Sea~Hawks Weekend Summary Jan. 24, 2010

Busy weekend for the Sea~Hawks

There were a couple of bright spots this weekend on an otherwise difficult stretch of play. The Memorial swimmers performed exceptionally well at the Jack Scholz AUS Invitational at Acadia, while the women’s basketball brought a better effort on Sunday to the Field House to earn a series split against Dalhousie. Notably, Sea~Hawks swimmer Leah Tomblin qualified for the CIS Championships later this winter. The men’s basketball team also played much better on Sunday but were swept by Dalhousie. The volleyball teams also were unable to find a win. The men faced tough competition from Quebec, dropping four matches at the second Interlock tournament while the women dropped two matches against the first place Saint Mary’s Huskies.

Swimming

Memorial’s swimmers were back in the pool this weekend at the Jack Scholz AUS Invitational at Acadia in Wolfville, NS. The team is looking strong with excellent finishes across the board as they head into final preparation for the AUS Championships.

The story of the meet for the Sea~Hawks was Leah Tomblin. Tomblin finished first in the 200m backstroke with a time of 2:21.96, setting a provincial record and qualifying her for CIS Championships for the first time. She also finished first in the 50m backstroke (31.50), third in the 50m fly at 31.24, and second in 100m backstroke at 109.01.

Tomblin joins teammate Keslie Rogers as the first pair of female Sea~Hawks to qualify for CIS since 2005.

Rogers finished first in the 50m freestyle at 27.87, third in the 100m butterfly (1:10.06), and fifth in the 100m free at 1:01.34. Erin Daly also had a great showing this weekend, finishing second in the 50m breaststroke with a time of 36.82, fifth in the 200m breaststroke at 3:01.76 and sixth in the 100m at 1:20.62.

In her single individual event of the weekend, Dayna Hogan placed third in the 800m free at a time of 9:40.64.

In women’s relay the Sea~Hawks team of were strong in all events, finishing second in all their relays including 4x100 free (4:12.99), 4x50 medley (2:06.45), and 4x50 free.

On the men’s side, fifth year Tim Rusted finished third overall in the 100m breast stroke, fourth in the 400m individual medley and fifth in both the 200m IM and the 400m freestyle. Rusted and David Forbes have already qualified for CIS championships.

Richard Hibbs finished third in the 200m breaststroke at 2:35.74, fourth in the 100m breaststroke 1:12.02, fourth in the 50m breaststroke 33.07, and sixth in the 200m individual medley at 2:19.66.

Andrew Harvey had a solid weekend as he finished second in the 100m free at 55.14, fourth in the 200m freestyle at 2:01.73, fourth in the 200m backstroke 2:20.06, and sixth in the 100m backstroke.

Tim Bennet placed third in the 200m backstroke at 2:19.13 and also third in the 50m backstroke at 30.70. Ryan Allen swam sixth in the 50m breaststroke at 33.70.

In men’s relay competition, the 4x100m free relay team of Hibbs, Rusted, Bennet, and Harvey placed second at a stellar 3:44.09. In the 4x50 medley the team of Bennet, Allen, Foster, and Harvey finished second at 1:57.13. The team of Bennet, Hibbs, Foster, and Rusted finished second in the 4x100m IM. To finish the trifecta of second place finishes for the Sea~Hawks Harvey, Rusted, Hibbs, and Allen came second in the 4x50 free.

The men’s relay team look poised to run really fast times at the upcoming AUS championships with Coach Brad Hutton having high expectations for the entire team.

With a very strong performance at Acadia, the Sea~Hawks now prepare for AUS Championships at UPEI, February 5-7.

Women’s Volleyball

Saturday Saint Mary’s 3 Sea~Hawks 1
On Saturday night Saint Mary’s defeated the Sea~Hawks three sets to one in the opening match of a weekend series. The win improved Saint Mary’s to 6-5, the only team in the AUS that is over .500 in winning percentage. The Sea~Hawks dropped to 1-12. Stats and set scores for the match were unavailable.

Saturday Saint Mary’s 3 Sea~Hawks 0
On Sunday afternoon Saint Mary’s continued their strong play against Memorial, handing the Sea~Hawks a straight set loss. Set scores were 25-18, 25-16, and 25-20.

AUS all-star Sasha Wilkins was only able to play in a couple of series on Sunday due to injury. Without Wilkins Memorial saw Erin Bursey and Adrienne Penney step up their attack with 10 and 7 kills apiece. Beth Forsey has 25 assists for the ‘Hawks while the tandem of Bursey and Nicole Jolliffe led the way defensively with 11 and 10 digs.

The Sea~Hawks showed their competitiveness by not quitting despite the loss of their leader. Look for the close-knit team to start finding a way to win more sets as the stretch run in the AUS gets underway.

Kerri Smit led the balanced Saint Mary’s attack in the victory with 11 kills of her own.

The Sea~Hawks next face action against the UNB Varsity Reds at the Field House next Saturday and Sunday.

Men's Volleyball

Friday McGill 3 Sea~Hawks 1
The Sea~Hawks opened the second Interlock tournament against the teams from the Quebec conference against McGill on Friday night. Earlier this season the Sea~Hawks handed McGill a straight set defeat, a result they hoped to duplicate on Friday. It was not meant to be however, as the teams traded points throughout but McGill managed to pull away when it mattered most to take the match in four sets, 25-21, 25-17, 22-25, and 25-15.

Drew Stephens played very well for Memorial, leading the offense with 14 kills and adding 2 solo blocks. Alex Barrett also played well with 9 kills, 5 digs and 2 solo blocks. Brad Pitcher had 35 assists in the match.

Mark Hodge led McGill with a big 19 kills in the victory.

Saturday Laval 3 Memorial 0
On Saturday Memorial had the difficult task of facing a Laval team that is the top ranked team in the country. The Sea~Hawks played well, but lost in straight sets, 25-17, 25-15, and 25-15.

Big Nathan Tilley led Memorial with 8 kills while Scott Hickman added 6 kills and a solo block.

Mathieu Frigon led the Rouge et Or with 11 kills.

Saturday Sherbrooke 3 Memorial 0
There was no rest for the ‘Hawks on Saturday as they played the talented Sherbrooke side in the evening to give them two matches against two tough competitors. Despite the tough schedule and demanding travel, the Sea~Hawks put up a solid effort against Sherbrooke despite losing the match 3-0. Set scores were 25-17, 25-22, and 25-19.

Tilley continued his big play for Memorial with 11 kills in the match. Hickman added 5 kills and 4 big solo blocks.

Michel Baillargeon was the top player for Sherbrooke with 7 kills and 10 digs.

Sunday Montreal 3 Memorial 0
In the final match of the gruelling Interlock the Sea~Hawks faced Montreal with the Carabins using their size advantage to take the match in straight sets. However, the match was much closer than the result indicated as the ‘Hawks gave the Carabins as much as they could handle. Set scores were 25-23, 26-24, and 25-20.

On Sunday Memorial got a good contribution from everyone who took the court. Tilley, Hickman and Stephens played well on the attack. The offense also got a spark from rookie Josh Ennis who contributed 4 kills in the match. Ennis also played well defensively with 7 digs. Pitcher continued to put up good balls on the attack with 28 assists. Jolliffe and Barrett looked sharp on the defense, digging up 11 and 10 balls apiece. The Sea~Hawks block really stepped up with Hickman getting four more blocks and Tilley adding three.

Emmanuel Andre-Morin had 17 kills, and was the difference for the Carabins.

Despite leaving Montreal without a win head coach Luke Harris has to be encouraged by the way his team played against the talented teams of the Quebec conference. Next weekend the men’s volleyball team will play host to the UNB Varsity Reds at the Field House on Saturday and Sunday.

Women's Basketball

Saturday Dalhousie 73 Memorial 69
The Sea~Hawks faced a true test this weekend, splitting their two game series with the visiting Dalhousie Tigers at the Field House. The Tigers were surging coming into the weekend, and handed Memorial a loss in the first contest 73-69.

Dalhousie was in control for the majority of this game, holding off Memorial’s third and fourth quarter rallies to secure the win. Point guard April Scott was sensational, netting 19 points and dishing out 9 assists in the win. The frontline of Laurie Girdwood and Cailin Crosby were dominant on the glass for the Tigers, combining for 32 points and 20 rebounds on the night.

The Sea~Hawks shot just 34% in the first half, but made a run at Dalhousie with the help of Brittany Dalton and Erin Mullaley, each scoring a team-high 21points on the night. Ally Forsey played tough on the inside despite not making her usual contribution on the scoresheet. Though she only had 4 points, her 11 rebounds, and much needed interior defense earned her the player of the game award.

Sunday Memorial 62 Dalhousie 60
Sunday’s match would prove to be a different story for the ‘Hawks, as Memorial came out looking energized for a full forty minutes en route to a 62-60 win. Fifth year guard Erin Mullaley was named player of the game, controlling the tempo while netting 14 points for Doug Partridge’s team. Mullaley got the home crowd fired up in the first half as she stepped in for a charge against a bigger Dalhousie player.

The ‘Hawks Vicki Thistle showed her athleticism and grit, driving to the basket effectively in transition while earning ten trips to the free throw line. Thistle has a team-high 17 points. Grace Fishbein also made a big contribution on the boards, with 10 points and 7 rebounds.

The hard fought effort for the Tigers was led again by Laurie Girdwood with 20 points and 5 rebounds on the game, but it was the aggressive offensive play of the Sea~Hawks that forced both Laurie, and her sister Leah, out of the game with five personal fouls apiece in the late moments of the game. However, despite fouling out, both players were very effective while battling foul trouble throughout.

With the win, Memorial improves to 9-3, placing them at second place in the AUS. The team now travels to Cape Breton next weekend to face the undefeated Capers in a true test to see where they stand in the AUS.

Men's Basketball

Saturday Dalhousie 82 Memorial 62
The Sea~Hawks stuck with the Tigers through two quarters once again Saturday night, but their third quarter struggles continued as Dalhousie used effective shooting from their backcourt to take the opener 82-62.

The ‘Hawks used a balanced attack early to stick within five points at the half. Sophomore Robbie Habib was sharp in the first half with 10 points while Steven Earles contributed 8 points to keep Memorial in the game. More importantly, the Memorial team defense contested the Dalhousie shots and looked to be in a good position to compete in the second half.

In the third quarter Dalhousie’s Andrew Sullivan was on fire, scoring 11 points in the half as Dalhousie closed the third quarter with a 63-42 lead. The third quarter has haunted the Sea~Hawks this season. The Tigers would go on to cruise to a 82-62 win.

The Dalhousie bench outscored the Memorial bench 27-9 in the game. Though the Memorial bench was short due to injuries, they need to find a way to get a contribution from all players on the floor.

Habib and Jason Shepherd had 16 points and 7 boards each. Sullivan, the HITS FM player of the Game for the winners, had 13 points while Joseph Snow had a team-high 15 points.

Sunday Dalhousie 81 Memorial 73
The Sea~Hawks gave a much better defensive effort on Sunday but could not get the shots to fall down the stretch as Dalhousie held on for a 81-73 win.

The Sea~Hawks should be encouraged by their team defense throughout despite the loss. Jason Shepherd was all over the court for the ‘Hawks and finished with a team-high in points and assists with 24 and 7 respectively. He also grabbed 6 rebounds. Rookie Mike Helsby also made a nice contribution slashing his way to 16 points and a big 8 rebounds from the guard position.

Though there were a lot of positives in the game the resulting loss was a tough pill to swallow for Memorial.

The Dalhousie backcourt of Simon Farine and Sullivan continued to hurt the ‘Hawks. Sullivan had 22 points while Farine added 20.

Sea~Hawks rookie forward Justin Grainger twisted his knee early in the game and did not return.

The Sea~Hawks will travel to Cape Breton to take on the first place Capers next weekend in Sydney.