LONDON, ON - Friday afternoon at Mustangs Field in London, the Guelph Gryphons field hockey team won 10-0 over the McGill Martlets in their opening game of the 2016 OUA Championship Tournament. With the win, the Gryphons advance to the OUA Semifinals and will now face tournament hosts Western on Saturday afternoon at 3pm. The winner of that game will not only play for OUA gold, but will also book a spot at the CIS Championships in Toronto (Nov. 3-6).

The Gryphons entered the OUA Championship Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the eight-team field. Their opening game opponent, the No. 7 seeded McGill Martlets, were a team the Gryphons handled comfortably during the regular season, outscoring McGill 13-0 in their two head-to-head meetings earlier in the year. In Friday's playoff matchup, the Gryphons were once again able to take control of the game. Gryphon rookie Alexa Corrado recorded a hat trick in the victory, while Katherine MacMillan, the OUA's third-leading scorer during the regular season, also recorded a hat trick on the day. Nine of the Gryphons 10 goals in the game came in open play, with the other being scored on a penalty corner.

U of G goalie Morgan Kelley recorded the shutout while OUA MVP Olivia Lane added two goals after scoring a league-best 17 during the regular season. Nicole Paola and Ciara Condon rounded out the scoring on the day for the Gryphs. Player of the Game honours for U of G went to fourth year midfielder Libbie Pritchard who set up three of the Gryphons five goals in the first half.

The Gryphons will now prepare to face the upstart Western Mustangs. The No. 6-seeded Mustangs pulled off an upset of No. 3-seeded York, using a penalty shootout to get past the Lions. The Gryphons won both of their head-to-head meetings with Western during the regular season. 

The winner of Saturday's Guelph-Western game will face the winner of the other semifinal match which sees defending champs Toronto battle Waterloo.