Three McGill teams ranked among CIS Top 10
MONTREAL - Three McGill varsity teams find themselves among the CIS Top 10 poll released on Tuesday. The hockey Martlets, who have won 56 consecutive games, are ranked No.1 in the nation for the third straight week. McGill is also ranked in men's hockey, coming in at No. 8 in the first men's Top 10 of the season. In this week's inaugural women's volleyball rankings, the Martlets are listed eighth best in the nation.
In women's hockey, the Martlets (2-0), who lead the Top 10 for the third time in as many weeks, blanked Ottawa 6-0 on Saturday to extend their overall win streak against CIS opponents to 56 games going back to a 2-1 shootout loss to Alberta on Dec. 30, 2007. Alberta holds the CIS record of 67 consecutive overall victories.
McGill has been ranked No. 1 in each of the past 32 national polls dating back to November, 2007.
Reigning national champion Alberta, UBC and UNB top the first CIS rankings of the 2009-10 season in men's volleyball, women's volleyball and men's hockey, respectively.
In men's hockey, the reigning University Cup champion Varsity Reds open at No. 1 for the second time in three years. UNB dominated UPEI 10-0 and Moncton 9-3 in the first weekend of AUS regular-season action.
Perennial powerhouse Alberta, which led the first 13 national polls a year ago before falling behind UNB in the final Top 10, begins the campaign No. 2. The Golden Bears, who hold the all-time record of 13 University Cup titles, are off to a 3-0-1 start in Canada West conference play.
Rounding out the initial men's hockey media poll are No. 3-Manitoba (4-1-1), No. 4-UQTR (3-0), No. 5-Saint Mary's (1-0), No. 6-Brock (4-0), No. 7-Lakehead (3-0-1), No. 8-McGill (2-0), No. 9-UBC (3-0-1) and No. 10-Waterloo (3-0-1).
In men's volleyball, the two-time defending champion Golden Bears, who have played in the last eight CIS finals, winning four of them, open at No. 1 for the third straight year. Alberta has now topped the last 34 national coaches polls going back to November of 2006 (1 for 1 in 2009-10, 13 of 13 in 2008-09, 12 of 12 in 2007-08, last 8 polls of 2006-07).
The Bears, who went 12-0 in the pre-season including a 6-0 mark against CIS opponents, kick off conference play this weekend with a pair of home tilts against the No. 4-Calgary Dinos, Friday and Saturday. The regular schedule also gets under way this week in Ontario, while AUS teams join the action on Oct. 31 and Quebec schools on Nov. 6.
Rounding out the first men's volleyball Top 10 of the campaign are No. 2-McMaster, No. 3-Laval, No. 5-Manitoba, No. 6-UBC, No. 7-Dalhousie, No. 8-Brandon, No. 9-Winnipeg and No. 10-Trinity Western.
In women's volleyball, the two-time defending gold-medallist Thunderbirds are ranked No. 1 for the first time since January of 2003.
UBC opens ahead of No. 2-Montreal, which led all 13 national polls last season before settling for bronze at the CIS championship, and No. 3-Manitoba, which topped all 14 polls in 2007-08.
The top-ranked T-Birds kick off the regular season this weekend when they host Winnipeg, Friday and Saturday. Conference play got under way on Oct. 16 in the OUA with Western defeating Laurier in straight sets. AUS teams hit the floor this weekend, while the Quebec schedule is set to start on Oct. 30.
Rounding out the first women's volleyball Top 10 of the fall are No. 4-Calgary, No. 5-Alberta, No. 6-Laval, No. 7-Regina, No. 8-Trinity Western, No. 9-McGill and No. 10-UNB.
In other national rankings this week, Montreal takes over at No. 1 from Trinity Western in both women's and men's soccer, while defending CIS champion Lethbridge, McGill and Guelph hold on to No. 1 in women's rugby, women's hockey and women's and men's cross country, respectively.
In women's soccer, the Carabins (10-0) had been second behind the Spartans (9-1) in the first seven polls of the season. Montreal was No. 1 in the last seven rankings a year ago before claiming CIS bronze.
In men's soccer, the Carabins (7-1-1) return to the top of the rankings they had occupied for two weeks earlier this fall, before the Spartans took over in the last three polls.
In women's rugby, the two-time defending CIS champion Pronghorns are No. 1 for the seventh time in seven polls in 2009.
Lethbridge, which finished the regular season with a perfect 4-0 record, faces Victoria Friday in a Canada West semi-final. A win would earn the Pronghorns a spot in Sunday's conference final and a berth in the CIS championship to be hosted by UBC, Nov. 6-8.
In cross country, the Gryphon women and men, both three-time defending national champions, top the two polls for the third straight week.
Guelph swept the team banners Saturday at the Queen's Invitational held on the Fort Henry course, where Queen's will host the CIS championships on Nov. 14.
In football, the reigning Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or are back to a familiar place as they return to the top of the UFRC - CIS football rankings after spending two weeks at No. 2.
Laval had led 25 straight national polls - and 44 of 45 polls dating back to the start of the 2005 season - before surrendering the No. 1 spot to archrival Montreal following a 28-7 loss to the Carabins on Oct. 4.
The defending champions reclaim their throne thanks to a 73-7 interlock domination of Mount Allison (0-6) combined to a 34-15 upset win by Sherbrooke (3-3) over Montreal, which falls to No. 4 in the new rankings.
The Rouge et Or received 45 of the available 55 first-place votes and 1,712 points in the ninth Top 10 of the campaign. Laval, which extended its CIS-record streak to 34 straight home wins overall with the victory over Mount A, could clinch first place in the Quebec conference with a win at Sherbrooke on Saturday.
UFRC - CIS FOOTBALL TOP 10 (#9)
Pts (1st place) Last week
1. Laval (5-1) 1712 (45) 2
2. Queen's (7-0) 1523 (8) 4
3. Calgary (5-1) 1517 (2) 3
4. Montreal (4-2) 1071 1
5. Saskatchewan (5-1) 1062 7
6. Western Ontario (5-2) 899 5
7. Saint Mary's (5-1) 671 8
8. Ottawa (5-2) 470 9
9. StFX (5-1) 260 6
10. McMaster (5-2) 157 10
Other teams receiving votes: Wilfrid Laurier (103), Sherbrooke (43), Alberta (15), Guelph (2), Simon Fraser (1).
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
(votes) / (previous rankings)
1. Guelph (98.7 points) / (1)
2. McMaster (72) / (2)
3. Calgary (65.3) / (3)
4. Toronto (61.3) / (4)
5. StFX (59.3) / (5)
6. Victoria (39.3) / (6)
7. Western Ontario (34.7) / (7)
8. Queen's (31.3) / (10)
9. Laval (29.3) / (8)
10. Manitoba (18.7) / (9)
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
(votes) / (previous rankings)
1. Guelph (96.9 points) / (1)
2. Windsor (84.4) / (2)
3. StFX (76.9) / (5)
4. Calgary (59.4) / (3)
5. Victoria (50.0) / (4)
6. Regina (38.1) / (8)
7. Queen's (34.4) / (9)
8. Toronto (30.0) / (7)
9. Western Ontario (28.1) / (6)
10. McMaster (14.4) / (10)
WOMEN'S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / (previous rankings)
1. McGill (2-0) / (1)
2. Wilfrid Laurier (2-0) / (2)
3. Alberta (4-0) / (5)
4. StFX (2-0) / (6)
5. Manitoba (0-2) / (3)
6. Moncton (1-1) / (4)
7. Guelph (3-1) / (7)
8. Queen's (4-0) / (9)
9. Saskatchewan (4-0) / (8)
T10. York (1-1) / (10)
T10. Saint Mary's (2-0) / (NR)
T10. Toronto (1-1) / (NR)
T10. Montreal (2-0) / (NR)
MEN'S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. UNB (2-0) / 166 points / (-)
2. Alberta (3-0-1) / 135 / (-)
3. Manitoba (4-1-1) / 95 / (-)
4. UQTR (3-0) / 80 / (-)
5. Saint Mary's (1-0) / 78 / (-)
6. Brock (4-0) / 77 / (-)
7. Lakehead (3-0-1) / 76 / (-)
8. McGill (2-0) / 61 / (-)
9. UBC (3-0-1) / 40 / (-)
10. Waterloo (3-0-1) / 33 / (-)
Other teams receiving votes: Acadia (26), Wilfrid Laurier (25), StFX (18), Saskatchewan (12), Western Ontario (5), Nipissing (4), Carleton (4).
WOMEN'S RUGBY
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. Lethbridge (4-0) / 160 points / (1)
2. StFX (6-0) / 132 / (2)
3. Guelph (5-0 / 1-0 playoffs) / 126 / (3)
4. Laval (6-0) / 103 / (4)
5. Alberta (3-1) / 81 / (5)
6. McMaster (4-1 / 1-0 playoffs) / 77 / (6)
7. Western Ontario (3-2 / 1-0 playoffs) / 59 / (7)
8. Concordia (5-1) / 48 / (9)
9. Queen's (4-1 / 1-0 playoffs) / 28 / (10)
10. UBC (2-2) / 19 / (8)
Other teams receiving votes: Saint Mary's (3), Ottawa (3), Trent (1), Waterloo (1).
WOMEN'S SOCCER
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. Montreal (10-0-0) / 39 points / (2)
2. Trinity Western (9-1-0) / 38 / (1)
3. Queen's (11-1-2) / 31 / (6)
4. Victoria (6-1-3) / 28 / (4)
5. Ottawa (10-2-2) / 24 / (3)
6. Dalhousie (6-0-3) / 18 / (7)
7. Laval (7-3-0) / 9 / (NR)
8. UPEI (7-1-1) / 8 / (NR)
9. York (9-2-1) / 7 / (NR)
10. Wilfrid Laurier (9-2-1) / 6 / (5)
MEN'S SOCCER
(regular season record) / points / (previous rankings)
1. Montreal (7-1-1) / 59 points / (2)
2. York (8-2-2) / 51 / (3)
3. Trinity Western (6-1-3) / 48 / (1)
4. Dalhousie (6-0-3) / 42 / (4)
5. Toronto (10-1-2) / 39 / (6)
6. UPEI (7-2-0) / 32 / (7)
7. UBC (7-3-0) / 28 / (8)
8. Alberta (5-1-4) / 17 / (5)
9. Windsor (7-1-4) / 10 / (NR)
10. Queen's (7-1-4) / 5 / (NR)
Other teams receiving votes: UNB, Guelph, Cape Breton, Laval.
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. UBC (0-0) / 60 points / (-)
2. Montreal (0-0) / 54 / (-)
3. Manitoba (0-0) / 49 / (-)
4. Calgary (0-0) / 47 / (-)
5. Alberta (0-0) / 42 / (-)
6. Laval (0-0) / 40 / (-)
7. Regina (0-0) / 34 / (-)
8. Trinity Western (0-0) / 31 / (-)
9. McGill (0-0) / 26 / (-)
10. UNB (0-0) / 25 / (-)
Next highest vote getters (11 to 15): Brandon (22), Waterloo (16), Western Ontario (12), Toronto (9), Sherbrooke (7).
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
(regular season record) / points / (previous rankings)
1. Alberta (0-0) / 228.5 points / (-)
2. McMaster (0-0) / 180.5 / (-)
3. Laval (0-0) / 160 / (-)
4. Calgary (0-0) / 139.5 / (-)
5. Manitoba (0-0) / 106.5 / (-)
6. UBC (0-0) / 98.5 / (-)
7. Dalhousie (0-0) / 94.5 / (-)
8. Brandon (0-0) / 65.5 / (-)
9. Winnipeg (0-0) / 50 / (-)
10. Trinity Western (0-0) / 49.33 / (-)
-CIS-
For more information contact:
Michel Bélanger
Manager, Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Ph: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: (613) 447-6334
Fax: (613) 562-5669
belanger [at] universitysport.ca