November 6, 2017
20th U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship: Day 2 Recap
U SPORTS –Gee-Gees outlast Dinos to reach second straight national final
LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – In a rematch of the 2016 national semifinals, the Ottawa Gee-Gees scored 29 unanswered points in the second half and through overtime to beat the Calgary Dinos for the second consecutive year, 32-15
Ottawa now advances to the final to face the winner of the second semifinal between StFX and Laval. The gold medal game is scheduled for Sunday at 5:00 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.
The Dinos will have to regroup and attempt to win their second consecutive bronze medal, Sunday at 3:00 p.m, ET/ 12 p.m. PT.
“Our defence kept us in the game, our tight five were so dominant,” said Ottawa’s head coach Jen Boyd. “It is the kind of rugby you have to play in this type of weather. We had a slow start but what an end.”
Laval upends defending champion StFX
Playing a near perfect game, the fifth-seeded Laval Rouge et Or ended defending champion StFX’s quest for a second straight national championship, beating them 23-0.
The 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship gold medal game will now be an all-RSEQ final with Laval joining the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the final Sunday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. ET/ 2:00 p.m. PT. Laval will make the program’s first appearance in the championship game. StFX will face the Calgary Dinos in the bronze medal game Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT.
“Before the game we talked about defense, we know that they are big and we talked about being low in the tackle,” said Laval head coach Kévin Rouet. “We wanted them to be aggressive and our girls did that for 60 minutes. It was a good game for us.”
Queen’s concludes trip to Lethbridge with win over Acadia
In the final game of the championship for both teams, the Queen’s Gaels beat the Acadia Axewomen 38-10 in the first of two consolation semifinals.
Due to poor weather in Lethbridge this weekend, the championship schedule had to be modified and the fifth-place game that was to be played Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET will now serve as the second consolation semifinal between the host Lethbridge Pronghorns and the Guelph Gryphons.
“It is always a challenge to recover from a quarter-final loss and I thought our leadership group did a really admirable job keep our athletes dialed in,” said Queen’s head coach Dan Valley. “I couldn’t be more proud of the effort they put in today.”
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for university sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit USPORTS.ca.
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
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U SPORTS
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Eoin Colquhoun
Sports Information
University of Lethbridge
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Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
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Cell: 647-991-5343