Swimming
It was quite a weekend for the Tigers swim teams, who competed at the 2015 Speedo CIS Swimming Championship this weekend at the University of Victoria. The weekend was highlighted by a stellar performance by fifth-year graduate student Meagan Bernier, who came away with a CIS gold after posting a 9:01:17 time in the 800m freestyle.
Bernier's finish helped propel the women's team to an incredible fifth-place finish overall, while the men's team finished in tenth, just behind ninth-place Ottawa.
Top individual finishes from the weekend include:
Women's
Meagan Bernier: 1st 800m Freestyle, 7th 400m Freestyle Relay, 9th 4x200m Freestyle Relay, 10th 400m Freestyle, 15th 200m Freestyle
Phoebe Lenderyou: 4th 50m Backstroke (NS Record), 5th 100m Backstroke, 6th 200m backstroke, 6th 4x100 Medley Relay (NS Rec), 7th 100m Butterfly, 7th 400m Freestyle Relay, 9th 4x200m Freestyle Relay
Rachel Shin: 6th 4x100 Medley Relay (NS Rec), 9th 400m IM, 9th 200m Butterfly, 10th 200m IM
Lucy MacLeod: 7th 400m Freestyle Relay, 9th 4x200m Freestyle Relay, 16th 50m Freestyle, 16th 100m Freestyle
Ainsley Fraser: 6th 4x100 Medley Relay (NS Rec), 7th 400m Freestyle Relay
Katie Webster: 6th 400m Freestyle, 5th 800m freestyle, 12th 200m Butterfly
Alison Grant: 14th 400m Freestyle, 8th 800m freestyle, and 9th 4x200m Freestyle Relay
Paige Crowell: 6th 4x100 Medley Relay (NS Rec), 11th 50m breaststroke, 12th 200m Breaststroke
Men's
Tony Liew: 6th 50m Backstroke, 11th 400m Freestyle Relay, 11th 50m breaststroke, 12th 4x100 Medley Relay
Kyle Watson: 6th 1500m freestyle (NS Rec)
Sean Berrigan: 7th 50m breaststroke, 11th 400m Freestyle Relay, 12th 50m Backstroke, 12th 4x100 Medley Relay
Gavin Dyke: 11th 400m Freestyle Relay, 12th 4x100 Medley Relay, 13th 100m freestyle, 14th 200m Freestyle
Nigel Champion: 11th 400m Freestyle Relay, 12th 4x100 Medley Relay
Chris Reith: 14th 1500m Freestyle
Women's Hockey
The Tigers women's hockey team punched their ticket to the AUS semifinals this week with a 2-1 series win over the St. Thomas Tommies. Jessica Severeyns stood on her head all series long for the Tigers, saving 98 of 105 shots in the series.
It was a tough start to the series as the Tigers dropped game one 7-3 on the road. After the Tommies went up 2-0 after the first period, their lead increased to 4-0 before Maggie Beaton potted a goal for the Tigers. Jennifer Thompson and Elizabeth MacArthur would each add one of their own in the third period, but the Tommies simply overpowered the Tigers as they won 7-3 to take a 1-0 series advantage.
In game two, Jesse Reitveld got the Tigers on the board early in the first, but the Tommies responded with two of their own late in the period as the Tigers trailed 2-1 heading into the first intermission. Morgan Kidney tied the game midway through the second period on the power play and the teams were tied at two as they headed to the third period.
The Tommies poured 18 shots on Jessica Severeyns in the final frame but she stood tall, turning everything away that came her way. Marita Alfieri broke the deadlock halfway through the period and it proved to be enough as the Tigers won 3-2 to force a deciding third game. Jessica Severeyns made 39 saves in the game.
Back in Fredericton on Saturday, Alfieri got her second of the series midway through the second period, after a scoreless first. Lisa MacLean added one of her own with just 18 seconds left in the period to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead heading into the final period.
The Tommies added one early in the third period, but Severeyns again stood tall, making 15 of her 35 saves as the Tigers held on for the 2-1 win, taking the series in three games.
The Tigers will now face the StFX X-Women in a best of three semifinal series. The first game is at StFX on Tuesday, February 24, with the second game taking place at 7pm at the Halifax Forum on Thursday, February 26. If needed, a third and final game will take place in Antigonish on Saturday, February 28.
Women's Basketball
The Tigers are officially the hottest team in the league one week away from the 2015 Subway AUS Women's Basketball Championship. They're on a four-game winning streak and they've won five of their last six as they sit in second-place to finish the season. They finished the season with a two-game sweep over the Cape Breton Capers and their 14-6 record is the team's best since 2009.
On Friday, the Tigers held a five-point lead after the first quarter, but the Capers rallied back and they held a five-point lead of their own going into halftime.
Whatever head coach Anna Stammberger said at halftime must have worked, because the Tigers absolutely pounded the Capers in the second half, going on a monster 20-2 run that propelled them to a 70-53 victory. Courtney Thompson, who finished the season as the AUS scoring leader, had a game-high 18 points in the win, while Kristy Moore added 10 points. Tessa Stammberger had 10 points, six boards and four assists, and Shalyn Field had eight points and six boards in 24 minutes of action off the bench.
It was an historic day on Sunday, as Courtney Thompson broke Carolyn Wares' 18 year old single-season point scoring record. Her 478 points this season are sixth best all-time in the AUS, while she sits tied for 11th in all-time in career scoring in the AUS with 1,498 points over her five-year career.
Thompson, along with seniors Robbi Daley and Rebecca Nuttall, were honoured by Anna Stammberger for their outstanding careers with the black and gold.
Tied at 31 at halftime, the second half was an absolute dog fight and neither team held a lead bigger than eight points. With the Tigers holding a three-point lead with four seconds left, Shalyn Field fouled Valentina Primossi as she went up for a layup, and Primossi converted on the and-one to tie the game up at 63. The Tigers had a chance to win the game in the dying seconds, but Tessa Stammberger couldn't convert on a heavily contested layup as the two teams headed to overtime.
The Tigers took over in overtime, leading the entire way as they came away with a 71-67 win.
They finish the season in second place, meaning that they earn a first round bye at this weekend's 2015 Subway AUS Women's Basketball Championship. They'll play their first game on Saturday at 2:15pm against the winner of UNB and UPEI, who play on Thursday in the quarter-final round. The Tigers are a combined 5-0 against the Panthers and Varsity Reds this season.
Men's Basketball
The Tigers finished their season with a two-game set at home this weekend. On Friday, the Tigers jumped out to a 21-13 lead after Jarred Reid had 11 points after shooting 3-3 from beyond the arc in the first quarter. The Capers clawed back and the two teams headed into the fourth quarter tied at 55.
Unfortunately, it was the Capers who took over in the fourth quarter, and they came away with an 80-74 victory. The Tigers had troubles with their interior defence all game long, allowing 54 points in the paint, while only getting 38 of their own.
Reid led the Tigers with 25 points on 5-7 shooting from deep, while Kashrell Lawrence filled the stat sheet with a 17 point, five rebound, three assist and three steal performance. Ritchie Kanza Mata had a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists.
On Saturday, the two teams tipped off again as the Tigers looked to finish the season at .500. Seniors John Traboulsi and Devon Stedman were honoured before the game.
The Tigers were down 46-36 after the first half as they again struggled to contain the Capers down low. They came back firing in the second half, however, outscoring the Capers by 14 in the last two quarters as they came away with a 77-73 victory to end the season with a 10-10 record. The Tigers defence was all over the Capers, as they forced them into committing 23 turnovers.
It was a balanced attack offensively, as Cedric Sanogo led all Tigers scorers with 14 points off the bench, while Kashrell Lawrence, Ritchie Kanza Mata and Adam Karmali each added 11 of their own. Sven Stammberger had a double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds.
The Tigers won't have to wait long to face the Capers again, as the two teams will face each other in the first quarter-final game of the 2015 Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championship this weekend at the Scotiabank Centre. Tipoff is set for 6:00pm on Friday.