BURLINGTON, Ont. - For the first time in program history the Women's team went undefeated at the Steeltown Classic and came home with a bid secured to Division 1 Nationals in October. The Mustangs started off the first day with strong and confident wins over Guelph, Brock, York, and Toronto, to win their pool 4-0.

Guelph proved to be a gritty first game, with the Mustangs just coming out on top 7-5. Many of the first-year Mustangs made their mark in their university debut, like Michelle Ng and Jocelyn Li who both showed incredible athleticism on offense and defense.

The Mustangs continued push the pace of their games as they took Brock 8-3. The Badgers struggled to contain the handler set of captain Julia Peden, Izabella Batko, and first year Sara Salem, whose patience helped make big plays behind the disc.

In the games against York cutters Carolyn Hughes and Dorothy Krolak both showed smart cutting and impressive grabs, which helped the Mustangs push past the Lions 10-0.
The Mustangs faced off against rival Toronto for the last game of the day. The Mustangs took control of the game early on, as their gritty zone defense proved to be a challenge for Toronto. The duo of Lucy Chu and Sabrina Trung consistently stood out on the offensive side for the Mustangs. Chu was a force downfield and behind the disc throughout the tournament, sending out huge hucks and making smart cuts.

After a slow start to their semifinal against Queen's, the Mustangs were able to pick up the pace and matched the Gaels point for point going forward. Handler Sherry Liu showed incredible patience behind the disc, faking and helping move the disc past Queen's steady defence. The game ended with a thrilling universe point finish, with captain Carla Rawson hitting Kat Fraser in the endzone with a quick break throw to secure their spot to the final.

In the final game Toronto started off strong, at one point leading the Mustangs by four points. The Mustangs were able to collect themselves and started to edge back into the game, cutting into the Toronto lead to trail 8-6 at halftime. The Mustangs were able to bring Toronto to universe point, as they quickly and confidently moved the disc up the field to finish the game with Liu hitting Rawson on an easy upline cut to secure their bid to Nationals.

The Open team started off strong on the first day of the tournament – coasting their way to a quarterfinal spot in the Steeltown Classic after finishing the Saturday with a solid 3-0 record.

In the first game of the day against Laurier, the Mustangs moved the disc up the field patiently with solid handler flow from captain Keith Chow, Owen Robinson, and Lucas Van Natter. Early in the game, Geoff Seeman set the tone with the first Callahan of the day – from that point, Laurier could not keep up with the Mustangs athleticism and skill, taking the game 12-6.

Carleton B and McMaster suffered similar fates against a strong and determined Western team, falling to the Mustangs 13-2 and 9-3, respectively. Outstanding efforts by Davis Poon, and Luka Kremic led to each of them getting a Callahan against Carleton. Derek Safnuk came up with a massive layout block just outside McMaster's end zone which allowed Kremic to dish the easy assist for a point. Captain Teagan Boyle made notably strong cuts and big deep strikes, which contributed to the Mustangs point count. The day capped off with Seeman skying a McMaster player for the block, putting an exclamation point on the victory.

Sunday started off with a tough quarterfinal game against a strong Carleton A team. Impressive defensive efforts by Neal McKinnon and captain Griffin Hale led to constant pressure on Carleton's offensive line. Despite being able to rally from being down 8-5 at halftime, the Mustangs fell just short of advancing to the semifinals, losing 10-9 in overtime. Western went on to play one last game against Brock before concluding the weekend to rest up for this week's tournament in Belleville.

This week both teams will head to Belleville for the Canadian Eastern University Ultimate Championships, where the Open team will continue to fight for a bid, and the Women's team continues to prepare for Nationals.