This Week In Cougar Athletics

Home Schedule – Friday
Women’s Basketball – vs. Victoria, 6:00 p.m. (CKHS)
Men’s Hockey – vs. Alberta, 7:00 p.m. (The Co-operators Centre)
Men’s Basketball – vs. Victoria, 8:00 p.m. (CKHS)

Home Schedule – Saturday
Rams Football – Hardy Cup Semifinal vs. UBC, 3:30 p.m. (Mosaic Stadium)
Women’s Basketball – vs. Victoria, 6:00 p.m. (CKHS)
Men’s Hockey – vs. Alberta, 7:00 p.m. (The Co-operators Centre)
Men’s Basketball – vs. Victoria, 8:00 p.m. (CKHS)
 
Away Schedule – Friday
Men’s Volleyball – at Manitoba, 6:00 p.m. CDT (Winnipeg, Man.)
Women’s Wrestling – dual vs. Midland, 7:00 p.m. CDT (Jamestown, N.D.)
Women’s Volleyball – at Manitoba, 7:30 p.m. CDT (Winnipeg, Man.)
Women's Hockey – at Alberta, 7:00 p.m. (Edmonton, Alta.)

Away Schedule – Saturday
Women’s Wrestling – at Can/Am Open (Jamestown, N.D.)
Swimming – at Odlum Brown Colleges Cup, Day 1 (Vancouver, B.C.)
Women’s Hockey – at Alberta, 2:00 p.m. (Edmonton, Alta.)
Men’s Volleyball – at Manitoba, 3:00 p.m. CDT (Winnipeg, Man.)
Women’s Volleyball – at Manitoba, 4:30 p.m. CDT (Winnipeg, Man.)

Away Schedule – Sunday
Swimming – at Odlum Brown Colleges Cup, Day 2 (Vancouver, B.C.)

 
Rams Football (U Sports Ranking: No. 4) – The Rams (6-2) clinched their first ever first-place finish in the Canada West standings on Saturday with a 55-21 road win over Manitoba, a game in which Noah Picton set a new national record for most passing yards in a single season. Up to No. 4 in this week’s poll, the Rams will host the UBC Thunderbirds in a Hardy Cup semifinal game on Saturday afternoon (3:30) at Mosaic Stadium.

Women’s Basketball (U Sports Ranking: No. 1) – The Cougars completed an undefeated non-conference schedule last weekend at the Super 8 Tournament in Victoria, defeating Fraser Valley 66-57 and UBC by a 73-59 count for their 11th and 12th consecutive victories. Ranked No. 1 in the country in the first poll of the season, the Cougars host No. 10 Victoria this Friday and Saturday at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport as both teams open up the Canada West schedule.

Men’s Basketball – The Cougars travelled to Lethbridge to close out their non-conference schedule last weekend, losing to Lethbridge 103-90 on Friday before a Brian Ofori buzzer beater gave them a nice 74-72 win over an Alberta team voted third in the Canada West preseason coaches’ poll. The Cougars open up conference play this weekend against Victoria on Friday and Saturday at the CKHS. Game time is set for 8:00 on both nights.

Men’s Hockey – The Cougars (1-5-0) played in front of a fine home crowd on Friday night in the annual game in support of the Shine On Foundation, but lost to No. 3 Saskatchewan 4-1 and were then edged by the Huskies 4-3 on Saturday night in Saskatoon. The Cougars are back at home this weekend against No. 5-ranked Alberta, with game times set for 7:00 on both Friday and Saturday at The Co-operators Centre.

Women’s Hockey – The Cougars (4-3-1-0) are coming off a sweep of the Saskatchewan Huskies last weekend, shutting out the hometown Huskies 2-0 on Friday before returning home for a 3-1 comeback win on home ice. Jaycee Magwood tallied three goals in the two matchups, while Jane Kish and Morgan Baker got wins in net. Regina will hit the road this weekend to take on the Alberta Pandas (1-2-2-3) for a weekend set.

Women’s Volleyball – The Cougars (0-2) started out the 2016-17 conference schedule last weekend with a pair of home losses to the top-ranked team in the country, as Trinity Western won in straight sets on both Friday and Saturday. The youthful Cougars pushed TWU with late leads in both the second and the third sets on Saturday, but weren’t able to close against the two-time defending conference champions. The team is on the road this weekend for a two matches against Manitoba (0-2).

Men’s Volleyball – Regina (0-2) started out the Canada West schedule against No. 2-ranked Trinity Western, with the Spartans registering a pair of three-set wins. Australian newcomer Matthew Aubrey was the U of R’s top offensive player in both matches, collecting 14 kills on Friday and nine more on Saturday. The Cougars are back in action this weekend against a Manitoba team that’s ranked No. 6 in the country and is 1-1 after splitting with Mount Royal to start the year.

Wrestling – Both the men's and women's wrestling teams opened their 2016-17 seasons on the weekend at the Dino Open hosted by the University of Calgary. The women's team finished fourth in the team standings with Inga Hammer capturing second in the 82-kilogram class. The men’s Cougars wrestled their way to a fifth-place finish overall, backed by Jordan Tholl's first-place finish, Lucas Hoffert's second and Gaelan Malloy's third. The women's team is in action this weekend, heading south of the border for a Friday dual against Midland and the Can/Am Open on Saturday in Jamestown, N.D.

Swimming – After starting out the season with two small competitions at the Lawson Aquatic Centre in October, the Cougars will travel to the West Coast this weekend for their first major meet of the year. The team will compete in the Odlum Brown Colleges Cup on Saturday and Sunday, hosted by the University of British Columbia at the UBC Aquatic Centre. After this meet, the Cougars will have two weekends off to prepare for the Canada West Championship later this month in Edmonton.

Cross Country – The Cougars continued their season at the Stewart Cup at Canmore Park in Calgary on Saturday, with the men’s side finishing fourth out of sixth teams and the women’s team placing fifth. Adam Strueby (10K, 32:35) and Kaytlyn Criddle (6K, 23:44) were the top finishers for the U of R. The Cougars will now prepare for the U Sports Championships, which will be held on Nov. 12 in Quebec City. Strueby, Criddle, Marc Turmel, and Matthew Johnson will all represent the U of R at the national meet.

Women’s Soccer – The Cougars’ season ended with a 2-0 road setback to Saskatchewan on Saturday in the first round of the Canada West playoffs. The U of R’s best chance to score was in the 60th minute on an effort by Sydney Langen that would have brought the teams level, but her shot was stopped by the Huskies’ keeper. The match marked the final appearance for fifth-year U of R players Kayla McDonald, Kacey McFee, Racquel Marshall, and Karlee Vorrieter.