Sea~Hawks Weekly Preview

Plenty of Sea~Hawks action on the schedule this weekend

This weekend will be a busy one for the Memorial Sea~Hawks as teams will be in action in swimming, volleyball and basketball. The swim team is off to Acadia for the Jack Scholz AUS Invitational Meet on Saturday and Sunday. The women’s volleyball travels to Halifax for a weekend series against Saint Mary’s while the men are in Montreal for the second Interlock tournament against teams from Quebec. The only home action this weekend is in basketball as the ‘Hawks host the Dalhousie Tigers at the Field House Saturday and Sunday.

Swimming

This weekend marks the fourth and final meet for the Memorial Swim team before AUS and CIS Championships as they travel to Acadia University for the Jack Scholz AUS Invitational. After an extended hiatus from their swimming program, Acadia hosts the four session meet with a different relay competing in each session.

On the men's side, the Sea~Hawks will be sending six individuals to compete this weekend. Fifth year Tim Rusted is travelling with the team to Acadia having already qualified for CIS Champs in distance freestyle, and will be looking to focus on his individual medley (IM) events at Acadia. Third year Brett Foster will be racing in the IM and butterfly events while he looks to move into medal standings in the AUS.

Second year Tim Bennett will be racing backstroke events this weekend as he builds on significant improvements in the fall and moves closer to CIS standards.

Memorial will be sending three rookie swimmers this weekend. Adam Harvey, who has had a promising first season, will be racing freestyle and backstroke events. Richard Hibbs will be racing breaststroke and IM events, and will need to improve his times in order to be in a position to medal at AUS Championships. Ryan Allen will also be racing breaststroke and IM events and should be in a position to medal at AUS Championships in February.

Notably absent from this weekend’s meet will be David Forbes, who will remain home due to academic commitments.

Six women will be travelling to Acadia this weekend for the Sea~Hawks with many having their sights on the CIS Championships later this season. Third year Monica MacGillivray is headed to Acadia racing IM and freestyle events. Look for MacGillivray to reach finals in all of her events this weekend. Sophomore Kelsie Rogers has already qualified for CIS Championships in the 50m freestyle and is looking to qualify in the 100m freestyle and swim some longer events this weekend.

Second year Dayna Hogan is building on her momentum thus far, continuing to move closer to CIS Championship standards in the distance freestyle and IM events. Second year Leah Tomblin is looking sharp after recovering from injury earlier in the season. In her first meet of the season this weekend she is looking to be medaling in the AUS and aiming for CIS Championships down the road. Rookie Erin Daly will be headed to Acadia racing breaststroke events.

Rounding out the squad for the Sea~Hawks will be rookie Erica Noonan. Noonan will be racing in her first meet of the year as she gears up for the Canadian National SWAD Meet in San Antonio in March where she will be racing to qualify for the Para-World Championships.

Coach Brad Hutton is excited about the team he has travelling this weekend. He said, “With loads of talent and a promising future, this weekend's relays should be a good indicator of where the team stands heading into AUS Championships in UPEI the first weekend in February.”

Women’s Volleyball

The women’s Sea~Hawks face a tough task this weekend as they travel back to Halifax, this time to take on first place Saint Mary’s for a two game weekend series.

In a division that has no clear-cut standout, the Huskies sit atop the standings with a 5-5 record but have seen limited action in the second half of the season so far. However, four of the losses have come in Interlock competition and Saint Mary’s currently has a 5-1 record in AUS play. Currently undefeated at home, the Huskies find their success in delivering a balanced attack to their opponents, both on the offensive and defensive end. The multiple threats at the net like third year standouts Bryanne Hogue and Elizabeth Cosulich have made it difficult for opposing teams to adjust defensively. Add in another third year powerhouse in Allison Beaver (1st AUS at 3.37 kpg, 2nd AUS at 3.75 ppg) and the Huskies have a front line to be reckoned with.

Although the Sea~Hawks struggled this past weekend, they showed potential with their hard fought loss on Friday night. After taking the first set, the Tigers clawed back to win 3-1 despite the exceptional performances from Sasha Wilkins and Erin Bursey (14 and 13 kills each, respectively). To match Saint Mary’s all-around team play, the Sea~Hawks will need a balanced attack. Angela Peddle also had a productive weekend for the ‘Hawks, posting a team-high 5 blocks in Saturday’s loss.

Men’s Volleyball

This weekend the Sea~Hawks face another stretch of tough matches as they play in the second Interlock tournament of the 2009-2010, taking place in Montreal at McGill University. The men will once again kick off their action against the struggling McGill Redmen at 8 p.m. on Friday night. The Redmen, 1-9, will look for an offensive spark from Quebec Student Sports Federation (QSSF) 2008-09 Second Team All-Star Matthew Mosseler, while libero Brad Jolliffe looks to hold the fort defensively for the ‘Hawks. Memorial beat McGill in straight sets at the first Interlock on November, 20th.

On Saturday, the Sea~Hawks face their toughest opponent all season as they battle the Laval Rouge et Or, currently the top ranked team in the country. Memorial will look for second year left side Drew Stephens to have a inspired performance against a Laval team featuring last season’s QSSF Libero of the Year Nicolas Quirion.

In their second match of the day, the Sea~Hawks will take on the Sherbrooke Vert et Or, who are led by fourth year right side and 2008-09 QSSF First Team All-Star Simon Girard.

Times for Saturday’s matches are 11am against Laval and 6pm against Sherbrooke.

The Sea~Hawks will wrap up the weekend against the talented Montréal Carabins featuring 2008-09 QSSF MVP Emmanuel André-Morin, who was second in the CIS in scoring averaging 6.08 points per game last season. The Sea~Hawks will have their work cut out for them this weekend, with a rigorous four match schedule they will need to execute on both ends if they want to come out of Montreal with some wins.

Women's Basketball

After sweeping the two game series against the UPEI Panthers, the Sea~Hawks are looking ahead to another home series this weekend as they take on the Dalhousie Tigers at the Field House. Game times are Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m.

Memorial has been playing solid as of late, making quick work of the Panthers and winning three of four in 2010. However, they face a Dalhousie team who has been playing their best basketball all season. The Tigers have turned it on as of late, also winning three of four games in the New Year including an impressive 73-58 win over third place St. Francis Xavier this past weekend. Coach Anna Stammberger’s team also took first place Cape Breton to the edge in their last contest, falling to the Capers by only two points in the 53-51 loss. Dalhousie is also only one of two teams to defeat the ‘Hawks this season, splitting their series in November at the Dalplex.

In the past four games the front line of Laurie Girdwood (15.0 ppg/9.7 rpg) and Cailin Crosby (16.5 ppg/6.2 rpg) have led the charge for Dalhousie. The Sea~Hawks interior defense will have a major test this coming weekend, but look for Ally Forsey, Jennifer Parson, Ericka Gratton, and Stephanie Stewart to play strong defense in the paint.

The Sea~Hawk’s offense was rolling against UPEI, putting up 79 and 81 points in the wins against the Panthers. Look for Memorial to use their offensive fire power heavily against Dalhousie; a team that has struggled to find the basket all season long as they are currently ranked second to last in the AUS at 63.2 points per game as a team). Vicki Thistle, Erin Mullaley, Grace Fishbein and Brittany Dalton will all lead the balanced Memorial attack.

Men's Basketball

The Sea~Hawks look to rebound from a disappointing weekend in Charlottetown as the always competitive Dalhousie Tigers make the trip in from Halifax this weekend for a two game series. Tipoff is 8 p.m. Saturday night and 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon at the Field House.

The story coming into this weekend from the Dalhousie side is the play of fourth year guard Simon Farine. The Toronto native has been making a case for AUS player of the year with the numbers he has produced this season. Farine is ranked first in scoring with 22.1 points per game, while also being in the top 10 in rebounds, assists, and steals (6.3 rpg, 4.8 apg, 2.3 spg, respectively). Farine’s numbers have come despite a recent slump in overall play from the Tigers, who have dropped three of four in 2010. These losses put their record at 5-5 coming into the weekend.

The main concern coming into this weekend for the Sea~Hawks is maintaining the same intensity for a full forty minutes. Memorial are looking to avoid the second half collapses that have been haunting them by upping the effort on the defensive end and minimizing costly turnovers. Steven Earles and Jason Shepherd will need to control the glass and bring energy from opening tip to the fourth quarter if the Sea~Hawks want to be successful against a tough Dalhousie Team. The team will also need everyone to step up and make a contribution when they are given the opportunity.

Look for rookies Mike Helsby and Justin Grainger to make an impact this weekend. Veteran Sea~Hawk Mark Woodland is also someone to keep an eye on as he looks to give the ‘Hawks a boost offensively.

Ante Samodol is questionable for the weekend as he continues to be hobbled by an ankle injury.