For the first time in 46 years, the Guelph Gryphons are Ontario champions in women's curling. The University of Guelph women's curling team, comprised of Katrina Frlan (skip), Erika Wainwright (vice), Aila Thompson (second), Kelsea Marcolini (lead) and Liana Flanagan (fifth) defeated the reigning OUA champion, McMaster Marauders, 6-4 in the gold medal draw of the 2026 OUA Curling Championships, hosted at the Welland Curling Club Feb. 6-8. For the Gryphons women's curling program, it marks just the third conference banner in program history, with the previous two coming in 1978 and 1980. The Gryphon women have also punched their ticket to nationals, with the 2026 U SPORTS Curling Championships set to take place in Regina, Saskatchewan, Feb. 17-21.
"It comes down to all the experience that a lot of these players have individually and then just how well they get along and how much they play for each other," said Guelph Gryphons women's head coach Morgan Lavell. "This group is young, they're building and they already have so much experience. It was awesome to see how it turned into this gold medal performance this weekend."
Starting with the hammer, the Gryphons took a 2-0 lead to close out the first end. McMaster battled back, tying the match 2-2 in the third end and taking a 4-2 advantage in the sixth. Guelph did not back down, scoring four in the seventh end to go up 6-4, leading McMaster to concede.
Katrina Frlan, a first-year student-athlete at the University of Guelph majoring in psychology, was named OUA MVP, as well as OUA Rookie of the Year, capping off a sensational freshman season as a Gryphon. U of G teammate, Aila Thompson (Ottawa, ON) was named an OUA First Team All-Star after a memorable weekend for the U of G women's curling team. The Gryphons posted a 3-1 record during pool play, then went out to defeat the TMU Bold in the quarterfinals, the Queen's Gaels in the semifinals, before edging the defending champion Marauders in the gold medal draw.
On the men's side, the Gryphons men's curling team, made up of Evan MacDougall (skip), Dylan Stockton (second), Nathan Jewell (vice) and Colsen Flemington (lead), posted a 3-1 record in pool play, before being eliminated in the OUA quarterfinals by a score of 9-3 to the York Lions. The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks were crowed OUA champs on the men's side. For more information on the 2026 OUA Curling Championships, visit www.oua.ca.
