THIS WEEK IN COUGAR ATHLETICS
Women’s Basketball (U SPORTS Ranking: No. 3) – The Cougars host a best-of-three conference quarterfinal series against Trinity Western starting on Thursday, with the winner advancing to the Canada West Final Four next weekend. Regina and the Spartans will tip off at 7 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday, with the same start time set for Saturday if a third and deciding game is required. The two teams met twice in Langley in late November, with Regina taking 57-51 and 85-47 wins.
Track & Field – The Cougars host the 2017 Canada West Track & Field Championships this Friday and Saturday at the Regina Fieldhouse. Events are scheduled for 2:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday and 11:00 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The women’s team is led by fifth-year athlete Joy Becker, who enters the meet ranked first in the conference in both the 60-metre dash and the long jump and second in the triple jump. Reagan Fedak is also ranked first in Canada West in the weight throw, while the men’s squad features No. 1-ranked Tevaughn Campbell (60-metre dash) and the top-ranked 4×400-metre relay team.
Swimming – The Cougars are in Quebec preparing for the 2017 U SPORTS Swimming Championships, which will be hosted from Friday through Sunday by the Université de Sherbrooke. Noah Choboter, Mitchell Hebert, Jong Hoon Lee, Brian Palaschuk, and Noah Wasyliw will all represent the men’s team, while Kendall Horan, Georgia Kaluznick, Lexy King, and Eva Madar qualified on the women’s side.
Wrestling (Women’s U SPORTS Ranking: No. 6 / Men’s U SPORTS Ranking: No. 7) – Also getting ready for nationals this weekend are the wrestlers, who will make the relatively short trip east for the 2017 U SPORTS Wrestling Championships hosted by the University of Winnipeg. Amber Wiebe (51 kg), Dalynn McKay (67 kg), and Inga Hammer (82 kg) will compete for the women’s team, while Daniel Amberson (54 kg), Joshua Zimroz (57 kg), Lucas Hoffert (68 kg), Geraldo Fox (72 kg), Brett Kryger (76 kg), Gaelan Malloy (82 kg), and Waylon Decoteau (100 kg), and Jordan Tholl (120 kg) will all participate on the men’s side.
Men’s Basketball – The Cougars’ season ended in the Canada West play-in round with a series loss to Manitoba last weekend. The Bisons won Game 1 by a 94-84 score, then held off a late U of R rally for an 88-80 series-clinching win in Game 2. Travis Sylvestre and Matthew Augustine both had strong games in the final U SPORTS games of their careers, with Sylvestre scoring 13 points and Augustine ending up with nine points and three assists.
Women’s Hockey – The U of R lost out in the Canada West quarterfinals last weekend at Saskatchewan, losing a pair of hard-fought battles by scores of 4-3 and 2-1. Merissa Zerr, Tamara McVannel, and Jaycee Magwood all scored in Game 1, while Jolene Kirkpatrick provided the offence in Game 2. The series marked the final times in a U of R uniform for fifth-year players Kylie Gavelin, Alexis Larson, Krista Metz, and Meghan Sherven.
Women’s Volleyball – The Cougars closed out the 2016-17 season with a pair of Canada West losses at Calgary, losing in straight sets both nights to finish the year with a 3-21 conference record. Taylor Ungar fell just short of setting a school single-season digs record, as she finished with 293 – just two behind Kelly Cowan’s record of 295 set during the 2006-07 season. Jenna Krahn and Molly Wade-Cummings both played their final matches for the U of R, with Wade-Cummings finishing third in school history with 280 blocks over her five seasons with the Cougars.
Men’s Volleyball – The Cougars finished the year at Calgary, losing to the Dinos in three sets on both Friday and Saturday at the Jack Simpson Gym. Matthew Aubrey had 19 kills in the two matches as the rookie right side finishes the conference schedule with a team-leading 212 kills and an average of 2.68 kills per set. The Cougars could return their entire roster next season with the exception of fifth-year middle Nathan Wiggins.
(Courtesy Braden Konshuh/Cougar Athletics)
