Men's Basketball
At the start of the season, analysts had the Tigers projected to finish seventh in the AUS. They said they were too small, too young, and that it was going to be another tough year under new head coach Rick Plato.
I'd like to see what they have to say now.
The Tigers became the first fifth-seeded team to win the AUS championship in this millennium as they won three comeback games this weekend. In all three games, the Tigers trailed by double-digits but they found a way to win.
Kashrell Lawrence was named the tournament MVP, while Ritchie Kanza Mata and Sven Stammberger were also named to the tournament all-star team. Lawrence was an absolute beast for the Tigers all weekend, and he capped off his tournament with a 31 point, 17 rebound performance in the final.
The Tigers got their first win on Friday night when they took on the Cape Breton Capers. The Tigers got off to an ice-cold start that saw them score just six points in the first quarter. They fought back, and they were only down by four as the two teams headed into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, the Tigers were down two points with 24 seconds left, and Jarred Reid hit a huge jumper as the shot clock expired to knot the game up as the Capers took a timeout to advance the ball to half. Sven Stammberger came up with a huge steal on the inbound, and the Tigers took the ball up the court. Stammberger drove down the lane with just seconds on the clock, he kicked it out to Lawrence, who hit a deep two at the buzzer to win the game for the Tigers as they advanced to take on the first-seed UNB Varsity Reds.
On semifinal Saturday, the Tigers struggled again in the first half, trailing by 11 going into halftime. They came out with a sense of urgency in the second half, and ran over the Varsity Reds, outscoring them by 22 enroute to an 85-74 win.
Sven Stammberger led the Tigers with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Kashrell Lawrence had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Jarred Reid had 19 points and five rebounds.
With Saint Mary's winning in the other semifinal, it set the stage for the battle of Halifax in the final.
The Tigers again found themselves down after the first half, as they struggled to put points up on the board. They trailed by as many as 17 in the third quarter as the Huskies looked like they were going to pull away.
Not so fast.
Shots started to go in for the Tigers and their defence started to frustrate the Huskies. The crowd was on their feet as the Tigers began to mount their comeback, but they still trailed by eight points heading into the final frame.
The fourth quarter was electric in the Scotiabank Centre as the Tigers kept cutting into the Huskies lead bit by bit. And with the Tigers down 73-71 with 22 seconds left, none other than veteran point guard Ritchie Kanza Mata came up with a huge shot that tied the game at 73 to send it to overtime.
In OT, it was all Tigers as they ended overtime on a 9-0 run to take the championship. The Tigers have now won three of the last seven AUS championships.
It was an emotional moment for the Tigers, as Devon Stedman was the first one to raise the championship trophy. Stedman was one of the team's top players before suffering a career-ending knee injury earlier in the season.
The Tigers now advance to the 2015 ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS men's basketball Final 8 championship, being hosted by Ryerson University in Toronto, March 12-15.
Track and Field
It was a big weekend for the Tigers track and field teams as they once again found themselves atop the podium at this weekend's AUS Championship in Moncton. The women's team continued their dominance of Atlantic competition and they've now won 26 consecutive titles. The men's team, whose 14 year title streak was broken last year, regained their form and were once again champions. They've won 13 of the last 14 years.
The women's team posted 165 points in the meet, just under 60 points ahead of the second-place StFX X-Women, while the men's team finished over 50 points ahead of their next closest competitor, the UNB Varsity Reds.
Fifth-year Tiger Rebecca Haworth was named the female field athlete of the year for the second consecutive year, while her work with the Special Tigers program was recognized as she won her fifth consecutive student-athlete community service award.
Chantelle Robbertse was named the Subway female athlete of the meet after claiming gold in the women's long jump and pentathlon, while Chas Smith Subway athlete of the meet honours on the men's side earning gold in men's long jump and men's triple jump and bronze in the men's high jump.
Jordan Bruce was named male field athlete of the year, while AUS rookie of the year honours went to Joshua Lunda. Rich Lehman earned AUS coach of the year honours on both the women's and men's side.
Individual highlights include:
Women's
Colleen Wilson – 1st 1500m Run, 1st 3000m Run, 1st 4x800m Relay
Sarah Taplin – 1st 60m Hurdles, 1st Triple Jump
Shawna McKay – 1st 300m Sprint, 1st 4x200m Relay, 2nd 4x400m Relay
Chantelle Robbertse – 1st Long Jump, 1st Indoor Pentathlon
Jessica Shannon – 1st 4x200m Relay, 2nd 4x400m Relay, 2nd Indoor Pentathlon
Shannay Beals – 1st 4x200m Relay, 2nd 60m Sprint
Michelle Reddy –1st 4x800m Relay, 2nd 600m Run
Sydney Smith – 1st 4x200m Relay, 2nd 4x400m Relay
Emily Clarke – 1st 4x800m Relay , 3rd 1500m Run, 3rd 3000m Run
Michaela Walker – 1st 4x800m Relay
Macayla Cullen – 1st High Jump
Ellen Chappell – 2nd 1500m Run, 2nd 3000m Run
Britany MacArthur – 2nd 1000m Run
Heather Beaton – 2nd 4x400m Relay
Abby Llewellyn – 3rd 1000m Run
Jennifer Pitman – 3rd Indoor Pentathlon
Men's
Jake Wing – 1st 1000m Run, 1st 4x800 Relay, 2nd 1500m Run
Chas Smith – 1st long jump, 1st Long Jump, 3rd High Jump
Pookiel McCabe – 1st 4x400 Relay, 1st 4x800 Relay, 3rd 1000m Run
Adam Manuel - 1st 4x400 Relay, 1st 4x800 Relay
Josh Lunda – 1st 60m Sprint, 1st 4x200m Relay
Will Russell – 1st 4x800 Relay, 2nd 1000m Run
Isaac Norman – 1st 4x200m Relay, 3rd 300m Sprint
Audley Cummings – 1st 60m Hurdles
JP Wellington – 1st 4x200m Relay
Corey Conforzi – 1st 4x200m Relay
Matt McNeil – 1st 3000m Run
Will Sandeson - 1st 4x400 Relay
Shiloh Johnson - 1st 4x400 Relay
Devin Errington – 1st High Jump
Sebastien Ayangma – 1st Indoor Pentathlon
Jordan Bruce – 2nd Long Jump, 3rd Triple Jump
David Kerr – 3rd Weight Throw
Qualifying athletes will now shift their focus towards the 2015 CIS Championship at the University of Windsor, which gets underway on March 12.
Men's Volleyball
The Tigers were in Saskatoon this weekend to compete in the 2015 CIS Men's Volleyball Championship. They entered the tournament as the second-seed in the country, and their first game came against the seventh-seeded York Lions.
At the awards banquet before the championship, outside hitter Bryan Duquette was named a CIS first team all-star, while setter Jonathan MacDonald was named to the second-team.
After the Tigers won two hard-fought sets to open the match, the Lions stormed back to take the next two sets to force a fifth and final deciding set. After the teams fought back and forth, the set was tied at 13 as intensity rose to an all-time high. After the Tigers gained the 14-13 lead, Jonathan MacDonald set Alex Dempsey up for a thundering kill that sealed the game for the Tigers as they moved on to the semifinals.
Kristen O'Brien had a team-high 17 kills to lead the Tigers, while Alex Dempsey added 14 and Bryan Duquette had 13. Libero Adam Sandeson chipped in with a game-high 11 digs.
They faced the third-seeded University of Alberta in the semifinals. After both teams fought tooth and nail in the first set, they found themselves tied at 22. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Golden Bears rattled off three straight points to end the set as the Tigers dropped the first set 25-22.
It was more of the same in the second set, as the Tigers were down 19-18 late. After Alberta rattled off two straight points to increase their lead to 21-18, Dan Ota quickly called a timeout. Alberta kept their foot on the gas pedal as put the Tigers on the ropes with a 25-21 set win.
After the Tigers led for most of the third set, Alberta tied the game up at 18. They then went on an absolute tear, finishing the game on a 7-1 run to take the game 3-0, ending the Tigers chances of winning a title.
Bryan Duquette had a team-high 12 kills and and six digs in the loss, while Alex Dempsey chipped in six digs and four digs.
Looking to come out of the championship with at least one win, the Tigers faced off against the McMaster Marauders.
In the first set, the Tigers held the lead for almost the entire set but they let a 23-21 lead go to waste as the Marauders came out on top 25-23. The second set saw the Tigers open up a lead off the bat, but the Marauders came back to win 25-16.
The Tigers opened up a 7-1 lead early in the third set, but they couldn't hold on to it as Alberta came back to tie the game at 15. They'd keep up the momentum as they defeated the Tigers in straight sets, taking the final set 25-22, as the Tigers finished in fourth in the CIS.
Long-time teammates Connor Maessen, Kristen O'Brien and Bryan Duquette all had eight kills to lead the Tigers, while Alex Dempsey had a team-high six digs.
Congratulations to Bryan Duquette who was named to the championship all-star team and to Dan Ota who received the R.W. Pugh Fair Play award.
Women's Volleyball
The Tigers were in Toronto for the 2015 CIS Women's Volleyball Championship and they kicked things off with a quarter-final matchup against the host (and OUA champion) University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Thursday.
It was a tough start as the Varsity Blues took the first set easily 25-10 as the young Tigers team faced a tough Toronto team with an even tougher crowd. After the Tigers dropped a closer second set 25-19, they faced a do-or-die situation in the third. It was another tough one for the Tigers, and they fell 25-6 as the Varsity Blues rolled to a 3-0 win, ending the Tigers championship aspirations.
Mieke Dumont, who was named to the CIS all-rookie team, led the Tigers on both ends with four kills and nine digs. Anna Dunn-Suen had four kills and six digs, while libero Marisa Mota had nine digs.
On Friday the Tigers faced the Ottawa Gee-Gees, who finished second in the OUA and ended their season on an eight-game winning streak.
It was another tough start for the Tigers as they dropped the first set 25-11. They rallied again in the next two sets, but they fell just short each time as the Gee-Gees came away with the 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-21) win. Anna Dunn-Suen led the Tigers with eight kills and 12 digs, while Marisa Mota had a game-high 15 digs.
Women's Hockey
The Tigers faced off against the first-place StFX X-Women last week in the semifinals of the 2015 AUS women's hockey playoffs.
In game one on Tuesday in Antigonish, the X-Women mounted a 2-0 lead after the first period, outshooting the Tigers 12-4. After adding another tally in the second period, the X-Women extended their lead to a staggering five goals in the third as they defeated the Tigers 5-0. Jessica Severeyns made 30 saves in the loss, while Mati Barrett stopped 11 of the 12 shots she faced.
On Thursday, the Tigers looked to even the series at home at the Halifax Forum.
The X-Women jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first period, but Lisa Maclean tied the game up just three minutes into the second period with a power play marker. After neither team found the back of the net for the rest of the second period, they headed into the third knotted up at one goal apiece.
The X-Women gained the lead midway through the third period, which set the stage for a wild final ten minutes of the game. The Tigers elected to pull Severeyns in the final two minutes of the game, but the X-Women capitalized as they notched an empty-netter as they came away with the 3-1 victory, ending the Tigers playoff run.
Women's Basketball
The Tigers weekend kicked off with the AUS awards banquet, where several Tigers were honoured for their contributions this year. To no one's surprise, fifth-year guard Courtney Thompson was named the AUS MVP after leading the league in scoring and leading the Tigers to a second-place finish. She was also named an AUS first team all-star, while fourth-year forward Tessa Stammberger was named to the second-team. Deidre Alexander was named to the all-rookie team.
Kristy Moore was named the AUS nominee for the CIS Tracy MacLeod award, which goes to a player who demonstrates determination, perseverance and unwavering spirit to playing the game.
Head coach Anna Stammberger was named the AUS head coach of the year, becoming just the second person in AUS history to win both the MVP as a player and the coach of the year.
The Tigers tipped off against the third-seeded UPEI Panthers in the semifinals of the 2015 Subway AUS Championship at the Scotiabank Centre. The Tigers held a six point lead at halftime, but the Panthers fought back and they trimmed the Tigers lead to just two points as they headed into the final frame.
The fourth quarter did not go as planned, as the Panthers outscored the Tigers 22-9 to take the game 70-59. Thompson had 27 points, four assists and four rebounds in the final game of her career as she was named the Subway player of the game. Tessa Stammberger added 12 points, while Shalyn Field grabbed nine rebounds.