Sports in brief

author: john loeppky | sports editor

Solid weekend in Cougars athletics

This weekend’s campus sports saw the men’s basketball team fall at their first tournament of the year in Victoria, the soccer team split their two games, the men’s hockey team lose their two contests in Minnesota, the men’s volleyball team go 2-3, and the women’s volleyball squad end up with a 1-4 record. Add in a cross-country meet, and a women’s basketball game, and the past few days have seen many Cougars in action.

Men’s basketball

Competing in the Guy Vetrie Memorial Tournament, named after the former University of Victoria coach, the Cougars dropped all three of their games. First came a nine-point defeat to the hometown team. Friday saw a fourteen-point deficit at the end, this time at the hands of Hamilton’s McMaster University. Sadly, Saturday brought out a dismantling from Montreal’s McGill, 81-62. Guards Brandon Tull and Stephen Shields led the team throughout the three games, but a juggling of lineups saw head coach Steve Burrows finding the right combinations as the team heads into two more preseason tournaments before beginning their Canada West season in early November.

Women’s soccer

The Cougars faced stiff competition with both the University of Lethbridge and the highly ranked University of Calgary Dinos coming into town. Saturday saw the Cougs win a close 1-0 decision. Sienne Krynowsky’s goal put the team ahead, and the defense was not to be outdone, as the team had some momentum going into Sunday’s contest with the unbeaten Dinos. And they would stay undefeated, overpowering the hometown team for a two goals to nil decision.

Men’s hockey

This weekend, the men’s hockey team found themselves overmatched against their American counterparts. Two games in Minnesota led to two losses, one each against Minnesota State and St. Cloud State. After a winless preseason, the Cougars will open their Canada West schedule against Lethbridge on Oct. 14. Their first home dates will be the following weekend.

Women’s basketball

            The Cougars continued their winning ways last Friday against the University of Manitoba Bisons. It was a big win, by 68 points in fact, as the green-and-gold absolutely destroyed their competition. After wins against Brandon University and Lakelan College, the Cougars will begin their home preseason tournament, the Cougar Classic on Oct. 6. The University of Saskatchewan, Carleton University, Ryerson University, and the University of Alberta will duke it out at the CKHS before their respective conference schedules begin in November.

Volleyball

Both volleyball squads spent their weekend competing in Manitoba.

The women’s team found themselves in Winnipeg, while the men’s side was spending their time in Brandon. The women’s team posted a 1-4 record, with two of those losses (against Moncton and Winnipeg) taking five sets to decide a winner. A straight-sets loss to the University of Toronto and a 3-1 defeat by Brandon was offset slightly by an earlier win against Moncton. The Cougars will continue their non-conference schedule against the University of Saskatchewan Oct. 14 & 15, in Saskatoon.

The men’s team had their own defeats to contend with against Brandon, Winnipeg, and Sherbrooke. They then followed that up with wins against King’s University and Sherbrooke. The squad will next be in action at their home preseason tournament, Oct. 14-16.

Cross-Country

Saturday saw the Cougars compete in the University of Saskatchewan Open. Top finisher was Adam Strueby, who came second. On the men’s side, Marc Turmel finished eleventh, followed by Matt Johnson (16), Alex Eiswerth (20), Sean Hooper (24), Greg Hetterley (29), TJ McBride (45), and Quinn Legare (51).

On the women’s side, Tianna Dodds was the top finisher at 23. The other five athletes finished as follows: Hillary Mehlhorn (34), Darbi Edwards (39), Ariana Davis (45), Robyn Ham (48), and Justine Zarowny (50).

Team-wise, this left the women in last place, sixth, while the men found themselves in third. Both teams will travel to Bellingham, Washington to compete in the Western Washington Classic this weekend. After that trip down south, there will be two more meets before the CIS Championships in mid-November. This year’s edition will be held in Quebec City before the track and field team focuses on the indoor season the rest of the way.

All in all, it was a solid weekend for Cougars athletics, to say nothing of the Rams success that was a win in the SaskTel classic. If you missed the story regarding the Rams, you can find it at the beginning of the sports section. Speaking of the Rams, their next game will be in two weeks time against the so-far winless University of Alberta Golden Bears.