At the Halifax Metro Centre on Friday night, the men’s basketball team played the Sherbrooke Huskies in the quarter-final round at the CIS championship. Black and gold battled fiercely all evening and even led the game briefly, but the Huskies earned a 91-79 victory in the end. Tigers captain Simon Farine played well, collecting 22 points and forward Joe Schow stepped up with 24 points.
In the consolation semi-final round on Saturday, the Tigers dominated the Concordia Stingers 76-65. Veterans Farine and Schow led the team again with 21 and 14 points respectively.
The victory against the Stingers placed Dal in the consolation final for fifth place on Sunday. The fourth quarter of the fifth place game was back and forth as the Tigers battled the Thunderwolves for the win, but Dal could not get the advantage they needed. Lakehead took an 84-80 victory over the black and gold to put the Tigers in a sixth place finish. For his outstanding play and sportsmanship over the weekend, Simon Farine received the R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award.
The Carleton Ravens claimed first place—their seventh CIS men’s basketball championship in the past nine years—in a thrilling game Sunday night in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Carleton downed Trinity Western University 82-59, with Carleton fans charging the court to congratulate their team. It was Trinity Western’s first trip to nationals, a wild card entry from the Canada West conference to the Final 8 tournament. Trinity Western is a Christian university located in Langley, B.C.
This past weekend, the Tigers track-and-field teams traveled to Quebec to compete in the CIS championships hosted by Sherbrooke. The men finished the meet in eighth place while the women finished 19th. Outstanding Dal performances included second year student-athlete Seth London’s bronze medal in the 35-lb weight throw, and Simon Watts’ silver medal in the high jump with a height of 2.1 metres. Mr. Watts also just missed a medal with a fourth place finish in the long jump (7.13 metres), but set a AV¾ãÀÖ²¿ and Nova Scotian indoor track and field record. Also just short of the podium were Robert McCulloch, who placed fourth in the pentathlon, and Justin Blades, Dan Gorman, Poohiel-Kahmall McCabe and William Sanderson who finished fourth in the 4x800-metre relay. Gorman also placed sixth in the 1000 metres.
On the women’s side Caroline Schlosser, Britany MacArthur, Gina Stewart and Ashley Ryer took seventh place in the 4x800 metre relay. Ms. Ryer and Ms. Schlosser both competed in the 1,500 metres and placed seventh and eighth respectively. Throwing a ninth place distance of 14.76 metres in the 20-lb weight throw was Elizabeth MacDonald. Tenth place finishes went to Rebecca Haworth (high jump) and Gina Stewart (3000 metres).
The Tigers want to thank all of their fans for the tremendous support this season! Next up for athletics is the annual banquet on Thursday, March 31 where the department will recognize this year’s exceptional athletes and the annual Dinner and Auction at the World Trade and Convention Centre on Thursday, April 7. For more information on the Dinner and Auction, or to purchase tickets please visit www.athletics.dal.ca.
Athlete of the week
Simon Watts
Track and Field
At the CIS track and field championships held last weekend in Sherbrooke, QC, third year kinesiology major Simon Watts led the Tigers to a eighth place overall finish. In the high jump, Watts recorded a 2.1 metre leap to earn a silver medal, bettering his third place pre-event ranking. From Halifax, Mr. Watts placed fourth in the long jump recording a distance of 7.13 metre, setting a new AV¾ãÀÖ²¿ and Nova Scotian indoor track and field record.Â