November 7, 2005
WESTERN TAKES SECOND STRAIGHT NATIONAL TITLE
VICTORIA – Since 1998, the top prize for Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s rugby has been the Molinex Trophy and only three teams have ever earned the right to have their name inscribed on it. The trophy was won in its inaugural year by the Guelph Gryphons but the Alberta Pandas then took ownership for the next five seasons. Their reign ended last year, when the Western Ontario Mustangs won their first CIS championship.
The coveted Molinex Trophy was up for grabs again on Sunday afternoon at UVic’s Wallace Field and it was Alberta and Western Ontario going head-to-head. The Mustangs, on the strength of a 22-0 victory, captured their second consecutive gold medal.
“We have put a lot of work into this year. It has been our project to repeat since we won last year,” said Mustangs head coach Natascha Wesch after the victory.
Western Ontario opened the scoring in the eighth minute as Tanja Ness (Brechin, Ont.) pushed through the Alberta defensive line, touching the ball over the goal line for an early 5-0 lead.
CIS player of the year Barbara Mervin (Peterborough, Ont.) would get the ‘Stangs second score, crossing in underneath a pack of players to lift the margin to 10.
The strength and experience of the defending champions began to show as Western’s forward line pushed the ball around the field. Megan Gibbs (Barrie, Ont.) gave the Mustangs a 15-point cushion at the break, after charging through a barrage of defenders for her seventh try of the championship.
“Our work ethic was great but we were unable to penetrate the Mustang line,” said Pandas head coach Matt Parrish.
Gillian McCallum (London, Ont.) and Melissa Bauer (Baden, Ont.) would pick up Western’s final points of the championship with a try and convert.
“It was a fantastic win. We didn’t allow them to dictate terms, instead we played our game,” said Wesch.
“We could not put it together today,” said Parrish. “However things are looking up as we only lose a couple of players from the roster and we will can build on it and be back next year.”
GAME NOTES: In seven appearances at the championship, Alberta has five golds, one silver and one bronze medal. Western Ontario has been in the championship four times, winning two golds, one silver and one bronze. Western allowed only ten points in the tournament (a try by UVic and a try by Guelph).
Tournament Awards
Most Valuable Player:
Alison Smith, Guelph
All-Star Team:
Prop - Michelle Joslin, Guelph
Hooker - Gillian McCallum, Western
Prop - Laura Foreman, StFX
Lock - Megan Gibbs, Western
Lock - Dianna Berezowski, Alberta
Flanker - Kelly Russell, Western
Flanker - Tanja Boiteau, StFX
8-man - Chelsea Stone, Altberta
Scrum-half - Alison Smith, Guelph
Fly-half - Meaghan Howat, Guelph
Wing - Amy Jordan, Western
Centre - Jane Cation, Western
Centre - Sarah Hrabi, Guelph
Wing - Charlene Wood, Guelph
Full-back - Brittany Waters, UVic
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award:
University of Victoria Vikes
(Source: Pete Lewis, University of Victoria, Sports Information)
The coveted Molinex Trophy was up for grabs again on Sunday afternoon at UVic’s Wallace Field and it was Alberta and Western Ontario going head-to-head. The Mustangs, on the strength of a 22-0 victory, captured their second consecutive gold medal.
“We have put a lot of work into this year. It has been our project to repeat since we won last year,” said Mustangs head coach Natascha Wesch after the victory.
Western Ontario opened the scoring in the eighth minute as Tanja Ness (Brechin, Ont.) pushed through the Alberta defensive line, touching the ball over the goal line for an early 5-0 lead.
CIS player of the year Barbara Mervin (Peterborough, Ont.) would get the ‘Stangs second score, crossing in underneath a pack of players to lift the margin to 10.
The strength and experience of the defending champions began to show as Western’s forward line pushed the ball around the field. Megan Gibbs (Barrie, Ont.) gave the Mustangs a 15-point cushion at the break, after charging through a barrage of defenders for her seventh try of the championship.
“Our work ethic was great but we were unable to penetrate the Mustang line,” said Pandas head coach Matt Parrish.
Gillian McCallum (London, Ont.) and Melissa Bauer (Baden, Ont.) would pick up Western’s final points of the championship with a try and convert.
“It was a fantastic win. We didn’t allow them to dictate terms, instead we played our game,” said Wesch.
“We could not put it together today,” said Parrish. “However things are looking up as we only lose a couple of players from the roster and we will can build on it and be back next year.”
GAME NOTES: In seven appearances at the championship, Alberta has five golds, one silver and one bronze medal. Western Ontario has been in the championship four times, winning two golds, one silver and one bronze. Western allowed only ten points in the tournament (a try by UVic and a try by Guelph).
Tournament Awards
Most Valuable Player:
Alison Smith, Guelph
All-Star Team:
Prop - Michelle Joslin, Guelph
Hooker - Gillian McCallum, Western
Prop - Laura Foreman, StFX
Lock - Megan Gibbs, Western
Lock - Dianna Berezowski, Alberta
Flanker - Kelly Russell, Western
Flanker - Tanja Boiteau, StFX
8-man - Chelsea Stone, Altberta
Scrum-half - Alison Smith, Guelph
Fly-half - Meaghan Howat, Guelph
Wing - Amy Jordan, Western
Centre - Jane Cation, Western
Centre - Sarah Hrabi, Guelph
Wing - Charlene Wood, Guelph
Full-back - Brittany Waters, UVic
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award:
University of Victoria Vikes
(Source: Pete Lewis, University of Victoria, Sports Information)
