Varsity Athletics | 10/14/2026 11:00:00 AM
York University Lions women's tennis player Grace Whitley and men's hockey player Thomas Johnston have been named York athletes of the week for the period ending Oct. 11.
Whitley, a fourth-year kinesiology and health science student, was a force for the Lions on their way to the bronze medal match at the OUA championships. The pride of Toronto won both her singles and doubles match in the quarter-finals against Waterloo, a draw that ended in a 5-2 win for York to send them to the semi-finals. Despite a team loss in the semis to the Toronto Varsity Blues, Whitley registered York's only point with a 6-4, 4-3 win, after her opponent was forced to retire, before winning her doubles match – paired with Maria Niculescu – against Toronto. She then earned a singles victory in the bronze medal draw against Western, 6-2, 6-2, and also earned the Lions only win in doubles play, this time alongside Mila Poluga.
Whitley was named an OUA all-star for her play, going 3-0 in singles play, and 2-1 in doubles.
Johnston, a second-year cities, regions, planning student from Oshawa, Ont., had a strong opening weekend for his team, helping lead them to a split of their first two games of the season. He first registered an assist on the season's opening goal off the stick of Olivier Lamothe in Friday's season opener, and then scored twice in 2:37 early in the third period on Saturday against Laurier to turn what was a 1-0 Golden Hawk lead after two periods into an eventual 3-1 Lions victory, with Johnston scoring the go-ahead and insurance marker to seal the win. Those two goals double his total from his rookie campaign, when he scored once in 19 games. His three points on the weekend also eclipse his total of two from a season ago.
Johnston and the Lions make their 2026-27 home debut Saturday afternoon at Canlan Ice Sports as they take on the Toronto Varsity Blues at 2:00 p.m., before hosting the Brock Badgers at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. You can get your tickets at yorkulions.ca/tickets or catch both games live on OUA TV.
