Season Heating Up as Fall Semester winds down

The Sea~Hawks have an exciting weekend on tap as the Basketball teams play their final home games in 2011 and the Volleyball and Swim teams head into Halifax for a weekend at the DALplex. The volleyballers do a double dip with the Tigers and the Swimmers speed into the AUS invitational. The swim team will be lead by Co-Captain Leah Tomblin as she looks to add to her CIS qualifying events as she looks to add to her qualifying in the 200m Backstroke last weekend in St. John's. At the Field house it will be the battle of the Islanders as UPEI prowls into St. John's to take on the Sea~Hawks in a weekend double dip Saturday and Sunday. The home games feature two very special events on Saturday as the Annual Nita Chambers (Sutton) Awards are handed out and Operation: Toys for Kids is happening.

       

Women's Basketball

     

Following a successful road trip to UNB that saw the Sea~Hawks pull out two road victories in New Brunswick for the first time since the 2007-2008 season, the women will return to the nest to engage in a battle of the islanders.

     

MUN will be squaring off against an improved UPEI Panthers squad this weekend in a two game series. Head Coach Carly Clarke is back at the helm for her third season with the Panthers and is looking to improve on a winless 2010-2011 campaign. The young Panthers squad has already been making noise in the young season, knocking off the UNB Varsity Reds in preseason action and giving a high scoring Saint Mary's Huskies team a good run.

     

The Sea~Hawks are coming off two big wins at UNB, both of which they won in convincing fashion. Ally Forsey is continuing to display why she is one of the premiere post players in the AUS. In the weekend series versus the Varsity Reds, Forsey averaged 17 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the two games; large numbers considering she did so averaging just 21 minutes of playing time on the weekend. Fourth year pharmacy student Robyn O'Rielly has continued to be a force for the Sea~Hawks with her sharp-shooting and ability to knock down shots from long range. Through the first four games of the season, O'Rielly leads the conference in three-point field goals made with 12 in total.

     

Currently the Sea~Hawks possess a 3-1 record, while the Panthers are winless on the season at 0-2. Heading into the matchup, Memorial is the second highest scoring team in the AUS averaging 76.5 points per game, whereas UPEI has a rather anaemic offense through two games, averaging a conference low 58 points per outing. A key to success for the Sea~Hawks this weekend will be to continually apply pressure to the young Panthers squad and close out on their shooters. UPEI is proven to be deadly from long range, shooting a league best 44.8% from behind the arc.

     

Player to watch for UPEI: St. John's native Amy Gough will suit up for her second season with the Panthers after being named to the AUS All-Rookie team last season. The 5'10 guard is averaging 10 points per game and leads the team with 5.5 rebounds per game through the first two games of the season. Another St. John's native, Laura Power, will be playing for the Panthers this season. The 6'0 dynamic forward who played high school ball for Holy Heart will be in her first year at UPEI.

     

Expect the Field House to be rocking Saturday night as the Sea~Hawks host the Panthers at 6pm. They will complete the two game series Sunday morning, as game time is scheduled for 11 am.

     

Men's Basketball

     

After what some would describe as two 'heart breaking' losses last weekend at UNB, the Sea~Hawks will look to pick up the pieces and move forward as they tangle with the UPEI Panthers.

     

The 'heart break' we are referring to was a 90-88 loss on Saturday night to the Varsity Reds, culminating in a subsequent 92-90 overtime loss the following day. Although the team will not be quick to forget, they will certainly draw on positives from the hard fought battle with UNB. Robbie Habib was stellar offensively in last weekend's matchup, scoring a combined 65 points in the two games; one of which included a 38 point outburst. Forward Mike Helsby was in fine form versus the Varsity Reds, posting 28 points on 10-17 shooting and grabbing 6 rebounds in the Saturday night loss. As an encore performance, the English major had a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and he also dished out 5 helpers.

       

Last season's matchup between the two teams saw a split, with the Sea~Hawks pulling out a 101-83 win. UPEI is off to a fairly hot start this season with two big wins over Saint Mary's. They are currently the highest scoring team in the AUS, putting up 94.5 points per game, and have been shooting the ball well from long range. Through two games, UPEI has made good on 20 of 44 attempts from three-point range and in doing so, have the second best shooting percentage in the conference.

     

In order for the Sea~Hawks to pull out a pair of wins this weekend, they will have to be hard-nosed on the glass and remember to box out. The Panthers do not possess an oversized front line (tallest player at 6'6) but they are one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the conference, and lead the AUS in rebounding margin over their opponent. This weekend games mark the return of St. John's Native Devin Ezekiel, who is a first year arts student at UPEI. The fist year guard is a graduate of Bishops College and will be making the trip with the Panthers which should add to what should be an already electric atmosphere Saturday and Sunday.To watch the webcast click here.

     

Player to watch on UPEI: 5th year guard from Mississauga, Jonathan Cooper is a leader and prominent scorer for the Panthers this season. The 6'3 guard is currently tied with the Sea~Hawks Robbie Habib as the AUS scoring leader, averaging 24.5 points per game. Cooper is a combo guard and is strong on the glass, hauling down 8.5 rebounds per game. In his last game he posted big numbers, scoring 30 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a win over the Saint Mary's Huskies.

     

The Sea~Hawks will look to open the weekend with a win on Saturday night versus the Panthers. Game time is 8pm, and the second game of the series will take place on Sunday afternoon at 1pm at the Field House.

     

Women's Swim Team

     

4th year Leah Tomblin will lead the women's team into the meet. Tomblin is coming off one of the best swims of her life last weekend in the Fall Classic when she posted a time of 2:19.35 in the 200m Backstroke, just .15 off her best time and NL Provincial Record. Tomblin made this swim without being tapered and is looking to make another jump and set new standards for women swimmers in Newfoundland this weekend when she races the backstroke, individual medley and sprint fly events.

     

Tomblin will be joined by 4th year Dayna Hogan who will be racing the sprint and mid-distance freestyle events, aiming to qualify for CIS Championships. Two rookies, Lindsay Denine of Mount Pearl and Jessica Noseworthy of St John's will round out the women's team. Denine will be racing mid-distance freestyle and individual medley, while Noseworthy will focus on breaststroke.

Live results of the AUS Invitational can be found here.

   

Men's Swim Team

     

The men's team looks to show off their depth as seven men will be racing for multiple finals at the meet against a tough AUS field including a very strong contingent from McGill. The team will be led by 3rd year Richard Hibbs and 3rd year Ryan Allen both racing in the breaststroke and individual medley events and racing to qualify for CIS Championships. 3rd year Matthew Avis will be racing the mid-distance and sprint freestyles for the team while 2nd year Matt Roberts will race the backstroke events. Rookies Curtis McKay from St John's, Brandon Billard from Sackville, NS, and Reniel Engelbrecht of St John's will all be racing the sprint fly and freestyle events. At their first varsity meet the rookies look to race towards CIS Championship standards and establish themselves in the AUS.

     

Live results of the AUS Invitational can be found here.

     

Women's Volleyball

     

Following an unexpected weekend off the Sea~Hawks (1-4) head back on the road for their twelfth straight road game. The ladies fly into Dalhousie looking to push the league leading Tigers (5-0) into the loss category. The team is confident and hopeful that the return of team captain Erin Bursey will provide the boost they need. Without their captain the Sea~Hawks have been out of sync and struggled with their passing putting greater pressure on their offensive hitters to produce. Head Coach Bill Thistle is confident that his team will be focussed and ready to play the type of volleyball they are capable of playing.

     

The Sea~Hawks will combat the height and athleticism of the Tigers with a return to their fast paced, and precise ball movement hoping to keep the opponents off balance all weekend long. Fans at home can follow the Sea~Hawks, Dalhousie match at home as the game is being webcast.

       

Men's Volleyball

     

After three weeks off the court the Men's team (0-3) finally return to action this weekend with a two game set against the second place Dalhousie Tigers (2-3). The post season hopes of the Sea~Hawks depend on the men being able to upset the second place Tigers in Halifax this weekend. For the team to have success they will have to rely on the veteran core of players who have spent their first three seasons on the outside looking in.

     

First year, Blair Parsons has helped solidify the Left side for the Sea~Hawks. Parsons should provide Drew Stephens and Nathan Tilley some more opportunity to assert themselves on both sides of the net as they look to match the skill and power of Dalhousie. This is the first game action for the men since the season opening Interlock tournament in Montreal. They face a Tigers squad who split with the UNB Varsity Reds last weekend at home. The fact that those teams split last weekend benefits the men as they too need to keep pace and generate some excitement and confidence as they prepare to host their first Interlock tournament next weekend.

     

The Men will kick off their home games next weekend on November 25th and 26th as Memorial hosts the AUS- RSEQ for more information on the schedule next weekend. this weekend's games will be webcast.