News

Men’s Basketball

The Rams men’s basketball squad stood pat in 2017-18.

The team finished the season with a 4-17 record and in a three-way tie for sixth in the eight-team conference, nearly identical to their finish from the previous campaign when they were 5-16.

However, there were bright spots for coach Andrew Barnhill. Guard J.C. Broussard was second in the conference with 20.7 points per game and 5.7 assists. The first-year Bachelor of Science student was sixth in offensive rebounds with 2.4.

Forward Robin Grouse was tops in the conference for the second consecutive season with 198 rebounds, 16 more than his nearest competitor. His 22 blocks also topped the ACAA along with Chase Bowden of the Holland College Hurricanes.

Barnhill will have a solid base to build upon next season with 10 of the 11 players on this season’s roster eligible to return.

Badminton

It was a tough season for the Rams badminton squad.

Dalhousie AC finished at the bottom of the team standings at the conference championship Feb. 17 and 18 at Holland College in Charlottetown. The Rams could only muster two set wins amongst some stiff competition at the event.

However, there were more positive results earlier in the season. Sarah Pepperdine finished in the runner-up spot in women’s singles in a tournament hosted by the Rams in January. Pepperdine and teammate Michelle Doane were third in women’s doubles and Cindy Yu and Rubin Li were third in mixed doubles in an event at Kings.

Coach Richard Bennicke will have six members of the team eligible to return next year.

Cross Country

The Rams cross-country running team had another standout campaign in 2017-18.

Although the Rams missed out on the men’s and women’s team titles at the conference championships Nov. 10 at Brookvale Ski Park in Crapaud, P.E.I., by just four points, Hannah Arseneault continued her dominance of the ACAA. The St. Martins, N.B., native maintained her perfect record in her three-year college career en route to her third conference crown. She crossed the line in the 6km event in 25:43.5.

Arseneault ran a 24:17.1 at the Canadian championship in Blainville, Que., to place her in 42nd spot.

Arseneault’s exploits earned her the conference’s runner of the year honour and saw her named to the all-conference lineup.

Rams runner Lily Forsythe (27:47.7) finished in fifth spot at the conference championship, while Kieran Thornell (30:10.8) was second in men’s action. Kyle Culberson (31:04.5) was fourth. Thornell and Culberson also attended CCAA Nationals and finished 57^th and 112^th respectively.

Men’s Soccer

The Rams had another tough campaign in 2017-18.

Dalhousie AC finished the schedule with a 2-10 record to be slotted sixth in the talented seven-team conference.

Ruben Geerts was the Rams co-scoring leader with Al Loureiro with a pair of goals and was named to the first all-conference roster. Rookie Jack Lynds cracked the second team all-conference lineup.

Coach Craig MacEachern could see some big improvements next season with 16 players eligible to return.

Women’s Soccer

The Rams had their best season in a decade.

The team advanced all the way to the national championship tournament in Halifax, Nov. 8 to 11, where, unfortunately, lady luck wasn’t on their side. The Rams were pitted against the eventual champion Elans de Garneau in their opening quarter-final match and dropped the contest 7-0.

However, the team enjoyed continued progress under coach Jackie Ryan, finishing the season atop the conference standings with an 8-1-3 record.

Truro’s Shanice Maxwell, who scored five regular-season goals for the Rams, was named the conference player of the year while defender Cora Sharp took home the Gerry LeBlanc Award for leadership, involvement in the community and achievements on the field.

Maxwell, Sian Rankin and Katie Walsh were all named to the conference 1^st team all-conference squad while Sharp, Veronica Deno and Leah Wiseman cracked the second-team lineup.

The Rams could have another strong campaign in the Fall with 12 players eligible to return.

Women’s Volleyball

The Rams struggled on the volleyball court.

The young squad finished with a 3-18 record to wind up seventh in the eight-team conference.

However, Thea McLachlin continued to show she is one of the ACAA’s top players. The 22-year-old left side led the league averaging 3.83 kills per set and was fifth with 176 kills. She was also third in the conference with a 0.76 service ace average and was named to the conference all-star squad.

Coach Guy Desgagne will have more experience to work with next season as nine of his 10 players, with McLachlin the lone exception, eligible to return.

Woodsmen

The Dalhousie Woodsmen had yet another strong season, but maybe not by their standards.

The team, used to winning Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association titles, saw its men’s team finish second in the season points standings while the women’s side was third.

Both the men’s and women’s A teams finished the season on a high note, claiming victory in their home event, the 33rd Annual Rick Russell Woodsmen Competition, in February.

The men also claimed a runner-up finish at a competition at Sir Sanford Fleming College while the women were third at the same event and the next meeting at McGill University’s Macdonald Campus.

Equestrian

The Dalhousie AC equestrian team was its dominant self.

The team claimed the reserve champion honour in four of the six events this season in the Atlantic Intercollegiate Equestrian League. The team posted third and fourth place finishes in the other two events.  The years results saw the Rams finish2nd overall for the year.