchair events get underway. Shaw and Aussie partner Heath Davidson play their opening match of the quad doubles on Tuesday against Gregory Slade and Jin Woodman. The Canadian will play his first singles match on Wednesday against Andrew Bogdanov.
Nadia Lagaev plays her opening match in the girls doubles draw on Tuesday alongside American Maya Iyengar. On the boys side, Nicolas Arseneault is already through to round two of the boys doubles with Aussie Cruz Hewitt, son of former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt.
Under the Radar
The largest ITF junior event in Canada, the J300 Internationaux Junior Banque Nationale de Repentigny in Repentigny, QC, took place last week, with Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil and Ksenia Efremova of France claiming the singles titles.
Canada had at least one quarter-finalist in all four draws but that was the best the host nation managed.
The largest of Canada’s national championships, the Steve Stevens Masters Tennis Championships, took place last week in Vancouver, BC, with over 570 competitors vying for national titles. The event wrapped up on Saturday.
Feature Photo : Gerry Krips
Come back to tenniscanada.com on Wednesday for the full recap of the Steve Stevens Masters Tennis Championships.
On the professional circuit last week, the best Canadian result came in Telavi, Georgia, where Alexandra Vagramov was narrowly edged out in the final of the ITF W15 event in a thrilling three-set final.
This week, there is heavy Canadian presence at the WTA 125 events on the calendar with Carson Branstine competing in Montreux, Switzerland, Carol Zhao in Changsha China, and Rebecca Marino and Marina Stakusic in Guadalajara, Mexico.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
Feature Photo : Martin Sidorjak
LEXINGTON, KY. – The Wofford volleyball team was defeated by the No. 1 seeded Kentucky Wildcats 3-0 on Thursday night inside of Historic Memorial Coliseum in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Terriers close the season 17-14 with a 10-6 record in conference action. Kentucky will take on UCLA tomorrow night.
“Our mindset was to come out and leave it out there,” said head coach Lynze Roos. “I feel like we competed in some really good points. They got some separation and that was tough, but I’m really proud of the way that these women competed in the season that we had.”
Wofford totaled 27 kills on 26 assists throughout the match. On defense, the team posted 54 digs and four blocks. The Wildcats finished the match with 45 kills on 44 assists. Kentucky also posted 56 digs and four blocks.
Leading Wofford was Bradley Brown who had 10 kills on a .259 hitting percentage. Brown also led the team with three blocks. Following behind was Chloe Smith with six kills. Maddy Frazier dished out a team-high 13 assists, while Taylor Pecht had 10. Laney Klika recorded a team-high 13 digs, along with 10 from Caroline Przystup. Annemarie Rakoski and Natalie Arnold tallied one block apiece.
“We talk a lot about playing relentless defense and going for every single ball. We knew that tonight was going to be a tough task, but you never really know unless you go for it,” said Laney Klika.
“We talked a lot before the game about playing how we play and not letting their offense or defense change the way that we like to play,” added Annemarie Rakoski.
“It was amazing just to be able to have some family and friends that I don’t get to see very much anymore come watch me play. It was super cool to just have that support,” said Chloe Smith.
Kentucky grabbed the first two points of set one, but Wofford responded with a solo block by Annemarie Rakoski. Another solo block from Bradley Brown kept the Kentucky lead within one point. With the Wildcats leading 13-8, Kentucky would add four unanswered points to bring the Wofford deficit to nine points. The Terriers could not overcome the Kentucky lead, losing set one 25-11.
The teams were back-and-forth to start set two, as the Terriers would take an early 5-4 lead. Wofford took its biggest advantage – a 15-13 lead – after a pair of Kentucky attacking errors. The Wildcats fought back to take a 20-19 lead, and the team scored the final five points of the stanza to take set two 25-19. Bradley Brown totaled eight kills and one block in the second set alone.
Wofford jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the third set of the match by way of a Bradley Brown kill. Kentucky responded with a 7-1 run, however, to regain the lead. The Wildcats would eventually take a 13-4 advantage. Wofford cut the deficit to six points a few rallies later, but the team would lose set three and ultimately the match.
Wofford concludes the season 17-14 with a 10-6 mark in Southern Conference play. The team entered the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated both No. 6 Samford and No. 2 Furman to reach the championship match. The Terriers took down No. 1 ETSU to win their third-straight conference championship and earn another bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Junior Seren Rodgers secured a third place finish in the pentathlon, totaling 3,771 points. With the result, the Taunton, England, native now sits sixth all-time in program history in the women’s indoor pentathlon.
Overall, Rodgers recorded three podium finishes during the competition, including a pair of runner up results in the long jump, where she recorded a jump of 10.32 meters, and the 800m, crossing the line in 2:19.62. Rodgers also claimed third place in the 60m hurdles after clocking a time of 8.86 seconds.
Meanwhile, freshman Julia Aere also competed in the pentathlon, securing eighth place with 3,462 points in her collegiate debut. The Delray Beach, Fla., native placed inside the top-10 in all five events, highlighted by a third place finish in the shot put after recording a distance of 11.13 meters, as well as a fifth place result in the 800m after recording a time of 2:27.34.
Notable Finishes
Pentathlon
2025-26 Indoor Track and Field Top-10 Marks in School History
From the Staff
“I’m really pleased with how the competition progressed today. Julia and Seren competed well and this meet was a great measure of how hard we have worked throughout the fall semester. It gave us a chance to get out, perform at a high level and still recognize that we left some points on the table, which is exciting. We are in a great place heading into the holiday break and this will keep us motivated and hungry. These two ladies set the tone early for the team and we are eager for the rest of the team to compete this weekend.” – Assistant Coach Ryan Grinnell
Up Next
The Demon Deacons return to action on Saturday with a pair of meets. One group of Wake Forest athletes will travel to Boston to compete in the 5K race at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. Meanwhile, several Deacs will compete at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-off at the JDL Fast Track.
After the Lopes dominant WAC indoor run of 14 conference titles between the men’s and women’s teams, GCU will compete in its first season as a Mountain West member.
“This schedule and competition should prepare both our men’s and women’s teams to make a lot of noise at our inaugural Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships, as well as send a lot of our athletes to the NCAA Indoor Championships,” GCU head coach Tom Flood said.Grand Canyon’s indoor schedule will feature meets in trips to Flagstaff, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Reno, Nevada.
“Again, we are really excited about our indoor schedule,” Flood said. “We will again be competing at some of the finest indoor facilities in the country and against some of the best track and field programs in the country.”
The 2025-26 season begins Thursday as the Lopes travel to Reno, Nevada, before taking a break until the new year. From there, they will travel to Flagstaff and Albuquerque before heading back to Reno for the Mountain West Indoor Championships.
GCU aims to represent at the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
For the full indoor schedule, click here.
A new era in Hope College track and field begins today with the first indoor meet of the 2026 season.
Beginning at noon, the Flying Dutch and Flying Dutchmen are competing at the Grand Valley State University Holiday Open under the leadership of first-year head coach Jordan Bartolazzi, the 11th women’s head coach in program history and the 13th men’s coach.
Bartolazzi, who built his alma mater, Elmhurst University (Illinois), into a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin power before coming to Hope, is thrilled with the progress both teams made during preseason workouts.
“There was a lot of good stuff going on here to build on,” Bartolazzi said. “Our focus, with every practice, has been preparing to compete, whether we’re an All-American or trying to crack the conference lineup. We have a lot of student-athletes working really hard. We’ve been having a ball. There has been really good energy. I think it’s been a good start for us.”
The Flying Dutch, who finished third in the MIAA Women’s Indoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches Poll, feature a roster of 73, with 17 seniors, 17 juniors, 14 sophomores and 25 freshmen.
The Flying Dutchmen, who also tookl thjird in the MIAA Men’s Indoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches Poll, have a roster of 64, with 18 seniors, nine juniors, 17 sophomores and 20 freshmen.
Coaching Staff
Head coach: Jordan Bartolazzi, first season
Distance coach: Mark Northuis
Distance assistant coaches: Dan Campbell, Mike Northuis
Throws coach: Paul Markel
Jumps coach: Addy Gerig
Pole vault coaches: Jon Lunderberg, Ben Turner
Women’s Roster
Senior Sara Schermerhorn (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West) is Hope’s top returner after claiming All-America honors in four events for the second consecutive season in 2025: indoor and outdoor 200 meters and indoor and outdoor 400 meters.
The exercise science major swept MIAA Most Valuable Indoor and Outdoor Track Athlete honors as a junior and earned MIAA Most Valuable Indoor Track Athlete accolades in back-to-back seasons. She became the first sprinter in league history to win titles in the 60, 200 and 400 at the same meet.
Schermerhorn set MIAA records in the indoor 200 and 400 meters last season. She also ran on the MIAA champion 4×400 relay, which returns two other sprinters: senior Frances Cozzens (Lyman, New Hampshire / Saint Johnsbury Academy) and sophomore Sofia Fisher (Lombard, Illinois / Montini Catholic).
Hope returns three runners from the MIAA champion distance medley relay: senior Molly Durow (Glenview, Illinois / Glenbrook South), junior Amanda Markham (Hoffman Estates, Illinois / William Fremd) and sophomore Lily Sackrider (St. Johns, Michigan / St. Johns).
Durow is coming off an All-America cross country campaign this fall. The special education major finished 32nd at the Division III national championships and was runner-up at the Great Lakes Regional and MIAA Championships.
“We have great leadership,” Bartolazzi said. “Not only do we have some great upperclassmen, but we have some really wonderful seniors who have made an effort to welcome our freshmen and newcomers to the program. It’s a gift to have great senior leadership in year one.”
Men’s Roster
Hope returns senior sprinter Liam Danitz, the 2025 First Team All-MIAA honoree and MIAA Most Valuable Men’s Indoor Track Athlete.
Danitz (West Branch, Michigan / Ogemaw Heights) set an MIAA record in the 200-meter dash (21.59), earned First Team All-America honors with a fifth-place national finish in the 200 (21.93), and took second in the 60-meter dash (6.83) for All-MIAA Second Team honors.
The exercise science major also contributed to an All-MIAA Second Team 4×400 relay alongside returning junior Dylan Terpstra (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville).
Senior Erickson Kunzler (Marne, Michigan / Grand Rapids Catholic Central) returns as the MIAA 800-meter champion after posting a winning time of 1:56.09.
Senior Carston Cole (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) and junior Carter Dean (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West) also return from last year’s All-MIAA First Team distance medley relay.
Cole recorded Hope’s top cross country finish at nationals this fall. The Flying Dutchmen placed 23rd in the nation as a team and made history with their first Great Lakes Regional title since 1980 and first MIAA crown since 1986.
Sophomore Logan Begeman (Portage, Michigan / Portage Central) ran away with the Great Lakes Regional and MIAA individual championships.
“They’re hungry,” Bartolazzi said of the Flying Dutchmen. “Having that breakthrough season in cross country is such a gift. They felt like they were close and believed they could compete at the conference and national levels. They showed they could. That carries over to the track season.”
Schedule
The Flying Dutch and Flying Dutchmen are scheduled to compete in 10 indoor meets and eight outdoor meets.
The MIAA Indoor Championships are Saturday, Feb. 28, at Trine University.
The NCAA Indoor Championships are Friday-Saturday, March 13-14, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Hope will host the MIAA Outdoor Championships on Friday-Saturday, April 30-May 1, at Brewer Track.
The NCAA Outdoor Championships are Thursday-Saturday, May 21-23, in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
“One thing I wanted to do this year was get our student-athletes on banked tracks a little more,” Bartolazzi said. “Nationals will be on a banked track, so I want them to know what that feels like. It’s a great thing in West Michigan — you don’t have to go far to race against really good people.”
Blue-Gold Invite
Loftus Sports Center – South Bend, Indiana
Friday, December 5, 2025
Live Results
McFerrin-12 Degree Invite
Fasken Indoor Track – College Station, Texas
Saturday, December 6, 2025
Live Results | Watch
Sharon Colyear Danville Season Opener
BU Track & Tennis Center – Boston, Massachusetts
Saturday, December 6, 2025
Live Results | Watch
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DALLAS, Texas (SMU) — The Mustangs will open up their 2025-2026 track and field season across three different meets this weekend. The distance ponies will split between Notre Dame’s Blue-Gold Invite and Boston University’s Sharon Colyear Danville Season Opener. The rest of the team will travel to Texas A&M’s McFerrin-12 Degree Invite.
This meet will serve as a soft opener for the Mustangs with the remainder of the season beginning in mid-January. The distance athletes are coming off a successful cross country season, which concluded with an appearance at the national championship for Rose Mburu, but this will be the first competition for the sprints, jumps, and multis after fall training.
The action will begin on Friday at Notre Dame and continue at the other two meets on Saturday.
The meet is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. and will include a combination of field and sprint events.
Admission is free to fans. Live results from the OU Winter Field Fest can be found via TimingInc.
The Sooners are coming off their first season in the SEC, where they claimed seven individual conference titles.
OU Winter Field Fest Schedule of Events
Triple Jump (M) – 1:30 p.m.
Weight Throw (M) – 1:30 p.m.
High Jump (W) – 2:30 p.m.
Triple Jump (W) – 3 p.m.
Pole Vault (W) – 3 p.m.
Weight Throw (W) – 3 p.m.
60M Hurdles Prelims (W) – 3 p.m.
60M Hurdles Prelims (M) – 3:15 p.m.
60M Dash Prelims (W) – 3:30 p.m.
60M Dash Prelims (M) – 3:45 p.m.
Long Jump (M) – 4:30 p.m.
Shot Put (M) – 4:30 p.m.
60M Hurdles Finals (W) – 4:30 p.m.
60M Hurdles Finals (M) – 4:40 p.m.
60M Dash Finals (W) – 4:50 p.m.
60M Dash Finals (M) – 5 p.m.
Pole Vault (M) – 5:30 p.m.
Long Jump (W) – 6 p.m.
High Jump (M) – 6 p.m.
Shot Put (W) – 6 p.m.
For more information on Oklahoma Track & Field, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Track) and like Oklahoma Sooners Track & Field and Cross Country on Facebook.
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