Recap of the year’s sports stories
4/7/10
It was a highly successful campaign for the Heat in general, as the teams had a combined 85-21-6 record, for a 78.6% winning percentage including regular season and playoffs. But no one did it better than the Women’s Volleyball team who won 63 of 66 sets this season, and did not lose a set after January 15th going perfect through the Provincials and National Championships. Here, for your easy reference, is the compelte breakdown of varsity athletics for 2009/10 at UBCO.
Men’s Basketball
The Heat men’s basketball team finished the season with a solid 14-4 record, putting them in 3rd place of the 10 teams in the BCCAA. They headed into the playoffs looking to make a run for the Nationals at SAIT, but fell just short after losing to Vancouver Island in the Semi-Finals, and ultimately beat out Capilano in their final game of the season to take the Provincial bronze.
Ryan Fahandeg was named Most Valuable Player for the team, while Jon Zaleski received an award for Outstanding Contribution, and Ed Dane Medi won the title for Most Improved. The team won’t lose much over the summer, as only Zaleski was in his final year of play, so look for the Heat to come out strong next year and make another solid run at Nationals.
Women’s Basketball
The Heat women’s basketball team hosted the CCAA National Championships two weeks ago, bringing teams from as far away as Nova Scotia to UBC O in an impressively run event. The Heat lost two tough games to the top two teams from Quebec, but beat a familiar Camosun team to finish in 5th.
At the Heat awards banquet, Meghan McGill walked away with the Leadership award, while Bailey Radley won the Coach’s Award, with Jenna Kantz winning the team MVP trophy.
The Heat had a great year, finishing second in the BCCAA regular season with a 16-2 record, before winning the Provincial championship over Camosun.
Women’s Golf
In the team’s second year of existence, the Heat women’s golfers won the Provincial title before advancing to the Nationals in Ontario. At the Nationals, Jen Woods and Alana Kent played strong through three grueling November days to finish second overall in the country and bring home a banner for the UBC O Gym.
Jen Woods was named Most Valuable Player for the season and finished with the fourth lowest individual score at the Nationals.
Men’s Golf
The men’s golf team had a stellar year in 2009, finishing third in the BCCAA, not far behind UFV and Camosun, and won a trip to Nationals at the Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor, Ontario. The men did well at Windsor finishing a respectable sixth out of sixteen teams, while Jordan Krulicki demonstrated why he was named the team MVP by finishing fifth overall on the individual side. Harvey “Hole-in-One” Hubball was recognized for the Shot of the Year award.
Women’s Soccer
UBC O has not been known for it’s soccer teams in the past, but this year’s version of women’s soccer was among the best ever. The team finished with a winning record of 5-4-3, and made it to the Provincials at Douglas College. The Heat almost won a medal at the Provincial level, defeating Capilano College before falling to Langara, and losing a tough 2-1 game to Thompson Rivers for the Bronze.
Alexa Kennedy had a strong year for the squad, winning the title of Most Valuable Player, while Jennifer Kidd was noticed for Rookie of the Year, and Elizabeth Babcock took the Leadership award.
Men’s Soccer
The UBC O Men’s soccer team had a forgettable year in 2009-2010. The team finished with a sub-par 3-6-3 record and missed out on the playoffs.
Shane Mudalair was recognized as the team’s Rookie of the Year, while Dustin Luck took the team’s Best Defensive Player award, and Thomas Simpkins brought home the MVP as well as the Golden Boot for player with the most goals.
Women’s Volleyball
UBC O’s women’s volleyball team is the best in the country. Their record of excellence in 2009-2010 was almost beyond belief as they won all 22 matches they played, from opening day of the regular season, through the BCCAA championships, and finally the Nationals. For the second-straight year, this team won the national championships, and with many players returning for next year will be looking to build on this dynasty.
Summerland’s Kaylyn Gouldsborough was named Most Underrated Player, while Alicia Bradstock won the Leadership prize. The Coaches’ Award went to Kirsten Lawson. Alex Basso was noticed for her strong season with the UBC O Heat Women’s Athlete of the Year award. Basso was also awarded the MVP of the National Championships. Leigh Dreher and Caitlyn Nyhus were also named to the first All-Star team at Nationals, with Lenai Schmidt voted to the second team.
Coach Steve Manuel had high praise for his team and the coaching staff noted, “I could not be prouder of the 12 athletes and my coaching staff of Karl Enns, Becki Kosinski and Jackie Wong for buying into what we had planned for the season and believing every step of the way that we would repeat as National Champions."
Men’s Volleyball
The Heat also had a perfect regular season, winning all 16 matches they played. Heading into the playoffs with a stranglehold on first place, they looked to be heavy favourites to win it all, even at Nationals. However, they were shocked by Camosun College in the first round, losing their first BCCAA match of the season, relegating the Heat to the third-place game where they defeated Vancouver Island University. By finishing third, it looked as if the Heat were done for the season, however, they were were awarded a ‘wild-card’ berth to Nationals due to the strength of their regular season performance.
At the Nationals, the Heat were impressive, defeating Humber College to advance to the semi-finals where they lost to #1 ranked Limoliou. They came back with another victory in the bronze-medal game over Humber to take home the bronze, fitting as they were ranked 3rd in the nation for much of the year.
Chris Howe was named Most Improved Player for the Heat, while Preston Tucker was named team MVP. Brett Uniat was awarded the Coaches Choice, but the big prize went to Nate Speijer who was named UBC O Heat Men’s Athlete of the Year.
Impressive Season
It was a highly successful campaign for the Heat in general, as the teams had a combined 85-21-6 record, for a 78.6% winning percentage including regular season and playoffs. But no one did it better than the Women’s Volleyball team who won 63 of 66 sets this season, and did not lose a set after January 15th going perfect through the Provincials and National Championships.
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