THIS WEEK IN COUGAR ATHLETICS
Women’s Basketball (U SPORTS Ranking: No. 2) – The Cougars jumped up one spot in this week’s poll to No. 2 after a road sweep over Brandon which saw them win by scores of 77-40 and 75-55 over the Bobcats. Regina (12-2) now has the second-best RPI in Canada West, which is the metric by which the conference will seed playoff teams this year. The Cougars are back at home this weekend for home games on Friday and Saturday against Calgary, which will come into the series with an 8-6 record.
Men’s Basketball – The Cougars suffered two close road losses to Brandon last weekend, losing 95-91 to the Bobcats on Friday and 95-85 on Saturday to fall to 6-8 on the season. Regina continues Canada West play this weekend against a strong Calgary team that’s ranked No. 5 in the nation and holds an 11-3 record in conference play. Game times are set for 8 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
Women’s Hockey – The Cougars (9-10-3-0) clinched a Canada West playoff spot on the weekend, taking a 3-2 shootout win over Mount Royal on Saturday after falling 2-1 on Friday night. Kylee Kupper scored her seventh goal of the season on Friday and Lilla Carpenter-Boesch and Kylie Gavelin scored in regulation on Saturday. Emma Waldenberger netted the winner while Morgan Baker didn’t allow a goal in the shootout. The Cougars trail Saskatchewan by three points for fourth in the conference and will host the Huskies on Friday night, before traveling up Highway 11 for a rematch at Rutherford Arena on Saturday.
Men’s Hockey – The Cougars suffered a pair of tough losses to No. 8-ranked Mount Royal on home ice on the weekend, falling short on the comeback trail with a 4-3 loss on Friday night before a 4-3 overtime loss in Saturday’s rematch. Ian McNulty had two goals on Friday and another on Saturday while Cody Fowlie totalled three assists in the weekend set. Regina (3-17-2) will play a home-and-home series with first-place Saskatchewan this weekend, with Friday’s contest taking place in Saskatoon before Saturday evening’s game at The Co-operators Centre.
Wrestling (Women’s U SPORTS Ranking: No. 4 / Men’s U SPORTS Ranking: No. 7) – The men’s wrestling team defeated Northland College 24-22 in a dual in Jamestown, N.D. on Wednesday night, thanks to wins from Daniel Amberson, Paul Tokarz, Lucas Hoffert, Waylon Decoteau and Jordan Tholl. Both the men’s and women’s Cougar teams will compete in the Cascades Classic hosted by the University of the Fraser Valley on Sunday.
Women’s Volleyball – Diana Lumbala was named the Canada West Second Star of the Week after piling up 43 kills and a .434 hitting percentage as the Cougars defeated Winnipeg in four sets on both Friday and Saturday at the CKHS. Taylor Ungar got into the act as well, tying a school single-match record with 28 digs in Saturday’s win. The Cougars (3-13) are on the road this weekend for a pair of matches at Thompson Rivers (6-8).
Men’s Volleyball – The Cougars were defeated twice by Winnipeg last weekend at the CKHS, losing in three sets to the Wesmen on Friday and in four sets on Saturday. The Cougars (0-16) hit the road in search of their first win of the Canada West schedule against a Thompson Rivers team that will come into the weekend with a 1-13 conference record. The two teams will meet on Friday night and Saturday night in Kamloops, B.C.
Track & Field (Women’s U SPORTS Ranking: No. 8) – Joy Becker crushed her own school long jump record last weekend at the Golden Bear Open, winning the event with a time of 6.25 metres to register the longest jump by a U SPORTS athlete so far this season and also taking first place in the 60-metre dash. Kahlen Branning won the 60 on the men’s side, hit the national standard in the 300-metre dash, and combined with Austin Strauss, Liam Nystuen, and Alex Eiswerth for first in the 4×400-metre relay. The Cougars are preparing for the Bison Classic, to be held Feb. 3 and Feb. 4 in Winnipeg.
(Courtesy Braden Konschuh/U of R Athletics)
