2011 FHC - CIS women’s field hockey championship: Seeding and schedule announced

OTTAWA (CIS) – The reigning national champion University of Toronto Varsity Blues have been established tournament favourites for the 2011 Field Hockey Canada - CIS women’s field hockey championship.

The seeding and schedule were announced on Monday for the five-team competition hosted for the third time in history - and for the first time since 1994 - by the University of Calgary. The round-robin portion of the tourney runs from Thursday to Saturday at Hawkings Field, with the event culminating Sunday at 1 p.m. Mountain Time with the gold-medal final.

Joining the Varsity Blues in the quest for the McCrae Cup are the No. 2-seeded UBC Thunderbirds, No. 3 Calgary Dinos, No. 4 Guelph Gryphons and No. 5 Alberta Pandas.
Every team will face each of its rivals once in the round-robin action. The top two squads at the end of the preliminary stage will square off in the final.

The championship kicks off with a bang Thursday at 9:30 a.m. MT when Toronto opens its title defence against UBC. Opening day will also see Calgary battle Guelph at 11:50 a.m., UBC take on Alberta at 3:30 p.m., and Toronto face Guelph at 5:50 p.m.

A year ago, Toronto edged UBC 2-1 in the gold-medal match to claim its 11th CIS title, which is good for second place all-time, tied with Victoria and one behind UBC.

The top-ranked Varsity Blues are red-hot going into the 2011 tourney, having dominated Western 7-1 in the OUA semifinals and Guelph 6-0 in the conference final.

The No. 2 T-Birds captured a ninth straight Canada West banner thanks to an 8-2-2 regular season record (Note: there are no playoffs in CWUAA field hockey).

Calgary finished second out West with a 5-3-4 mark, Guelph tied Toronto for the best record in OUA in conference play at 11-1, while Alberta (4-6-2) took third place in the Canada West.

The Pandas won their lone CIS championship in 2005, while the Dinos and Gryphons are both looking for a first McCrae Cup title.

The CIS individual award winners and the all-Canadian teams will be announced prior to the tournament, on Wednesday evening.

Official championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/fh/index

NOTE: A complete championship preview will follow on Tuesday.

SEEDING

1. Toronto Varsity Blues (OUA champions: 11-1-0 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
2. UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West champions: 8-2-2 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
3. Calgary Dinos (Canada West second place: 5-3-4 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
4. Guelph Gryphons (OUA finalists: 11-1-0 regular season / 1-1 playoffs)
5. Alberta Pandas (Canada West third place: 4-6-2 regular season / no playoffs in CW)

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (All times local: Mountain Time)

Wednesday, Nov. 2
19:00 All-Canadian Awards Banquet (Four Points Sheraton)

Thursday, Nov. 3
9:30 Round-Robin Game 1: Toronto vs. UBC
11:50 Round-Robin Game 2: Calgary vs. Guelph
15:30 Round-Robin Game 3: UBC vs. Alberta
17:50 Round-Robin Game 4: Toronto vs. Guelph

Friday, Nov. 4
10:00 Round-Robin Game 5: Calgary vs. UBC
12:20 Round-Robin Game 6: Guelph vs. Alberta
16:00 Round-Robin Game 7: Toronto vs. Calgary

Saturday, Nov. 5
10:00 Round-Robin Game 8: Calgary vs. Alberta
12:20 Round-Robin Game 9: UBC vs. Guelph
16:00 Round-Robin Game 10: Toronto vs. Alberta
17:30 Tie-Breaking Strokes (if necessary)

Sunday, Nov. 6
10:00 Bronze medal
13:00 Championship final

-CIS-