Tough weekend on the court, in the rink

Dal Tiger volleyball player Lauren Smith was named AUS Libero of the Year. (Nick Pearce Photo)

This past weekend the women’s volleyball team traveled to Cape Breton to compete in the Subway AUS championship. In the quarter-final match on Friday, the women beat CBU in the fifth set for a 3-2 win, but in Saturday’s semifinal round versus the Varsity Reds, Dal faced a 3-1 defeat.

Last weekend men’s volleyball battled UNB in the best of three games Subway AUS championship series. Game one took place Friday night in Fredericton and after five sets the Tigers fell to the Varsity Reds 3-2. On Sunday the men gave everything they had, but came up short after five sets and lost 3-2 to UNB.

Women’s hockey faced off against Universite de Moncton on Friday in Moncton. Dal fought hard despite a short bench due to injuries, but lost 3-2 to les Aigles Bleues. Forwards Megan O’Neil and Jocelyn LeBlanc scored for the Tigers. Saturday night the women’s luck was not much better as they faced a 6-3 defeat by STU. Captain Laura Shearer netted the Tigers' first goal, followed by forwards Rebecca Smyth and Jocelyn LeBlanc. The women will play first place St. FX in the last game of the season on Sunday, February 27.

The men’s hockey team took on St. FX in the AUS championship quarter-final series on Friday in Antigonish and Saturday in Halifax. On Friday the Tigers couldn’t get a break and were defeated 4-0. At Memorial Arena on Saturday the men battled fiercely to stay alive in the playoffs, but St. FX netted a goal with only 10 seconds remaining on the clock for a 3-2 victory. Goals were scored by defenseman Benoit Gervais and forward Jacob Johnston.

The Tigers basketball teams were in Wolfville for two doubleheaders versus Acadia last weekend. On Saturday Courtney Thompson led the women with 11 rebounds and 16 points. Brooke Sullivan and Anna von Maltzahn also played well with 13 points each. Despite these performances, Dal was unable to keep up and fell 83-63 to the Axewomen. Sunday afternoon the women faced defeat again with Acadia besting Dal 75-69. Anna von Maltzahn finished the game with 13 rebounds and 22 points, and guard Courtney Thompson collected 16 points.

On the men’s side, Dal enjoyed an 81-73 victory on Saturday against the Axemen. Simon Farine displayed excellent leadership with 26 points and forward Joseph Schow followed suit earning 10 rebounds and 8 points. On Sunday, the Axemen upset the black and gold 73-71. Mr. Farine played consistently well, collecting 19 points. Guard Stephen Lopez also played exceptionally, earning 13 points. Both Tiger basketball teams will host cross-town rivals SMU on Saturday, February 26 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in their last home games of the season.

Saturday and Sunday Dalplex hosted the Tiger Track Classic. The men’s 4x400 relay clocked a Dalhousie record setting time of 3:21.20. First year Justin Blades was a key runner with the fastest leg of the relay. Running well individually was Dan Gorman, who ran a time of 3:56.45 for first place in the 1500 metre. On the women’s side Ashley Ryer clinched a first place finish in the women’s 1000m with a time of 2:52.30. In the 1500 metres, Caroline Schlosser claimed first place with a time of 4:31.16 and in the women’s 20lb weight throw, Elizabeth MacDonald threw an impressive distance of 15.10 metres to earn first place.

Justin Blades, Track and Field Justin Blades helped move the track and field relay team to a fifth place CIS ranking. (Nick Pearce Photo) First-year runner Justin Blades led his team this past weekend at the Tiger Track Classic hosted at Dalplex. Justin clocked a time of 1:19.83 in the 600 metres for a second place finish and had the fastest leg of the 4x400 relay, which was a record breaking time for Dalhousie (3:21.20). Mr. Blades’ contribution helped move Dalhousie into a fifth place CIS ranking for the 4x400 relay. The Yarmouth, N.S. native is studying arts at Dalhousie. Lauren Smith, Volleyball At the Subway AUS championship, third-year libero Lauren Smith played an exceptional quarter-final match against CBU to help the Tigers bounce back after the Capers took an early 2-0 lead. The match went to five sets and Lauren recorded 26 digs and passed a 2.45 average to lead Dal to a 3-0 win.  Ms. Smith was instrumental in the semifinal round as well, recording a 2.2 passing average and 15 digs. For her performance this season, Ms. Smith was named an AUS first team all-star and AUS Libero of the Year. She is from Burnaby, B.C. and is studying science.