Ryerson seeded No. 1 in CIS men’s basketball
OTTAWA – For the first time in program history, the Ryerson University Rams enter the ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS men’s basketball championship as tournament favourites.
The seeding was announced Sunday for the Final Eight hosted by the University of British Columbia. The national tournament gets underway Thursday at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre and culminates next Sunday at 5:30 p.m. PT (8:30 p.m. ET) with the gold-medal final, live on Sportsnet 360. Saturday’s semifinals are also live on Sportsnet 360 (3 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. PT) and all 11 games from the competition will be webcast on CIS-SIC.tv.
Looking for their first W.P. McGee Trophy title, the OUA champion Rams are joined in Vancouver by the No. 2 and reigning five-time national champion Carleton Ravens (OUA finalists), No. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA bronze medallists), No. 4 Calgary Dinos (Canada West champs), No. 5 McGill Redmen (RSEQ champs), No. 6 Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champs), No. 7 Thompson Rivers WolfPack (Canada West finalists) and No. 8 UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West bronze medallists).
A year after claiming a program-best CIS bronze medal on home court, the Rams earned No. 1 status thanks to a 73-68 win over Carleton in Saturday’s Wilson Cup final, good for their first-ever OUA title. Ryerson tied Ottawa for the best record in the country during the regular season with a 17-2 mark and spent four weeks atop the national rankings, also a first in team history.
For the second straight year, Ottawa received the at-large berth (wild card) following a vote by a committee of CIS coaches. The Gee-Gees, who competed in the last two CIS finals, settled for bronze at the OUA Final Four this weekend but were ranked in the top three nationally the entire season, including six weeks at No. 1.
Carleton holds the all-time mark with 11 W.P. McGee Trophy conquests and hopes to move to within one of Victoria’s record streak of seven straight titles from 1980 to 1986. UBC is the only other program among this week’s contenders to have claimed the CIS banner in the past, its triumphs dating back to 1970 and 1972.
SEEDING
1. Ryerson Rams (OUA champions: 17-2 regular season / 3-0 playoffs)
2. Carleton Ravens (OUA finalists: 16-3 regular season / 2-1 playoffs)
3. Ottawa Gee-Gees (At-Large Berth: 17-2 regular season / 2-1 playoffs)
4. Calgary Dinos (CWUAA champions: 17-3 regular season / 4-0 playoffs)
5. McGill Redmen (RSEQ champions: 12-4 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
6. Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champions: 13-7 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
7. Thompson Rivers WolfPack (CWUAA finalists: 16-4 regular season / 3-2 playoffs)
8. UBC Thunderbirds (Hosts: 16-4 regular season / 3-1 playoffs)
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UQTR seeded No. 1 in CIS men’s hockey University Cup
OTTAWA – For the first time since 1999, the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières Patriotes are the tournament favourites heading into the CIS men’s hockey championship.
The seeding was announced on Sunday for the 2016 University Cup tourney hosted by Saint Mary’s University at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax. The eight-team competition gets underway Thursday and culminates next Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET with the gold-medal final, live on Sportsnet 360. Saturday’s semifinals are also live on Sportsnet 360 (11 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET), while the quarter-finals and the bronze-medal match are set to air on Eastlink TV. All eight games from the championship will be webcast on CIS-SIC.tv.
Rounding out the seeding behind OUA conference champion UQTR are the No. 2 Saskatchewan Huskies (Canada West champs), No. 3 St. Francis Xavier X-Men (AUS champs), No. 4 Western Mustangs (OUA finalists), No. 5 UNB Varsity Reds (AUS finalists), No. 6 and reigning two-time University Cup champion Alberta Golden Bears (Canada West finalists), No. 7 Carleton Ravens (OUA bronze medallists) and No. 8 Saint Mary’s Huskies (hosts).
The quarter-final matchups, split over the first two days of competition, include Carleton vs. Saskatchewan and Alberta vs. StFX on Thursday, followed by UNB vs. Western and Saint Mary’s vs. UQTR on Friday.
The Patriotes earned the No. 1 seed thanks to a 4-3 overtime win over Western in Saturday’s Queen’s Cup final in London, which capped an unblemished 7-0 playoff run for the perennial powerhouse which also kept the best record in the country in conference play (24-3-1). This marks the fourth time in program history that UQTR has entered the tournament as the top seed, after 1999 (fifth place), 1992 (third place) and 1991 (champions).
Reigning national champion Alberta holds the all-time record with 15 University Cup titles. UNB (5), UQTR (4), Saskatchewan (1), StFX (1), Western (1) and Saint Mary’s (1) have also been crowned in the past, while Carleton is looking for its first triumph.
SEEDING
1. UQTR Patriotes (OUA champions: 24-3-1 regular season / 7-0 playoffs)
2. Saskatchewan Huskies (CWUAA champions: 22-6-0 regular season / 4-0 playoffs)
3. StFX X-Men (AUS champions: 18-6-4 regular season / 5-1 playoffs)
4. Western Mustangs (OUA finalists: 18-10-0 regular season / 6-3 playoffs)
5. UNB Varsity Reds (AUS finalists: 23-3-2 regular season / 3-2 playoffs)
6. Alberta Golden Bears (CWUAA finalists: 19-7-2 regular season / 2-2 playoffs)
7. Carleton Ravens (OUA bronze medallists: 20-7-1 regular season / 5-2 playoffs)
8. Saint Mary’s Huskies (Hosts: 17-8-3 regular season / 3-3 playoffs)
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McGill seeded No. 1 in CIS women’s basketball
OTTAWA – For the first time in program history, the McGill University Martlets have earned the top seed for the ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS women’s basketball championship.
The seeding was announced Sunday for the Final Eight, hosted by the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. The tournament gets underway Thursday at the Richard J. Currie Center and culminates next Sunday at 12 p.m. ET with the national final, live on Sportsnet 360. Saturday’s semifinals are live on Sportsnet ONE (11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. ET) and all 11 games from the competition will also be webcast on CIS-SIC.tv.
Rounding out the draw behind the reigning five-time RSEQ champion Martlets are the No. 2 Saskatchewan Huskies (Canada West champs), No. 3 Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champs), No. 4 Regina Cougars (Canada West finalists), No. 5 Ryerson Rams (OUA champs), No. 6 Alberta Pandas (Canada West bronze medallists), No. 7 Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA finalists) and No. 8 UNB Varsity Reds (hosts).
Thursday’s quarter-final matchups include Ottawa vs. Saskatchewan in the opener, followed by Alberta vs. Saint Mary’s, host UNB vs. McGill, as well as Ryerson vs. Regina.
New CIS champions will be crowned next weekend as Windsor’s quest for a record sixth straight Bronze Baby Trophy title came to an end on Friday night when the Lancers fell to Ryerson in the OUA semis.
Top-seeded McGill hopes to claim its first Bronze Baby after reaching the CIS championship final for the first time a year ago in Quebec City. The Martlets, who topped each of the last three national coaches’ polls of the season, were a logical choice for No. 1 status after finishing atop the RSEQ standings with a stellar 15-1 mark before capturing their fifth straight Quebec banner.
For the third year in a row, Alberta received the at-large berth (wildcard) following a vote by a committee of CIS coaches. The Pandas, who claimed Canada West bronze after going 17-3 in conference play, were ranked in all 13 weekly polls in 2015-16, including a No. 7 ranking in each of the last two polls.
Only two of this week’s contenders have hoisted the Bronze Baby in the past. Alberta triumphed in 1999, while Regina was crowned two years later.
SEEDING
1. McGill Martlets (RSEQ champions: 15-1 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
2. Saskatchewan Huskies (CWUAA champions: 18-2 regular season / 4-0 playoffs)
3. Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champions: 19-1 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
4. Regina Cougars (CWUAA finalists: 17-3 regular season / 3-1 playoffs)
5. Ryerson Rams (OUA champions: 16-3 regular season / 3-0 playoffs)
6. Alberta Pandas (At-Large Berth: 17-3 regular season / 3-1 playoffs)
7. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA finalists: 17-2 regular season / 2-1 playoffs)
8. UNB Varsity Reds (Hosts: 12-8 regular season / 1-1 playoffs)
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Guelph women’s hockey team seeded No. 1 for first time in program history
OTTAWA – For the first time in program history, the University of Guelph Gryphons are the team to beat heading into the CIS women’s hockey championship.
The seeding was announced Sunday for the national tournament hosted for the second straight year by the University of Calgary. The eight-team competition kicks off on Thursday at the Markin MacPhail Centre and culminates next Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET with the gold-medal final, live on Sportsnet 360. Saturday’s semifinals are also televised live on Sportsnet ONE (4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET) and all 11 games from the tournament will be webcast on CIS-SIC.tv.
Joining the OUA conference champion Gryphons in their quest for the Golden Path Trophy are the No. 2 Montreal Carabins (RSEQ champs), No. 3 Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champs), No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West champs), No. 5 McGill Martlets (RSEQ finalists), No. 6 and defending national champion Western Mustangs (OUA finalists), No. 7 Calgary Dinos (hosts) and No. 8 St. Thomas Tommies (AUS finalists).
The quarter-final matchups, split over the first two days of competition, include St. Thomas vs. Guelph and McGill vs. UBC on Thursday, followed by Western vs. Saint Mary’s and Calgary vs. Montreal on Friday.
The Gryphons, who have been sitting atop the national rankings since mid-November, secured the No. 1 spot thanks to a 5-1 domination of reigning CIS champ Western in Saturday’s OUA final. A year ago, Guelph placed fifth in its first appearance at the CIS tournament since 1998.
McGill is the most decorated program at this week’s tourney with four Golden Path Trophy triumphs. Montreal, Western and Calgary have claimed one CIS title apiece.
SEEDING
1. Guelph Gryphons (OUA champions: 21-2-1 regular season / 5-1 playoffs)
2. Montreal Carabins (RSEQ champions: 15-3-2 regular season / 4-0 playoffs)
3. Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champions: 17-6-1 regular season / 4-2 playoffs)
4. UBC Thunderbirds (CWUAA champions: 16-9-3 regular season / 4-2 playoffs)
5. McGill Martlets (RSEQ finalists: 13-5-2 regular season / 2-2 playoffs)
6. Western Mustangs (OUA finalists: 15-8-1 regular season / 4-2 playoffs)
7. Calgary Dinos (Hosts: 12-12-4 regular season / 0-2 playoffs)
8. St. Thomas Tommies (AUS finalists: 16-7-1 regular season / 5-2 playoffs)