November 8, 2011

CIS Top Ten: Western remains sole OUA team in volleyball rankings

OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of Guelph Gryphons once again top the CIS women’s and men’s cross-country running rankings going into Saturday’s national championships in Quebec City.

The Gryphons captured both OUA team banners two weeks ago and will be looking to sweep the CIS titles for the sixth consecutive year this weekend on the Plains of Abraham.

McMaster and Victoria are tied for second place in the women’s rankings going into the CIS meet, with Saskatchewan and Western Ontario rounding out the top five. On the men’s side, Windsor, Victoria, Queen’s and Laval follow Guelph in order.

In other CIS sports, Regina (women’s basketball), Carleton (men’s basketball), UNB (men’s hockey), UBC (women’s volleyball) and Trinity Western (men’s volleyball) all maintain their No. 1 status, while McGill climbs back to the top in women’s hockey.

In women’s basketball, the top-ranked Cougars kicked off conference play with a 79-68 home win over No. 4 Saskatchewan. Regina visits Victoria (1-1) and No. 5 UBC (0-0) this weekend, while in Ontario, No. 2 Windsor opens the defence of its CIS title at home against Laurentian and York.

In men’s hoops, the defending W.P. McGee trophy champion Ravens open the regular season on the road against McMaster on Friday and Brock on Saturday.

In women’s hockey, St. Francis Xavier’s reign lasted only one week as the X-Women (5-1-0) drop back to No. 2 following an 8-6 loss to seventh-ranked Moncton (6-0-0) on Friday. The CIS champion Martlets (5-1-0) move back to the top after edging Concordia 1-0 in their lone outing of the past weekend.

In men’s hockey, the reigning University Cup champion Varsity Reds dropped their first conference game on Saturday, a 5-4 defeat against UPEI (4-4), but still lead the AUS standings with a sparkling 7-1 record. UNB visits Dalhousie (2-6) and No. 10 Acadia (4-3-1) this weekend.

In women’s volleyball, the defending 4-time national champ Thunderbirds improved to 4-0 on the campaign with 3-1 and 3-0 road wins over CIS newcomer UBC Okanagan. The T-Birds enjoy a break in their Canada West schedule this week.

In men’s volleyball, the 2010-11 champion Spartans (2-0) had a break from Canada West action last weekend. They travel to Brandon later this week for a two-game series against the No. 9 Bobcats (1-3).

In other men’s volleyball news, the UBC Okanagan Heat (3-1) crack the national Top 10 for the first time in school history, at No. 10.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Regina (1-0) / 443 pts (36) / (1)
2. Windsor (0-0) / 408 (1) / (2)
3. Carleton (0-0) / 370 / (3)
4. Saskatchewan (0-1) / 325 / (4)
5. UBC (0-0) / 302 / (5)
6. Cape Breton (0-0) / 260 / (6)
7. Acadia (0-0) / 215 / (7)
8. Alberta (2-0) / 192 / (8)
9. Ottawa (0-0) / 135 / (10)
10. Toronto (0-0) / 83 / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Fraser Valley (46), Thompson Rivers (37), Brock (18), Western (16), StFX (13).

MEN’S BASKETBALL
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Carleton (0-0) / 503 pts (42) / (1)
2. StFX (0-0) / 455 (1) / (2)
3. Saskatchewan (1-0) / 416 / (3)
4. Lakehead (0-0) / 375 / (4)
5. UBC (0-0) / 331 / (5)
6. Windsor (0-0) / 225 / (9)
7. Alberta (1-1) / 216 / (6)
8. Fraser Valley (1-1) / 177 / (7)
9. Victoria (2-0) / 145 / (NR)
10. Wilfrid Laurier (0-0) / 136 / (10)

Other teams receiving votes: Ottawa (90), Concordia (72).

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
(points) / (previous rankings)

1. Guelph 98.9 points / (1)
T2. McMaster 85.6 / (2)
T2. Victoria 85.6 / (3)
4. Saskatchewan 65.6 / (4)
5. Western Ontario 60.0 / (5)
6. McGill 53.3 / (6)
7. Calgary 34.4 / (7)
8. Dalhousie 24.4 / (8)
T9. Windsor 14.4 / (9)
T9. Queen’s 14.4 / (10)

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
(points) / (previous rankings)

1. Guelph 100.0 points / (1)
2. Windsor 88.9 / (2)
3. Victoria 74.4 / (3)
4. Queen’s 68.9 / (4)
5. Laval 64.4 / (5)
6. McMaster 44.4 / (6)
7. Calgary 37.8 / (7)
8. Toronto 27.8 / (8)
9. Regina 23.3 / (9)
10. Western Ontario 5.6 / (10)

WOMEN’S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)

1. McGill (5-1-0) / (2)
2. StFX (5-1-0) / (1)
3. Laurier (7-0-1) / (3)
4. Calgary (5-1-0) / (4)
5. Guelph (7-2-1) / (5)
6. Queen’s (7-2-0) / (6)
7. Moncton (6-0-0) / (9)
8. Saskatchewan (5-3-0) / (8)
9. Alberta (2-1-5) / (7)
10. Lethbridge (6-2-0) / (NR)

MEN’S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. UNB (7-1-0) / 168 pts (15) / (1)
2. McGill (8-0-2) / 150 (2) / (2)
3. Saskatchewan (7-1-1) / 138 / (3)
4. Western Ontario (6-0-2) / 109 / (5)
5. Moncton (6-2-0) / 101 / (6)
6. Alberta (6-2-2) / 68 / (NR)
7. Manitoba (4-2-2) / 48 / (4)
8. Lakehead (7-3-0) / 38 / (8)
9. Calgary (6-4-0) / 34 / (7)
10. Acadia (4-3-1) / 30 / (9)

Other teams receiving votes: Nipissing (26), UPEI (17), Carleton (8).

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)

1. UBC (4-0) / 60 points / (1)
2. Alberta (2-0) / 56 / (2)
3. Montreal (3-0) / 49 / (T4)
4. Saint Mary’s (3-0) / 46 / (T4)
5. Manitoba (3-1) / 45.5 / (3)
6. Trinity Western (2-0) / 41 / (6)
7. Laval (2-1) / 37.5 / (9)
8. McGill (1-3) / 29 / (7)
9. Winnipeg (3-1) / 28 / (8)
T10. Dalhousie (3-0) / 22 / (10)
T10. Calgary (2-2) / 22 / (NR)

Next highest vote getters: York (16), Toronto (12.5), UBC O (6), Regina (3).

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Trinity Western (2-0) / 250 points (25) / (1)
2. Alberta (2-0) / 217 / (2)
3. Manitoba (4-0) / 210 (1) / (3)
4. Calgary (1-3) / 148 / (5)
5. UBC (3-1) / 144 / (4)
6. Laval (4-0) / 141 / (6)
7. Western Ontario (4-0) / 116 / (7)
8. Thompson Rivers (1-3) / 69 / (8)
9. Brandon (1-3) / 50 / (9)
10. UBC Okanagan (3-1) / 35 / (NR)