Durham College student-athlete Kelsey Hare (Whitby, Ont.) has earned top honours from the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) as she has been named the women’s basketball athlete of the week.

Hare’s double-double helped Durham hand Centennial its first loss of the season. Hare scored 16 points while grabbing 11 defensive rebounds in Durham’s 76-51 win. The fifth-year forward also added five assists, three steals and two blocks to her well-rounded effort.

Hare and the Lords (3-2) will host the Fleming Knights (0-5) on Friday night at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.

The OCAA is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 29 members sponsoring 11 sports.

The temperatures may be dropping but the 2013-2014 Durham Lords’ varsity sports season is heating up with action on the indoor courts and the outdoor fields.

The men’s baseball team has qualified for a trip to the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association/Ontario University Athletics (OCAA/OUA) baseball championships with a silver medal at the OCAA finals on October 20. Ryan Norris and Aaron McQuillen were both recognized with all-star honours. The women’s fastball squad faced some tough opponents and ended their season with two losses at the provincial finals. The OCAA/OUA championships will be played in St. Catharines on Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26.

Men’s and women’s soccer officially wrapped up their respective seasons with tough losses in their playoff qualifying games. Both teams finished the season in fourth place in the East division.

The men’s golf season came to an end at the OCAA championships on October 2 with the team finishing eighth overall.

With outdoor sports wrapping up, the indoor competitors prepare to take centre stage with preseason and tournament action beginning in men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball.

The men’s basketball squad kicked off their exhibition schedule by hosting the David Stewart Tip-Off Tournament and won the silver medal losing in the final to Centennial College. Team members Eric Smith and Ajahmo Clarke were named tournament all-stars. The women’s team is currently undefeated in seven preseason games and has picked up a pair of second-place finishes at tournaments, most recently at the Ken Gould Invitational Tournament hosted by St. Thomas University in Fredericton, NB.

On the volleyball courts, the men’s and women’s teams have wrapped up their exhibition schedules and will begin their regular season as they both host Trent University on Thursday, October 24. The women are coming off a 9-7 preseason record and a semifinal appearance in the Fred Wannamaker Sheridan Invitational while the men finished fourth as they hosted the Adidas Cup in October and ended the preseason with a 5-5 record.

For complete team schedules, results and news, please visit www.durhamlords.com. Get out and support your Durham Lords!

It was a milestone night for Durham College women’s fastball head coach Jim Nemish as he earned his 400th career victory in a Lords 5-3 win over Conestoga Thursday night.

In his career which spans 25 years as the Lords head coach, Nemish has compiled an overall record of 400-100-2, the most wins of any coach in OCAA history.

The Lords would rely on solid pitching, good fielding and timely hitting in Thursday’s win, as the teams battled in a close opening night match-up.

Lydia Kalbfleisch had a strong start on the mound for Durham allowing two runs over five innings while striking out four batters and earning the win. Freshman Danielle Crosby earned the two inning save allowing one.

Conestoga showed that they are a team not to be taken lightly in 2013 as they hung with the Lords for the entirety of the game. Starting pitcher Lauren Ruf looked impressive going the distance allowing five runs off of nine hits.

The Lords had the early edge as Brittany Bender had a bases clearing double in the second inning giving Durham a 3-0 lead. Conestoga would manage to cut the lead to just one run in the top of the sixth inning, as they cashed in two runners. However, Durham was able to add one more run in the bottom half of the inning and shut down a Condor rally in the seventh to pick up the win.

Ashley Black had the hot stick for Durham going 2-for-3 at the plate, while six other players had one hit.

Durham’s next action is scheduled for Saturday, September 14 against the St. Clair Saints. First pitch for the doubleheader is at 3 p.m. Saturday’s doubleheader is minor softball day at the diamond.

For the first time in Campus Cup history, a shootout was needed to decide a winner between the UOIT and Durham College men’s soccer teams. In the end, Durham walked away with their fourth title as they won 5-3 in the shootout.

“What a way to end an exciting day,” said Durham College and UOIT athletic director Ken Babcock. “Both teams displayed a lot of passion representing their respective schools starting with pep rally and ending with the shootout. It was great to see all of the school spirit around campus today.”

Leading 4-3 heading into the final round, freshman Kashiff De Jonge buried his shootout attempt as the Durham College bench spilled onto the field in celebration.

Veterans Marco Trotta, Daniel Sokovski, Duncan Mitchell and Adam Farr were the other shootout scorers for Durham.

Durham took a 1-0 lead into halftime as David Gheorghita scored at the 22 minute mark. UOIT would level the score two minutes into the second half with defender John McMichael chipping in on the offensive end of the field.

The Lords have won four of five campus cup matches over the Ridgebacks. UOIT’s lone win came last season when they defeated Durham by a score of 2-0.

The UOIT Ridgebacks women’s soccer team earned a 2-0 shutout victory over the Durham Lords to win the second annual women’s Campus Cup. The win marked UOIT’s first ever Campus Cup title, as Durham College had won the previous year.

Freshman Emily Copeland-Dinan of Ottawa scored the Ridgebacks first goal of the game in injury time of the first half, which eventually turned out to be the game winner.

Another Ridgeback freshman Cassandra Sribny of Pickering added an insurance marker for UOIT with five minutes left in the game, giving her team the 2-0 victory.

Laura Whelan (St. John’s, N.L.) earned the shutout for UOIT, stopping every Durham shot she faced.

For more information on the Durham College varsity athletic teams please visit the Durham Lords website.

The FLEX Centre is one of the most popular places for students and staff to visit on campus, accommodating about 1,000 users every day.

Naturally over time, equipment in any facility begins to experience wear and tear.

That is why the FLEX Centre cardio equipment is being replaced just in time for the start of the school year.

The equipment in the FLEX gets replaced regularly to make sure that all of its users are using only the best equipment during their workouts. The cardio equipment gets replaced every three years and the strength equipment gets replaced every five years.

Last year (summer of 2012) the FLEX saw the strength equipment exchanged and this year is the cardio equipment’s turn.

Between August 6 and 13, the FLEX Centre was closed to make way for the installation. The equipment involved in the move included the treadmills, cross trainers, up-right bikes, recumbent bikes, spin bikes, rowing machines and step mills.

Most of the equipment is being replaced with newer versions of the same equipment; however some noticeable changes include improved cross trainers and a change in the equipment layout.

The cross trainers are now more dynamic in allowing the user to exercise moving laterally instead of just linearly. They also automatically adjust the stride length of an individual based on the speed of their workout. The changeover also saw a switch of less used equipment to more popular equipment to maximize the usage of all pieces.

One of the main reasons the athletic centre frequently upgrades its equipment is to keep up with what is available on the market. Fitness equipment is constantly being tweaked and improved to give a better workout and experience to the people that use it. The athletic centre wants to provide the best equipment for all users of the FLEX.

FLEX fitness coordinator Angela Wood, commented on the equipment upgrade and how it will benefit the users of the FLEX.

“After visiting and experiencing many fitness facilities over time, all users of the FLEX are very fortunate to have an opportunity to work out in a facility where equipment replacement is as highly regarded as it is on our campus,” she said. “I hope people continue to use the FLEX in record numbers this year like they did last year.”

The FLEX Centre also offers a number of fitness classes to improve cardio and/or strength & flexibility. New classes introduced this year include cardio core, ginga, yoga for the chakras, zumba & muscle conditioning, yoga 101, beginner fitness boxing and warrior workout.

Returning fitness classes include movestrong, spin, muscle conditioning, belly dance, zumba, HIIT, power yoga and yoga for relaxation.

For more information on the FLEX Centre and its fitness classes, visit www.campusrecreationcentre.com.

The Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) announced the 2012-13 SIRC-CCAA Academic All-Canadian Award recipients and five Durham College student-athletes were honoured with the prestigious award.

Kelsey Hare (Whitby, Ont.) of the women’s basketball team, Chelsey Rogatinsky (Pickering, Ont.) of the women’s soccer team, Marco Trotta (Oshawa, Ont.) of the men’s soccer team, Bradley Van Hartingsveldt (Newcastle, Ont.) and Riley McAllister (Oshawa, Ont.) of the men’s volleyball team all took home the top honour.

“We are extremely proud of the student-athletes receiving this prestigious award,” said Ken Babcock, Director of Athletics. “The Academic All-Canadian award is one of the toughest awards to obtain based on the criteria. This national recognition reflects how our student-athletes at Durham College strive for success in the classroom and their respective sports.”

With an incredible five recipients receiving the honour this year, Durham College topped last year’s total of one, when Erin Emery (women’s basketball) was the lone Lord to receive the recognition. Durham had the most recipients in the country with eight during the 2008-09 varsity season.

The SIRC-CCAA Academic All-Canadian award is the CCAA’s most prestigious student-athlete honour, epitomizing both organizations’ commitment to academic success and athletic achievement. Honourees must attain academic honours at their institution in addition to obtaining one of the following athletic achievements: named to their member conference All-Star Team (first or second) in soccer, volleyball, basketball or curling; earn a gold or silver medal at their member conference badminton championship; finish among the top seven men or women as well as finishing in the top third at their member conference cross-country running championship; or finish among the top three women or top five men as well as finishing in the top third at their member conference golf championship.

The athlete’s achievements were recognized at the fourth annual Durham College Athletic/Academic Luncheon on April 9 at the Student Centre at Durham College.

“The student-athletes who have achieved excellence in both athletics and academics are role models for the youth of today and destined to excel in their future careers,” said Debra Gassewitz, SIRC president and CEO. “SIRC is honoured to recognize these outstanding individuals as recipients of the SIRC-CCAA Academic All Canadian award.”

“The CCAA is proud to recognize and celebrate those student-athletes who’ve attained the highest possible CCAA honour in their pursuit of academic and athletic excellence,” said Sandra Murray-MacDonell, CCAA Executive Director.

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