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BRONZE CIS championship: Gryphons take second straight bronze, third straight medal
By University of Lethbridge sports information office
LETHBRIDGE, Alta. (CIS) - The University of Guelph Gryphons and the
University of Laval Rouge et Or met in the bronze medal game at the
2008 CIS Women's Rugby Championships Sunday afternoon. Guelph
prevailed 22-12.
Championship web site:
www.universitysport.ca/e/championships/w_rugby/2008
The opening 20 minutes of the first half were easily controlled by
the Guelph Gryphons and their smothering attack. The Rouge et Or
from Laval were pinned in their own end and were on the receiving
end of several punishing hits.
In the 19th minute, Guelph's Steph DeVries (Ariss, ON) took a
yellow card for late contact on the kicker, putting the Gryphons
down a player for 10 minutes. That didn't stop Guelph from opening
the scoring.
In the 22nd minute, Gryphon Brittany Sammut (Belleville, ON) broke
free of the pack to score the first try of the game, giving Guelph
a 5-0 advantage.
Moments later, Laval's Catherine Carrier (Quebec City, QU) evened
the score with a run to the outside of the pitch and into the
endzone for the try, successfully converted by Claudiane Renaud
(Trois-Rivieres, QU) to give Laval the lead, 7-5.
A major blow to Guelph's chances at success came in the 31st minute
when DeVries, fresh off of returning from the Sin Bin took her 2nd
yellow card of the game for a high tackle and was subsequently
ejected from the game, forcing Guelph to play down a player for the
remainder of the match.
In the second half, Guelph's Taylor Parks (Ruce, ON) capped off an
impressive march up field in the 51st minute by crashing through
Laval's line of defenders for the try and re-taking the lead 10-7.
Only five minutes later, Gryphon Brittany Benn (Napanee, ON)
finished off a great series of passes which spread the Laval
defenders too thin across the field with an un-contested try making
the Guelph lead 15-7.
Laval tried to make a comeback in the 67th minute when Karine
Marchand (Quebec City, QU) pushed her way over the touch line with
the help of several of her teammates at her back and touched the
ball down in the end zone for the try, pulling the score to 15-12
for the Gryphons.
Guelph put the game on ice in the 73rd minute as Michelle Joslin
(Waterloo, ON) sprinted away from several Laval defenders and
crossed into the endzone for the try. Benn converted the score to
make the final score 22-12 for Guelph, giving the Gryphons the CIS
bronze medal.
Guelph head coach Collette McAuley was very happy with her team's
effort.
"The players showed Gryphon pride. Every player played for each
other."
When asked how this will build confidence for next season, she
added: "Lethbridge showed us the pace we have to play at for next
year, so that's what we'll focus on until next season?our
speed."
Scoring Summary
Guelph
Tries (5 pts): Taylor Parks, Michelle Joslin, Brittany Sammut,
Brittany Benn
Converts (2 pts): Brittany Benn
Penalty goals (3 pts): none
Drop goals (3 pts): none
Laval
Tries (5 pts): Karine Marchand, Catherine Carrier
Converts (2 pts): Claudiane Renaud
Penalty goals (3 pts): none
Drop goals (3 pts): none
ROUND-ROBIN STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL:
MOUNTAIN)
Pool A (final round-robin standings)
GP W L T PF PA PTS
1. Lethbridge 2 2 0 0 53 3 10
2. Laval 2 1 1 0 26 38 5
3. Western 2 0 2 0 8 46 0
Pool B (final round-robin standings)
GP W L T PF PA PTS
1. StFX 2 1 0 1 17 10 6
2. Guelph 2 1 1 0 20 17 5
3. Alberta 2 0 1 1 10 20 2
NOTE: a win is worth 4 points and a tie 2 points.
NOTE 2: 1 bonus point is awarded for scoring 4 tries or more in a
game, and 1 bonus point is allowed for a loss by 7 points or
less.
Friday, Oct. 31
Round-Robin Pool A: Lethbridge 20, Western Ontario 3
Round-Robin Pool B: Guelph 15, Alberta 5
Round-Robin Pool A: Laval 26, Western Ontario 5
Round-Robin Pool B: StFX 5, Alberta 5
Round-Robin Pool A: Lethbridge 33, Laval 0
Round-Robin Pool B: StFX 12, Guelph 5
Saturday, Nov. 1
Semi-final 1: Lethbridge 39, Guelph 3
Semi-final 2: StFX 36, Laval 5
Sunday, Nov. 2
5th place: Western Ontario 22, Alberta 5
Bronze medal: Guelph 22, Laval 12
14:00 Championship final: Lethbridge vs. StFX
- CIS -
