Sea~Hawks Kick, Run, Dribble and get Set for an exciting weekend of play across Eastern Canada

The Sea~Hawks spread their wings all over eastern Canada this weekend with the most excitement happening at home. The race for the playoffs in soccer heats up as both teams face must win games in their quest for playoff berths. The Men's and Women's Cross Country teams travel to Halifax for their second race of the year and the Women's Volleyball team find themselves in Montreal for their final preseason tune-up. The Men's Volleyball team has packed their bags for Kingston, Ontario while the Ladies Basketball team venture to Waterloo for their first taste of preseason play. Not ones to leave their fans out in the cold, the Men's basketball team will take advantage of an empty home gym to offer fans an intersquad game and an Alumni game over the weekend. So if you are a fan of the Sea~Hawks we have a bit of everything for you.

     

Women's Soccer

   


The Mount Allison Mounties (1-3-3) are flying into St. John's this weekend and are the first team the young Sea~Hawks need to leapfrog to make a playoff run. The six available points would vault Memorial into the playoff mix and would pressure all the teams ahead of them in the standings.

     

Success for the Sea~Hawks will have to begin on the backline as Coach Mavin has placed an emphasis on being focussed early. The Sea~Hawks will rely heavily on good decision making without the ball while winning the fifty-fifty balls. The experienced defence led by fifth years Laura Tilley and Lauren Murphy have to play with confidence as they distribute the ball through the midfield and spring the ever improving front line forward. During the off-week the Sea~Hawks worked feverishly on their frontline attack and focussed on starting the game stronger. The Mounties come into the weekend with just one goal scored on the season and really struggle to generate an attack. The Sea~Hawks will need to get up early and play a full ninety minutes if they hope to continue the Mounties futility streak, which now sits at six games without a goal.

     

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador has once again teamed up with Memorial Soccer to raise awareness and money for local Cancer research, education and wellness programs. Fans can buy a limited edition shirt at the game or pledge their support to one of the Sea~Hawks players.

       

Men's Soccer

The Sea~Hawks head into the weekend matches with an identical record (1-4-2) of their opponents, the Mount Allison Mounties. However, the similarities should end there. Heading into 2011 there was much hype about the depth of the Sea~Hawks roster and the talent on the backline for Memorial was the best it has been in years. Seven games into the season and all expectations have been tossed out the window. A new attitude has emerged and fan can expect to see the depth that Scott Betts has at his expense.

       

       

The Sea~Hawks attack has evolved since the first games of the season. Save for scoring leader Steven Delong, old faces have brought new life for the dormant offence as fifth year forwards Jay Babstock and Zach Hynes have joined the rotation along with spirited forward Scotty Woodfine. With this fearsome foursome now up front watch for midfielders Matthew Hamlyn and Jon Grant to put added pressure on a very respectable Mounties defence. Memorial will be successful if the forwards are disciplined and outlast the relentless Mounties backline. Memorial's defence has seen a steady improvement and had the Sea~Hawks not finished the last three games down a man; they may have a few more points this season.

     

The Men's game will start at 5:15pm this Saturday so bring your family and friends down for some hotdogs or a hot bowl of soup, wear your red and get ready to make some noise

     

Women's Cross Country

In the second race for the Sea~Hawks the surprise factor of having a dominant runner like Caroline McIlroy upfront will be gone and watch for teams to focus a team attack on the Sea~Hawks top racer allowing the other top runners to keep within striking distance. For the remaining seven racers they will need an attack plan of their own to ensure their top five come in before those of their AUS counterparts. Veteran runners Victoria Ralph and Laura Lawes were disappointed with the Acadia meet feeling as though they left time on the course. This time around the conditions and the familiarity with the course should mean faster times. Melanie Amminson and dual sport athlete Lindsay Oldham should continue to improve this week as both are showing a level of mental toughness and confidence that comes with experience. Rounding out the travel team this weekend will be Mellissa Campbell and rookie runner Skye Fisher who coach Art Meaney feels will be ready to run all out next season. In the interim Meaney recognizes the importance of experience that the young runner needs to acquire to be able to contribute the team's future success. Fisher is definitely ready to take this next step and the Dalhousie race is as much for the present as it is for the future development of the women's team.

     

Men's Cross Country

The Men's team is in a unique situation heading into the 8km Dalhousie Invitational. They are relatively unknown and flying under the radar but the team feels they have a lot to prove to themselves and to the AUS.

     

The confidence and focus heading into the second race has replaced the joy and excitement of earning a spot on the travel team and for runners like Rudy Riedlsperger and Landon Fisher you get the sense that they are ready for this race. For Nick Snow who now has a better understanding of the competitiveness of the AUS field you see a runner who is prepared to improve his time and in race management. Graham Snow and Jon Slaney get the opportunity to run in front of family members as they hope to once again crack the top 20 and contribute to a top three finish. Watch for Mark Hayward to join rookie standout Jordan Fewer in a race for the top 10 as Hayward's experience will benefit both runners amongst the larger pockets of leading racers. With this being the final warm-up race before the AUS championships Meaney is hopful that the team will continue towards another top three team result.

   

Women's Volleyball

The Women's Volleyball team will travel Mc Gill University in Montreal to compete in the 21st Annual McGill Invitational. The tournament includes a very competitive field including perennial CIS Top Ten teams University of Montreal, and McGill University. Rounding out the field will be University of Sherbrooke, Dalhousie, and Saint Mary's also of the AUS. This tournament will provide the young Sea~Hawks team with invaluable experience, knowledge, and confidence as they continue to move toward playoff and championship contention in the AUS.

     

Coach Thistle pulls no punches in understanding that participation in this tournament is a part of the process of becoming the strongest team by season's end. With no Interlock with the RSEQ teams this is the only opportunity for Memorial to face competition outside of the AUS in 2011-2012. The team is eager to measure up with the RSEQ after two matches in one day as they serve it up on Friday at 2pm against their host McGill and then return to the court that evening at 6pm to take on Sherbrooke. On Saturday they dig in against University of Montreal. Last season before the team found their groove they lost 3-1 to McGill and 3-2 to Sherbrooke. That loss to Sherbrooke seemed to roll the tide of the Sea~Hawks as they washed away the competition losing just two matches the rest of the 2010-2011 season.

     

Coach Thistle has a planned rotation heading into this weekend and he will use the opportunity to prepare his roster for the challenges of the AUS season. He will test his player's ability to react and compete to each situation as they prepare for a long playoff run this season.

     

Men's Volleyball

For the second year in a row the Men's volleyball team will head to Kingston Ontario for a preseason tournament at Royal Military College. This year the men will play five games against Nipissing University (OCAA), Ryerson University (OUA), York University (OUA), University of Sherbrooke (RSEQ), and RMC (OUA). The opportunity for the Sea~Hawks to get into game action comes at a perfect time as practices have been spirited and competitive. However, Coach Luke Harris recognizes the need for his team to start hitting against players other than his own.

   

This preseason tournament is about preparing the team for the AUS competition as they appear ready to take their turn at an AUS title shot. The schedule kicks into high gear as they open against Ontario College Athletic Association team Nipissing University at 6pmon Friday night. They will follow up with a pair of games on Saturday versus Sherbrooke (12pm) and Ryerson (6pm). On Sunday the Men will double dip with back to back matches against York and RMC at 1pm and 3pm respectively.

     

The men will travel this weekend without Team MVP Nathan Tilley who has a work term commitment that will keep him from competing. Fellow engineering student Josh Ennis makes his return to the Sea~Hawks after sitting out last season to focus on Academic commitments. To follow the Sea~Hawks results check the Sea~Hawks scoreboard at www.goseahawks.ca

         

Women's Basketball

The women's basketball team will travel to the University of Waterloo for the first time in two years to compete in the Naismith Classic. The Sea~Hawks have experienced some success in their home away from home winning this tournament in 2009. With 5 players on the roster from the South Western Ontario region it will most definitely feel as close to home as possible. The tournament kicks off with a game versus Gannon University and NCAA division two team Friday at 1pm. The team will tipoff against the host Warriors at 3pm on Saturday and finish the tournament against Laurentian on Sunday morning at 10am.

     

   

This will be the first action for the revamped Sea~Hawks who feature five new faces including Megan Robinson, Marika VandenElzen, Kelli Linehan, Rebecca Amos-Mensah and Baltimore, Maryland native Tiffany McMillion. Returning for the Sea~Hawks are Kelia Pond, Amanda Martret, Cassidy Brothers, Emily Jameson, Robyn O'Rielly, Ally Forsey, and Grace Fishbein.

     

Men's Basketball

The Men's basketball team invite the general public to the MUN gymnasium on Saturday for their annual Alumni game on Saturday night at 7pm.

   

Follow the Sea~Hawks all season long at www.goseahawks.ca