Monday, October 4, 2010

POWERADE ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

CHRIS HEMMERICH, GOLF First-year golfer Chris Hemmerich of Kitchener, Ont. led the Gryphon men’s team to a second place finish this past weekend at the Waterloo/Laurier Invitational. The rookie shot an impressive two-day score of 146 (74-72) to grab the overall bronze medal. The men’s team finished just three shots behind the who took gold. The event was played at Whistle Bear on the first day followed by the final round at Rebel Creek.

JACEY MURPHY, WOMEN’S RUGBY Jacey Murphy, a fourth-year from Alliston, Ont. led the Gryphon women’s rugby team in their 112-0 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday. She powered through the Hawks defence all game to touch down for an impressive five tries. Jacey, the stand-in captain for the day was quick to turn opportunities into points which is important heading to playoffs in two weeks. She not only picked at the base of scrums and rucks, she outpaced her opposite as well as the Laurier fullback. Jacey has scored at least three tries in every game so far this season, leading the Gryphons to an impressive undefeated 4-0 record.

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FOOTBALL

2010 Record: 3-2 Upcoming Games: @ McMaster (Oct. 7 – 7PM) Last Week Results: lost to Laurier 36-2

Gryphons unable to make late surge to overcome Mustangs in Homecoming tilt – The football team was defeated 36-2 by the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday in Waterloo. The Gryphons (3-2) earned the two points on a safety in the fourth quarter.

The Hawks dominated the Gryphons early, leading 20-0 after the first quarter and going into halftime with a commanding 34-0 lead. Guelph struggled on offence in the first half, picking up only one first down. They got rolling in the second, picking up 10 more firsts', but the Golden Hawks kept the Gryphons playing on a long field. Second-year Gryphon quarterback Luke Nangle (London, Ont.) started his first game of the season, he threw the ball 29 times, completing 11 passes for 170 yards with no interceptions. He also scrambled for another just two yards on four carries. The rushing attack was led by Nick FitzGibbon (Puslinch, Ont.) who had 53 yards on 18 carries.

Defensively for the Gryphons fifth-year’s Adam Dunk (Guelph, Ont.) and Grant MacDonald (London, Ont) were the top defenders with 8.5 and 7.5 tackles respectively. Defensive back Jordan Duncan (Grimsby, Ont.) chipped in the contest's lone interception and a 43-yard return.

The Gryphons are on the road again for a contest against the McMaster Marauders on Thursday night this week, October 7 in Hamilton.

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BASEBALL

2010 Record: 6-6 Upcoming Games: @ Western (Oct. 4 – 6 & 8PM) Last Week Results: NA

Gryphons set to play Western in doubleheader to close out regular season: The team sat out the week but are ready to play the on Monday (Oct. 4) in a doubleheader to close out the regular season schedule. Game time is 6 and 8:00 p.m.

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CROSS COUNTRY

Upcoming: Dellinger Invitational, Eugene Oregon (Oct. 16) Last Week Results: Gryphon men 5th; Gryphon women 6th @ Paul Short Run

Cliff & Boorsma lead Gryphons at Paul Short Run - The Guelph Gryphons men’s and women’s cross country teams had strong showings at this weekend’s rain soaked Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In one of the largest collegiate cross country meets on the continent the Gryphons registered two top 10 individual placings, with both teams finishing in the top six.

The women’s raced kicked off with a bang, with Guelph’s Rachel Cliff (Vancouver) quickly establishing herself at the front of the race. The field, which boasted three top 25 programs in the NCAA, was hot on her heels. Cliff would continue in the lead group through the three kilometre mark before watching Emily Infield of Georgetown break away for the win. Cliff would battle strongly down the stretch to finish 9th overall in a lifetime best performance of 20 minutes and 29 seconds on the wet and soggy six kilometre course.

The Gryphon men were paced by Kyle Boorsma’s 9th place finish in a time of 24 minutes and 6 seconds. Boorsma was battling in the lead pack for much of the race, his 9th place finish is the best ever by a Gryphon male at the meet. Teammate Alex Genest finished 21st, with rookie sensation Ross Proudfoot 22nd, making Guelph one of only two schools in the men's race with three finishers in the top 25.

Overall, the Gryphons finished with a team score of 206 points, to finish fifth overall behind top 30 NCAA teams Virginia, Georgetown, William and Mary as well as Dartmouth College. With Wray and Jackson back healthy and some better luck the Gryphons will hope to make an impact in two weeks time when they become the first ever Canadian entrant into the prestigious Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Oregon.

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FIELD HOCKEY

2010-2011 Record: 8-0 Upcoming Games: vs. Western (Oct. 9 – 11:45AM); vs. Waterloo (Oct. 9 – 3PM) Last Week Results: beat Toronto 4-2; beat Carleton 6-0; beat Queens 12-0

Gryphons unscathed after weekend of upsets – The Gryphons picked up three victories this weekend over Toronto, Carleton and Queens. The Gryphs close the weekend with 24 points in 8 contests for sole possession of top spot in the OUA.

Brienne Stairs (Kitchener, Ont.) amassed a total of 8 goals and 4 assists in 12 contests to spark the Field Hockey Gryphons to the three victories and sole possession of top spot in the OUA. She scored in Guelph's decisive 4-2 victory over UofT and added hat tricks against both Carleton and Queen's. Stairs is the leading scorer in the country with 18 goals in 8 contests.

Guelph travels to Waterloo to take on the Mustangs and the Warriors next weekend before the Thanksgiving break.

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GOLF

Upcoming: Gueph Invitational (Oct. 4) @ Cutten Club Last Week Results: Men 2nd; Women 6th @ Waterloo/Laurier Invitational

Hemmerich wins bronze at Waterloo Invitational - This event was 36 holes this past weekend. Guelph Women played at the Cambridge Golf Club while the Men played at Whistle Bear and Rebel Creek. Guelph Women came 6th. The Team was led by second-year player Vanessa Dupuis who shot 86-93. Waterloo Women won the event. Guelph Men won silver. Their two-round total was only 3 shots behind Waterloo who took gold. Guelph was led by rookie Chris Hemmerich who shot 74-72 to capture bronze individually.

Next actions for the Team is today with the Gryphon Invitational at the Cutten Club.

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MEN’S HOCKEY

2010-2011 Record: 3-2-1 (exhibition) Upcoming Games: vs. Western (Oct. 7 – 7:30PM) Last Week Results: lost to Notre Dame 5-3 (exhibition)

Gryphons battle fighting Irish in South Bend – The Guelph Gryphons battled the University of Notre Dame in a tightly contested game in South Bend, Indiana Sunday with Notre Dame winning 5-3. The Gryphons played catch-up most of the day after spotting the Irish a 2-0 lead on goals by David Gerths and a powerplay marker by Mike Voran. The always game Gryphons worked back into the game with a last second goal in the period by J.T. Macdonald (Niagara Falls) on an assist from Matt Lyall (Richmond Hill). Guelph outshot Notre Dame 13-11 in the first.

Guelph tied the game on a dazzling rush on the powerplay by Ken Peroff (Astorville). Notre Dame grabbed the lead late in the period on a goal by Calle Ridderwall and the Irish led 3-2 after two.

On the first shift of the third period Guelph got the equalizer while shorthanded on a smart passing play by Ed Gale (Keswick) to set up Thomas Kiriakou (Richmond Hill) who deked Mike Johnson to slide it in the empty net. Jeff Costello scored the eventual game winner for Notre Dame almost midway through the third and sealed the deal when Anders Lee scored after Guelph was pressing for the equalizer late in the game. Guelph outshot Notre Dame 13-8 in the third period and the Irish held the upper hand in total shots in the game over Guelph 37- 32.

Guelph went 1/2 on the powerplay while the Fighting Irish were 1/5 with the manpower advantage. Andrew Loverock went the distance in net for the Gryphons.

Guelph finishes the pre-season at 3-2-1 and will finally come home to open the regular season Thurs. Oct. 7 @ 7:30 P.M. when they host the University of Western Mustangs.

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WOMEN’S HOCKEY

2010-2011 Record: 3-3 (exhibition) Upcoming Games: vs. Toronto (Oct. 9 – 2PM); vs. York (Oct. 10 – 2PM) Last Week Results: beat Concordia 5-4-OT; lost to Ottawa 4-2; lost to York 5-4-SO @ Concordia Tournament

Gryphons wrap up preseason play at Concordia tournament – The Gryphon women’s hockey team wrapped up their preseason with a tournament at Concordia this past weekend. Guelph opened the tournament with a 5-4 overtime victory against the tournament host . Fifth-year Dayna Kanis was named Guelph’s player of the game. On Saturday the Gryphons fell to Ottawa 4-2 final in their second game of the weekend. On Sunday, in their last game of the tournament the Gryphons lost a 5-4 shootout final to the . Rookie Katie Mora was named Guelph’s player of the game.

Guelph will now get ready for the start of the regular season which gets underway this weekend at home against Toronto (Oct. 9) and York (Oct. 10).

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MEN’S

2010-2011 Record: 6-0 Upcoming Games: vs. Laurier (Oct. 7 – 9pm) Last Week Results: beat McMaster 6-4; beat Laurier 19-4

Gryphons cruise to 2-0 week with wins over McMaster & Laurier – The men’s lacrosse team moved to 6-0 this week after wins over McMaster on Wednesday and Laurier on Sunday.

On Sunday, the team played their final road game of the 2010 season at Laurier. Both offensively and defensively, the Gryphons were too much for Laurier to handle as they cruised to a 19-4 win over the Golden Hawks.

On Wednesday, in a rematch of their 2009 quarter final that saw the Gryphons bounced from first round of the playoffs for only the second time in 20 years, Guelph traveled to McMaster to take on the Marauders. As anticipated, McMaster slowed the tempo of the game down and played a methodical ball-control style of game. The Gryphons however, stuck to their run and gun nature and defeated the Marauders 6-4

Second-year Jeremy Snider had a fantastic week for the Gryphons. Snider battled back from a shaky first half against McMaster and held the Mauraders scoreless in the second, to help his team to an important 6-4 win. Against Laurier, he faced 9 shots, stopping 8. Over the two games he had a 79% save average, tops in the league.

Guelph will face Laurier again this coming week as they host the Golden Hawks at 9pm, Thursday night on Varsity Field.

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WOMEN’S LACROSSE

2010-2011 Record: 1-2-1 Upcoming Games: vs. Toronto (Oct. 9 – 9AM); vs. Western (Oct. 9 – 1PM) both games @ Western Last Week Results: NA

Gryphons sit out week & get ready for two-game stint this weekend – The women’s lacrosse team sat the week out and are ready for a pair of games this weekend. Guelph will face Toronto and Western in London on Saturday.

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MEN’S RUGBY

2010-2011 Record: 1-3-1 Upcoming Games: vs. Laurier (Oct. 8 – 8PM) Last Week Results: lost to Queens 28-0

Gryphons fall to defending OUA champion Gaels in defensive battle - In their second game of the season on the newly turfed Varsity Field, the Gryphons took on the OUA defending champions, the Queen's Golden Gales under the lights in front of a raucous home crowd. Playing their best game of the season, the Gryphons were not able to come up with a victory and were handed a 28-0 loss.

The game was a total defensive battle with play going back and forth. Both teams had goal line stands to prevent tries, open field smashes to excite the crowd and their was some great offensive ball movement thrown in to keep the other team guessing what they had to defend next. With play see-sawing back and forth it was Queen's that was able to find the goal line first scoring a converted try with only minutes left in the half. The second half saw play very similar to that of the first. Extremely well played with Queen's having the upper hand three more times to score three more converted tries.

The final score of 28-0 was not indicative of the play between the two teams. The battle on the field was closer to a 0-0 game then an appeared blow out at 28-0.

The Gryphons will have to continue their great defensive play and find a scoring touch when they take on the 0- 4 Laurier Golden Hawks at home on Friday night. The Gryphons are looking to go undefeated in their remaining three games of the season and will have to put on a great performance against all three of their opponents to do so.

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WOMEN’S RUGBY

2010-2011 Record: 4-0 Upcoming Games: @ Brock (Oct. 8 – 2PM) Last Week Results: beat Laurier 112-0

Gryphons blank Hawks in last regular season home game - The women’s rugby team remain undefeated after blanking the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks 112-0 at home on Saturday to move to 4-0 on the season.

Jacey Murphy powered through the Laurier Hawks defence all day to touch down for an impressive 5 tries. Jacey, the stand-in captain for the day was quick to turn opportunities into points which is important heading to playoffs in two weeks. Jacey not only picked at the base of scrums and rucks, she outpaced her opposite as well as the Laurier fullback. "Usually I like to run right into the fullback, but this time I actually tried to side-step around her" said Jacey after the game. Jacey has scored at least 3 tries in every game so far this season. She is off to an impressive start.

Up next the Gryphons travel to St. Catharine’s on October 8th to play the Brock Badgers at 2:00 p.m.

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MEN’S SOCCER

2010-2011 Record: 0-7-2 Upcoming Games: @ UOIT (Oct. 7 – 6pm); @ McMaster (Oct. 9 – 3:15PM) Last Week Results: lost to York 1-0; tied Brock 1-1

Gryphons score first goal of the season against Brock– The men’s soccer team lost a close game to York (1-0) on Saturday before scoring their first goal of the season on Sunday in a 1-1 tie with the Brock Badgers. Robbie Murphy (Ottawa, ON) scored Guelph’s first goal of the season – hopefully breaking the losing streak the team has suffered through.

On Sunday the Gryphons began the game with a new rush of energy, reminiscent of their more-successful season last year. Murphy and Jurgen Koelher (Guelph, ON) drilled the Badger’s end right from the start. Murphy almost got a goal only five minutes into the game but it struck the top post. Murphy once again hit the post of the net 20 minutes into the game but this time it reflected back at him and he rebounded a much-anticipated first goal of the season for the Gryphons. With Gryphon spirits high and a glimpse at the first possible win of the season, Brock was ready to fight back. With only minutes left in the first half Brock managed to tie up the match.

The next game for the Gryphons will be played against the UOIT Ridgebacks on October 7th in Oshawa. The game begins at 6pm. ------

WOMEN’S SOCCER

2010-2011 Record: 1-5-3 Upcoming Games: @ McMaster (Oct. 9 – 1PM) Last Week Results: lost to York 2-0; lost to Brock 2-1

Gryphons lose pair of games - The women’s soccer team dropped a pair of games on the weekend to York (2-0) and Brock (2-1).

On Sunday, Guelph’s striker Jenny Dunn (Vancouver, BC) scored the initial goal, but the Badgers took advantage after two consecutive goals by Brock’s top scorer Larissa Bruzzese (Welland, ON). This brings the Gryphons to a 1-5-3 standing.

The Gryphons next play the McMaster Marauders on October 9th in Hamilton. The game begins at 1pm.

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SWIMMING

Upcoming: OUA Invitational (Oct. 16 – Guelph) Last Week Results: Tri-Meet vs. Waterloo & U of T @ Waterloo

The Gryphons started their season with an exhibition tri-meet against U of Toronto (2010 OUA defending champions), and the University of Waterloo.

It was a great meet for the Gryphons. It was a yards meet, which means it is an exhibition event, as yards times do not count. As this is the beginning of the season, most of the team swam at least one or two of their off- events to get an understanding of their base and the results were very encouraging.

First year Alisha Harricharian, won the 200 yard and the 50 yard butterfly. Meanwhile, fifth-year Alex Loh, won the 200 backstroke and Nia Zakrewski placed second in the 200 yard butterfly. First-year’s Jessica Cartier and Rebecca Fife finished third in the 200IM and 200 breaststroke respectively.

On the men’s side, third-year Matthew Stephenson, a breaststroke specialist, placed third in the 200 buttefly and 200 individual medley. Second-year, Wil Wright, a sprint specialist, was working on his endurance, and placed second in the 200 butterfly, out-touching his team mate, Matthew.

First-year Matthew Nghiem, placed third in the 50 yard breaststroke, and first-year David Noricki a sprint specialist, placed third in the 400 free and third in the 200breaststroke.

Two of the captains; Chantique Payne and Jordan Duggan, were not in attendance as they are in Egypt at the world Lifesaving Championships.

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WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Upcoming Games: @ Western (Oct. 22 – 6PM) @ Windsor (Oct. 23 – 6PM) Last Week Results: Won Ottawa Tournament

Gryphons Win Gold at GeeGees Pre-season Classic - The University of Guelph women's volleyball team travelled to Ottawa this past weekend for the GeeGees Pre-Season Classic tournament. The 10 team field featured teams from the AUS, QSSF, and the OUA. In pool play, the Gryphons emerged with a 3-1 record including victories over McGill 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-21), Laurier 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 20-25, 25-20), and Moncton 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-17) with their lone setback a 3-1 loss to Queen's (25-17, 18-25, 15-25, 24-26).

In the gold medal final against McMaster, after a slow start in set 1, the Gryphons rallied from a 22-14 deficit to win the set at 25-23. The second set started better for Guelph, but a mid-set rally by McMaster evened the set late before the Gryphons took the set 25-23. Set 3 was close all the way with Guelph finally opening up the winning difference after 20 points to win 25-21 and take the tournament championship. Gryphon left side Brooke Lloyd was named a tournament all-star with middle blocker Kylen Van Osch named tournament MVP. Guelph has a short week to prepare for the Mizuno McMaster Thanksgiving Classic starting on Thursday against the .

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THIS WEEK IN GRYPHON ATHLETICS

Thursday, October 7 Soccer (M): Guelph @ UOIT – 6PM Football: Guelph @ McMaster – 7PM Hockey (M): Western @ Guelph – 7:30PM Lacrosse (M): Laurier @ Guelph – 9PM

Friday, October 8 Rugby (W): Guelph @ Brock – 2PM (M): Fraser Valley @ Guelph – 7PM (exhibition) Hockey (M): Guelph @ Brock – 7:15PM Rugby (M): Laurier @ Guelph – 8PM

Saturday, October 9 Lacrosse (W): Guelph vs. Toronto @ Western – 9AM Field Hockey: Guelph vs. Western @ Waterloo – 11:45AM Lacrosse (W): Guelph @ Western – 1PM Soccer (W): Guelph @ McMaster – 1PM Hockey (W): Toronto @ Guelph – 2PM Field Hockey: Guelph @ Waterloo – 3PM Basketball (M): Manitoba @ Guelph – 3PM (exhibition) Soccer (M): Guelph @ McMaster – 3:15PM

Sunday, October 10 Basketball (M): UBC @ Guelph – 1PM (exhibition) Lacrosse (W): Guelph vs. UOIT – 1PM @ Western Hockey (W): York @ Guelph – 2PM