THIS WEEK IN COUGAR ATHLETICS

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Women’s Basketball – vs. Saskatchewan, Friday (6:15 p.m.) at CKHS
Women’s Hockey – vs. Alberta, Friday (7:00 p.m.) at The Co-operators Centre
Men’s Basketball – vs. Saskatchewan, Friday (8:15 p.m.) at CKHS
Women’s Hockey – vs. Alberta, Saturday (3:00 p.m.) at The Co-operators Centre
Women’s Basketball – vs. Saskatchewan, Saturday (5:00 p.m.) at CKHS
Men’s Basketball – vs. Saskatchewan, Saturday (7:00 p.m.) at CKHS

Women’s Basketball (CIS Ranking: No. 6) – The Cougars are 3-1 to start the season after a road split at No. 4-ranked Alberta that saw them score a 74-58 win on Friday before losing 59-41 on Saturday. It’s a huge home weekend coming up at the CKHS against provincial rival Saskatchewan, which took over the No. 4 ranking from Alberta in this week’s CIS Top Ten. 22Fresh hoodies will be sold ($60 plus tax) on Friday night to support the Shoot for the Cure campaign, while Saturday night will feature several initiatives to assist former player Crystal (Heisler) McGregor’s battle with cancer.

Men’s Basketball – The Cougars (1-3) lost a pair of road games to a strong Alberta squad ranked No. 2 in the CIS over the weekend, falling 99-66 on Friday and 83-61 on Saturday. The string of six consecutive games against ranked opponents to open the year continues at home this Friday and Saturday, as the Cougars will entertain No. 5-ranked Saskatchewan at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Women’s Hockey (CIS Ranking: No. 9) – The Cougars (7-3-0) were idle last weekend but return to the ice this Friday and Saturday against the Alberta Pandas. The U of R enters the weekend set tied with Alberta for third place in the conference standings with 14 points, but have two games in hand on the 6-2-2 Pandas. Games are scheduled for 7:00 on Friday night and 3:00 on Saturday afternoon at The Co-operators Centre.

Men’s Hockey – The Cougars (6-4-0) have now won four of their last five games after sweeping Manitoba at home over the weekend, winning 2-1 on Friday night thanks to a late Liam Brennan goal and completing the sweep over the Bisons with a 7-3 victory on Saturday afternoon. It’ll be a stern test this weekend for the Cougars, who travel to Edmonton for a pair of games against No. 1-ranked and undefeated Alberta (10-0-0).

Women’s Volleyball – The Cougars won a marathon five-set battle with Calgary in their home opener on Friday, but had to settle for a weekend split with the Dinos after a four-set loss on Saturday to move to 1-5 on the season. Desiree Ates had a strong weekend for the U of R, ending up with 35 kills and a .300 hitting percentage over the two matches as she now ranks second in Canada West with 60 kills on the year. The Cougars are back in action at Mount Royal this weekend.

Men’s Volleyball – The Cougars battled back from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set on Friday in their home opener against Calgary, but went on to lose the deciding set to the Dinos. Calgary completed the weekend sweep with a three-set win on Saturday night over the Cougars, who will now prepare for road matches at Mount Royal on Friday and Saturday.

Men’s Wrestling – The Cougars make their annual trip to the Dakotas this weekend, starting with a dual at Jamestown College on Thursday night. They also have duals scheduled against Briar Cliff and Dakota Wesleyan on Friday night in Mitchell, S.D. before finishing off the trip at the DWU Open on Saturday.

Women’s Wrestling – Kristine Longeau led the Cougars at the Wesmen Invitational on Saturday with a third-place finish at 72 kg, while Cass Schmidt placed fourth (59 kg) and Indhyra Linares was fifth (63 kg). The team returns to the mats on Nov. 23 at the Huskie Open in Saskatoon.

Cross Country (Men’s CIS Ranking: No. 8) – Matt Johnson won the Canada West individual title and finished fifth overall to earn All-Canadian honours and lead the Cougars to an eighth-place finish on the men’s side at the CIS Championships on Saturday in London, Ont. Avery Westberg led the women’s team by placing 17th in the overall standings and earning Canada West first-team all-star status.

(Courtesy U of R Athletics)