Martlets Field Hockey (0–10): C-
The 2024-25 season concluded with the Martlets Field Hockey team once again finishing at the bottom of the Ontario University Association (OUA) standings. However, this year marked an important shift for the team as they hosted their first home game in over five years. The matches, played in front of an energetic and excited crowd, saw the Martlets face off against the Queen’s Gaels in two close games (0-2 and 2-3). While the results did not go in their favour, their spirited performance highlighted the team’s growth and resilience. With a significant number of talented first-year players on the roster, the Martlets are showing promising signs of improvement, and are looking stronger than they have in recent seasons.
Martlets Rugby (0–6): D
With another winless season, the Martlets Rugby marked one of their toughest seasons to date. The past seasons—2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24—had seemed to provide some hope for the team, with the Martlets taking at least one win each year. Nonetheless, this year has led to a quite disappointing trend, with the team losing their last match 0-115 to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. Despite the victory-less season, Martlets Rugby did have some success off the pitch, with 16 of the team’s roster making the 2023-24 President’s Student Honour Roll. With the Martlets having over ten first-year players on the team, The Tribune is hopeful that the team’s outlook will improve in the upcoming seasons.
Cross Country: Martlets B-/Redbirds B+
The Martlets placed first in two out of four regular-season meets, and third at Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Championships. When they travelled to Kelowna for the U SPORTS National Championships, they ended up placing 15th of 22 teams from universities across Canada. They walked away without medals but with two RSEQ All-Stars: Sophie Courville and Abene Glasgow. The Redbirds came second in three out of four regular-season meets, securing third at the RSEQ Championships and placing 10th at the U SPORTS National Championship, this time with three RSEQ All-Stars: Luca Messenger-Jones, Devin Chapple and Samuel Hepworth. The Tribune looks forward to watching the Martlets and Redbirds take on the track and field indoor season.
Redbirds Football (3–6): C+
Redbirds Football brought home three wins in nine games this season, falling to the Université de Montreal Carabins in the semi-final of the RSEQ. Despite not making their mark when they travelled to nationals, they put on a masterclass at the Shaughnessy Cup game for a huge homecoming occasion, driving the Concordia Stingers into the turf and running rampant in front of a packed Percival Molson Stadium. In addition, the Redbirds sent three top-tier players to the East-West Bowl: Zachary Aboud, Domenico Piazza, and Ryan McNally were selected to attend the Canadian Football League Prospects game in Waterloo. Quarterback Dimitrios Sinodinos ends the season with packed suitcases ready to embark on his journey to be the first Canadian football player in Japan. The Redbirds showed an improvement to last season, ending the year on a higher note.
Redbirds Soccer (10–7–4): A
Redbirds Soccer had a season to remember. Securing second in the RSEQ, McGill earned a spot at the U SPORTS National Championships. Arriving at nationals champing at the bit, they stormed past tournament hosts, the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, before unfortunately being outclassed by the eventual winners of the tournament, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, in a painful 3-0 loss. Following this, they lost to the York University Lions in their bronze medal game; however, they still received a high grade for such a successful season and strong effort to their fourth place at nationals. The Redbirds produced two players, Yannick Laurent and Ibrahim Chami, who made it into the U SPORTS Tournament All-Star Team.
Martlets Soccer (9–6–2): B+
With nine wins, six losses, and two ties, Martlets Soccer had a fairly successful season. Midfielder Chloe Renaud was named RSEQ player of the year for her staggering 12 goals and four assists throughout the season. The Martlets began the regular season with four wins in a row until breaking their winning streak to the Laval Victors. From there they broke even, beating a few teams and ultimately held their own, losing games by only one or two points. With three more wins than last season, the Martlets have made a drastic improvement in their quality of play. Unfortunately, getting knocked out of the playoffs due to an own goal in the semifinal match against Laval caused the Martlets to lose a few marks in the grade book.
Redbirds Lacrosse (11–2): A+
Redbirds Lacrosse had an incredibly successful season this year, with 11 wins and only two losses. Once again making it to the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association Baggataway Cup semifinals, the Redbirds lost by one point in a devastating quadruple overtime, even after attackman Zach Bye tallied five goals. The only other loss of the season was a brutal 16-5 against their American neighbours, the University of Vermont Catamounts. Seven players were named All-Rookie honours and were each a driving force in the team’s massive success. With one more win than the 2023 season, they have upheld and uplifted the Redbird name and will hopefully continue to flourish in the seasons to come.
Redbirds Baseball (8–4): A-
McGill Baseball’s season seemed to mirror last year’s. They once again went second in the league, with an 8–4 regular season record that included two wins against Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)—who they had been unable to beat the previous season. After consecutive wins over the Concordia Stingers in the semifinals, their strong showing in the playoffs ended in unfortunate back-to-back losses in the best-of-three final against UQTR.
Shortstop Brad Marelich was a consistent force throughout the season, with several hits in key games. Outfielder Jonas Press was also a standout player on offense for the Redbirds. Centerfield Jett Jarvis was named one of the athletes of the week on Oct. 7, with strong performances in the Oct. 5 playoff games against the Stingers.
Redbirds Rugby (5–1): B+
Redbirds Rugby had an impressive season with a record of 5–1. They won every regular-season game except their last, including a victory over the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, who they failed to beat last season. They also had a decisive victory against Harvard in the Covo Cup. However, during playoffs, they fell to the Gee-Gees in the semifinals, getting knocked out by the same opponent as last season and failing to see any playoff improvement. Ottawa was ultimately defeated in the finals by École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS).
Several Redbirds stood out on an individual level. At the end of the season, Head Coach Ian Baillie was named RSEQ men’s rugby coach of the year, his third time winning that award. Fullback Martin Laval was a consistent scorer, leading the Redbirds to several of their victories; he was named a first-team all-star alongside his teammates Anderson Recker, Brad Hunger, Ian McDowell, and Harry Corkum.
Rowing: Martlets B/Redbirds B+
2024 marked the second year that the McGill rowing team made the podium at the Canadian University Rowing Association (CURA) championships. Prior to 2023, the last time the team had gotten a CURA medal was in 2014. This year, the Redbirds won bronze in the men’s heavyweight double sculls with Ayoub Sabri in the stroke seat and Patrice Légaré at the bow. Overall, the Redbirds placed seventh in the men’s division with the Martlets placing 10th in the women’s division. While the Martlets didn’t make the podium, three boats qualified for the B finals. Overall, the rowing team is on the up and up from years prior.
Golf: Martlets B-/Redbirds B+
McGill golf saw some great individual successes this season with Simon Savaria and Amy Wang both earning RSEQ all-star status. Adley Abols made history by becoming the first man golfer at McGill to hit a hole-in-one, when he did so at the RSEQ Omnium 1 Tournament. Previously, only two athletes, both women, had registered hole-in-ones. Despite the accomplishment, Abols was only the fourth top-scoring McGill golfer at the competition, beat out by Savaria, Gregor Lawson, and Camden Purboo, exemplifying the team’s skill this season. The Redbirds also qualified for nationals which will be held in the spring of 2025. On the Martlets side, apart from Wang’s recognition, the team did not make a big splash this season. With young teams for both the Martlets and Redbirds—with over half of the Redbirds team being first-year students—McGill golf is looking toward improvement for the years to come.
