Weekly Preview

Exhibition Weekend

The Memorial Sea~Hawks will have no time for turkey this Thanksgiving weekend as the men’s and women’s basketball, swimming, and men’s volleyball teams will all make their home debut in exhibition competition.

Men’s and Women’s Swimming
The men’s and women’s Sea~Hawk swim teams will both hit the water on Saturday evening when they take on the High School All-Stars and see their first competitive action of the 2009-10 season. In a rare home meet opportunity, Sea~Hawks fans will get the chance to see Memorial’s own, along with some of the best high school swimmers in the city.

On the men’s side, the team will look to build upon last year’s successful and record breaking season right out of the gate. With last year’s AUS Rookie of the Year David Forbes back in the pool, along with seniors Tim Rusted, and Bin Shen, the Sea~Hawks remain a force to be reckoned with. Joining them are four very talented swimmers who spent all summer in the pool at Canada Games including sophomore Sea~Hawks Tim Bennett, and Matthew Avis, and rookies Adam Harvey, and Richard Hibbs.

The women’s team will be looking for improvement this season with many swimmers narrowly missing out on the CIS Championships last season. Straight from Canada Games success are sophomores Kelsie Rogers, Dayna Hogan, and Leah Tomblin who will all be looking to improve upon their rookie seasons. Joining them from Canada Games are rookies Kelsey Flynn and Erica Noonan. Noonan will be training with the Sea~Hawks this season as she prepares for the Para-World Championships in 2010.

The Sea~Hawks will make their first splash of the season on Saturday evening at 4:30 p.m. in the MUN Pool.

Men’s Volleyball
The men’s volleyball team will kick off their 2009-10 season this weekend when they compete in the first part of a home-and-home series with the Royal Military College Paladins. With both teams coming off of disappointing seasons, fans should watch for three highly competitive and entertaining matches over the weekend.

The Sea~Hawks will be looking to jumpstart their season with a win over RMC, a team that is very similar to their own. RMC has struggled in the OUA the past few years, but Coach Steve Leknois is determined to turn the Paladins program around. Watch for third year right side Philip Gualjski, and fifth year left side Ian Wookey to make the Sea~Hawks defense scramble.
The Sea~Hawks are returning to the court with many young, but familiar faces from last season. After a long summer in the gym with Canada Games, watch for last year’s AUS Rookie of the year Scott Hickman to dominate play from the middle. Third year Alex Barrett will be making the transition from setter to left side on the weekend as the team prepares for a tough AUS season ahead.

The Sea~Hawks will be in action on Friday night at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 7:00 p.m. and on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. with all games being played in the MUN Gym.

Women’s Basketball
The Memorial women’s basketball team will hit the court for the first time this season when they host a three game series with the Laurentian University Lady Vees from the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference.

The Laurentian Lady Vees will be tough competition for the ‘Hawks led by fourth year players and scoring threats Norma-Jean Roberts and Kate Goggins. Joining Roberts and Goggins are OUA All-Star Darrah Bumstead, and three point specialist Kauri LaFontaine, which together create a potent offence that the Sea~Hawks will look to contain. Last season, Laurentian finished 4th in the OUA East and with a heavily veteran roster this season, the Lady Vees will look to use the weekend series against Memorial as a stepping stone towards an OUA conference title.

The Sea~Hawks will be looking to create some offense of their own this weekend when AUS All-Rookie team members Ally Forsey and Ericka Gratton start their second seasons with the team. Forward Vicki Thistle will be back with the ‘Hawks this season and is sure to use her offensive abilities put her second in the AUS scoring race last season. This weekend will be a great opportunity for the Sea~Hawks to fine tune their game before the AUS season kicks off at home on November 7th.

Game times this weekend are Friday night at 7:30 p.m. when the Sea~Hawks play as part of the grand opening of the new home of City Stars Basketball at the YMCA on New Cove Road, and Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at the Field House.

Men’s Basketball
Coming off a weekend exhibition road trip to New Brunswick, fans of the Sea~Hawks men’s basketball team will have their first chance to see the team that went 3-0 at the University Hoops Showcase on the River in Miramichi. As an added bonus, fans will get to see the Sea~Hawks sharpen their skills against some of the Sea~Hawks own, when they play in two exhibition games Memorial Sea~Hawks Alumni.

Memorial is bringing home many positives from their weekend away, including high scoring efforts from sophomores Steve Earles and Robbie Habib. Getting the Memorial male athlete of the week nod was rookie Mike Helsby who led the Sea~Hawks in scoring in both of Sunday’s games.
Watch for the Sea~Hawks to use their youthfulness wisely when they meet in the Alumni Friday night at the new home of City Stars Basketball at the YMCA on New Cove Road, and again on Saturday at the Field House. Game times are 9:00 p.m. Friday following the women’s game, and 8:00 p.m. Saturday.

The alumni team will consist of some familiar faces, with players ranging from recent graduates such as Grant Harvey and George English, to some players from the further past including John Devereaux and Mike Woods. Men’s assistant coach Evan Constantine will suit up for the alumni team but head coach Peter Benoite will be on the sidelines keeping the current Sea~Hawks together as they try to take down the experience of the alumni.