Year in review
UBC needed to call a time out, obviously Rams were crushing.
Time out! Let’s talk about how great we are
Article: Brady Lang – Sports Writer
[dropcaps round=”no”]I[/dropcaps]t’s been a busy year for us here in the sports world in Regina.
Once you sit back to think about it, Regina’s sports have had quite the year. The Saskatchewan Roughriders and the 101st Grey Cup was obviously the marquee event that made this year amazing.
To add to that, former Regina Rams punter Jon Ryan and his Seattle Seahawks were able to win the Super Bowl over Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos in a decisive fashion as well.
Along with the great weeklong celebration that ended up becoming a winter that was a little warmer for all Rider fans – University of Regina athletics also had a stellar year.
The women’s hockey team came within a goal of a Canada West Championship, losing in the second overtime in game three against the Saskatchewan Huskies. The men’s hockey team, unfortunately, didn’t make it to the postseason, finishing 2013-14 with a record of 11-15-2 and in seventh place – just one point away from the playoffs.
The men’s track team was able to bring home a Canada West Championship banner this season, yet their Nationals team experience wasn’t as successful, finishing in 16th place at the end of the weekend. Individually, five medals were brought home by the track team as Jeremy Eckert won gold in high jump, Connor MacDonald brought home silver and bronze in long jump and high jump respectively, Chris Pickering was awarded silver in shot put, while Joy Becker collected a silver medal in long jump on the women’s side.
The wrestling team was able to pick up one medal at Nationals with rookie Isaac Lubiak being the sole recipient after coming in third in the 120 kg division. The wrestling team had ten athletes competing and finished eighth in men’s team standings while finishing in fourth in women’s team standings.
The Rams football team had a year of rebuilding to do and was only able to pick up two wins on the season. The young football squad will take this year as tough experience and use it on down the road.
The men’s and women’s volleyball teams both struggled at times during the season yet the women’s team was able to finish in sixth at Nationals. The Nationals were hosted by the University of Regina and even though the team was eliminated in playoffs, they were given a bye as the host team. The men’s team struggled throughout the year, finishing 4-18 and tied for last in Canada West standings.
The women’s basketball team was unable to reach the championship for just the second time since 2008, losing to Alberta in the Canada West Final Four. The team was faced with a lot of adversity throughout the season dealing with injuries and a coach that was quarantined due to the measles virus, while the men’s basketball team were only able to pick up five wins on the season and missed the playoffs.
The women’s soccer team lost in the Canada West quarter finals to Victoria after a 5-5-2 season.
After it’s all said and done, us Regina folks have a lot to grin about this season. Even the Regina Pats are doing great for the first time since Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding was between the pipes. We have been spoiled and definitely there is no one complaining.
Let’s just hope that next year this city can regain what we started this upcoming year. Repeat anyone?
[button style=”e.g. solid, border” size=”e.g. small, medium, big” link=”” target=””]Image: Arthur Ward[/button]
