THIS WEEK IN COUGAR ATHLETICS

Swimming – The Cougars will send a total of nine athletes to the 2014 Canada West Swimming Championships in Calgary this weekend. Jeffrey Alook, Daniel Gomez, Brent Hill, Chris Myers, Carlos Quiroz, and Craig Soutar will comprise the U of R’s men’s team, while Samantha Bancescu, Eva Madar, and Sabrina Wielsoe will represent the Cougars on the women’s side. The conference meet starts on Friday evening and runs through to Sunday afternoon.

Women’s Volleyball – The surging Cougars pushed their win streak to four matches with two huge road wins over Saskatchewan last weekend, winning in four sets on Friday and in three sets on Saturday to pull past the Huskies for the seventh and final Canada West playoff berth. But on the schedule this weekend is another team that’s riding a four-match win streak, as No. 6-ranked Manitoba (10-6) will visit the CKHS on Friday and Saturday.

Men’s Volleyball – After two setbacks at Saskatchewan last Friday and Saturday, the Cougars (0-16) are preparing for their second last home weekend of the Canada West schedule. In town is Manitoba, which enters the weekend at 6-10 and in 10th place in the conference standings but just one win behind the three teams tied for seventh. The Cougars host Thompson Rivers next weekend before finishing off the 2013-14 season at UBC Okanagan on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8.

Women’s Hockey – The Cougars had a pair of road setbacks to Mount Royal last weekend, losing 3-0 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday as their conference record moves to 10-9-3 on the season. The U of R is now at home at The Co-operators Centre for the first of two consecutive weekends, with the Cougars set to host Saskatchewan on Friday and Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. on both nights.

Women’s Basketball (CIS Ranking: No. 4) – Nicole Clarke was named the CIS Female Athlete of the Week and the Canada West First Star of the Week after powering the Cougars (12-2) to home wins over Winnipeg last Friday and Saturday. Winners of eight straight conference games and 11 overall, the Cougars hit the road for the first time in the second half of the Canada West schedule with road games at Manitoba (3-11) this Friday and Saturday.

Men’s Basketball – The Cougars fell to 3-11 on the season after a pair of home losses to Winnipeg last weekend, as the Wesmen took a 73-63 win on Friday and a 90-76 victory on Saturday. The U of R will square off with Manitoba (2-12) this weekend in Winnipeg as the Cougars enter the stretch run of the conference schedule.

Men’s Hockey – At home for the second consecutive weekend, the Cougars (9-11-2) lost 5-4 in overtime to Mount Royal on Friday and 3-0 to MRU on Saturday. The U of R will have a weekend off before returning to the Canada West schedule on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 with two road games at Manitoba, which will be a key series as the two teams are currently battling for fourth place in the conference standings – and the right to host a Canada West quarterfinal series.

Men’s Wrestling (CIS Ranking: No. 8) – The Cougars travelled to Dickinson, N.D. for a dual against Dickinson State on Friday and the Tyler Plummer Classic on Saturday. Evan Lemieux and Matt Fedler had wins in the dual against the Blue Hawks, while Rylan Petterson (197 lbs.) and Regan Pratt (184 lbs.) both had 1-2 records and sixth-place finishes in the open tournament. The Cougars will host Minot State in a dual on Thursday beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Peacock Collegiate in Moose Jaw.

Track & Field (Men’s CIS Ranking: No. 6 / Women’s CIS Ranking: No. 10) – Tevaughn Campbell became the third Cougar to hit a CIS standard this season with a time of 6.82 seconds in the 60-metre dash at the Golden Bear Open in Edmonton. The women’s team was led by Adrea Propp, who broke a University of Regina record which had stood since 2005 after finishing the 600-metre run in a time of 1:36.10. The Cougars will compete next at the Bison Classic on Jan. 31 in Winnipeg.

Women’s Wrestling (CIS Ranking: No. 6) – Kristine Longeau and Cass Schmidt both travelled to Guelph, Ont. to wrestle in the Guelph Open last Saturday, with Schmidt going 1-2 to finish in sixth place at 55 kg. The Cougars will compete next at the Canada West Championships, which will be hosted by the University of Saskatchewan on Feb. 14 and Feb. 15.

(Courtesy Braden Konschuh/U of R Athletics)