By Owen Kitzan – Sports Editor

The 2024-25 school year brought forth one of the best years the Gaiter athletics has seen in a long time. From conference champs to nationals champs, this sports season had it all at Bishops and made the school proud.

Starting off hot, the Gaiters football team went 8-0 in conference play securing an undefeated regular season. In the semifinals, they blew out Acadia with a resounding 59-0 victory to head to the AUS Loney Bowl. In that game against St-Marys, BU would find themselves down by three points with five seconds left before Xavier Gervais hit a field goal to send the game to overtime. In the third overtime, the Gaiters would pull off a huge last-second come from behind to send themselves to the UTeck Bowl against Laurier. In this game, the Golden Hawks would prove to be too much for Bishops as they lost 48-24. Overall, the season was a huge success and really put BU football on the map. Justin Quirrion would end up winning co-male athlete of the year for his role in the team over the course of the year and his standout play.

Women’s soccer had a development year for the program as they look towards the year ahead of them. They ended the season 0-12-7, coming close but not quite securing a win other than a mid-august bout against Western that saw them come away with a 1-0 victory. The team had many exciting games this season that came down to the wire and they should be an exciting watch in the 2025-26 campaign.

Men’s basketball had a very exciting season that saw them reach the national tournament in Vancouver. The team would finish 16-4 on the season with an impressive record heading into the playoffs. In the semi-finals, they dismantled ULaval easily by a score of 92-70. In the finals, they took on Concordia in front of a packed Mitchell gymnasium in Lennoxville. They took down the Stingers by a score of 75-61 to secure the RSEQ championship. At nationals, they didn’t quite get the result they may have wanted, as they lost in back-to-back games to Victoria and Concordia to be knocked out of the tournament. The team’s season was still a success by any measure and brought hours of entertainment and excitement to the Bishops community. The main standout from the roster is the other co-male athlete of the year and male student-athlete of the year, Charles Robert, who has been a dominant force in RSEQ basketball for a few years now, as well as male freshman of the year Yanis Malanda.

Women’s basketball wanted to make sure the men weren’t the only ones heading down to Vancouver as they also punched a bid to nationals this year. They finished the season with a record of 13-7, securing them a semi-final matchup against McGill. The team would come through and win a nail-biter at home by a score of 63-59 to head to the RSEQ finals. In the final, ULaval would stand in their path in another game inside of an electric Mitchell gym. The women would once again win a tightly knit contest with the scoreboard reading 56-50 at the final buzzer as the Gaiters hoisted the RSEQ banner. At nationals, they also may not have found the results they wanted, as they dropped back-to-back against Carleton and a nail biter that saw them lose by 2 against ULaval. The Gaiters had a fantastic season led in large part by co-female athlete of the year Victoria Guana, as well as female leadership award winner Jasmine Martel, who won the award for her involvement in this sport and the next one.

Men and Women’s Rugby both took strides towards the future this year with the men finishing 2-4, while the women went 1-4-1. Women’s rugby saw award winners in the aforementioned Jasmine Martel, as well as female student-athlete of the year Mégane Beaudoin. With both teams having hit the gym all winter, it will be exciting to see what the future holds for them. 

The golf team had a fantastic RSEQ campaign, securing a national bid for the first time ever on the women’s side, as well as a second trip for the men. Avery Mack and Shawn Robillard led the way this year for the Gaiters as they were both named the team MVPs, while Max Hay took home rookie of the year for the team. As the warm weather draws closer, make sure to stay tuned and cheer on your Gaiters golf as nationals approach and they look to make a name for themselves.

Women’s hockey had a stunning season that saw them overcome giants on their way to victory. With a record of 18-12-0, the Gaiters managed to defeat powerhouse Concordia who had only lost one game all season, prior to their playoff series. This win would secure a national championship run for BU where they continued to make things happen. In game one of nationals in Elmira Ontario, the team took down UBC in a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory. In the semi-finals against the University of Toronto, they would once again emerge victorious by a one goal margin to face off against the University of Waterloo in the finals. The Gaiters would shut the door and win 3-0 to achieve the program’s first national championship, pulling off an incredible run. Notable standouts from the team include co-female athlete of the year, Gabrielle Santerre, as well as female rookie of the year, Daphné Boutin.

Lacrosse had a rebuilding year as they went 1-10-0 on the season. Led by the male leadership award winner Tony Tremblay, the team looked to help set the wheels in motion to get the team back into a position of success in the upcoming season.

Overall, the Bishop’s Gaiters had an incredible sporting campaign in 2024-25. With first ever national championship wins and bids, along with undefeated seasons and last second come-back thrillers, there wasn’t much more we could have asked for as fans of BU athletics. As we cap off one year we begin to look forward to the next. Go Gaiters!