Corporate
Male Athlete of the Month: Dinos’ veteran Russo seeking playoff redemption
The Alberta Golden Bears (men) and Trinity Western Spartans (women) open the season as the top-ranked U Sports volleyball teams in the country, while the UBC Thunderbirds are the new team to beat in U Sports women’s hockey.
Alberta earned 267 points to claim the No.1 position, ahead of defending national champion Trinity Western, reigning silver medalist McMaster, Manitoba and Calgary. On the women’s side, the Spartans, received 60 points in the first coachs' poll to open in top spot, with Alberta, UBC Okanagan, Montreal and 2016 gold medalist Toronto rounding out the top five.
Last March, the Golden Bears captured the bronze medal at the CIS championship, conceding the national title after winning back to back Tantramar Trophies in 2014 and 2015. Alberta opens its Canada West regular season in search of its third championship in four seasons with a pair of matches at Thompson Rivers this weekend.
The Spartans women won silver last winter, failing to defend its 2015 title with a straight sets loss to Toronto. Trinity Western begins its quest to reclaim the U Sports national championship with a weekend set at Regina.
In women’s hockey, UBC (5-1-0) leapfrogs Montreal (1-2-0) and Saint Mary’s (3-0-1) for the coveted No.1 ranking in women’s hockey, after two straight wins at Alberta.
In other U Sports rankings, UNB (men’s hockey), Laval (men’s cross county and women’s soccer), Guelph (women’s cross country) and York (men’s soccer) all maintain their pole positions for another week.
Men's Volleyball
| Rank | Team | Season | Votes | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alberta | 0-0 | 267 | |
| 2 | Trinity Western | 0-0 | 221 | |
| 3 | McMaster | 0-0 | 193 | |
| 4 | Manitoba | 0-0 | 176 | |
| 5 | Calgary | 0-0 | 138 | |
| 6 | Laval | 0-0 | 136 | |
| 7 | Montréal | 0-0 | 98 | |
| 8 | Saskatchewan | 0-0 | 96 | |
| 9 | Mount Royal | 0-0 | 51 | |
| 10 | UNB | 0-0 | 40 |
Other teams receiving votes: Waterloo (37), Western (31), Winnipeg (23), UBC (14)
Women's Volleyball
| Rank | Team | Season | Votes | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trinity Western | 0-0 | 60 | |
| 2 | Alberta | 0-0 | 56 | |
| 3 | UBC Okanagan | 0-0 | 50 | |
| 4 | Montréal | 1-0 | 47 | |
| 5 | Toronto | 0-0 | 40.5 | |
| 6 | McMaster | 0-0 | 39.5 | |
| 7 | Calgary | 0-0 | 35 | |
| 8 | UBC | 0-0 | 32 | |
| 9 | Brandon | 0-0 | 25 | |
| 10 | Dalhousie | 0-0 | 23 |
Other teams receiving votes: Memorial (20), Laval (15), Western (12), Sherbrooke (10), Ottawa (8)
Women's Hockey
| Rank | Team | Season | Votes | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UBC | 5-1-0 | 40 | 2 |
| 2 | Saint Mary's | 3-0-1 | 34 | 3 |
| 3 | Montréal | 1-2-0 | 33 | 1 |
| 4 | St. Thomas | 4-0-0 | 27 | 5 |
| 5 | McGill | 2-0-0 | 24 | 6 |
| 6 | Guelph | 2-1-1 | 22 | 4 |
| 7 | Manitoba | 6-0-0 | 14 | 9 |
| 8 | Western | 2-2-0 | 9 | 7 |
| 9 | Saskatchewan | 5-1-0 | 8 | 10 |
| 10 | Alberta | 2-1-3 | 7 | 8 |
Other teams receiving votes:Nipissing (2)
Men's Hockey
| Rank | Team | Season | Votes | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UNB | 4-0-2 | 142 | 1 |
| 2 | St FX | 4-2-0 | 127 | 2 |
| 3 | Saskatchewan | 4-1-1 | 97 | 3 |
| 4 | Mount Royal | 4-0-0 | 96 | 8 |
| 5 | UOIT | 5-0-0 | 93 | 5 |
| 6 | Ryerson | 4-0-1 | 64 | 6 |
| 7 | Alberta | 2-2-0 | 56 | 4 |
| 8 | UPEI | 3-1-2 | 47 | 1 |
| 9 | Concordia | 4-1-0 | 36 | 9 |
| 10 | UQTR | 4-2-0 | 34 | 7 |
Other teams receiving votes: Dalhousie (10), Windsor (10), Calgary (5), York (4), Carleton (2), Lethbridge (1), Queen's (1)
Women's Cross Country
| Rank | Team | Votes | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guelph | 95 | 1 |
| 2 | Trinity Western | 90 | 2 |
| 3 | Toronto | 73 | 3 |
| 4 | Western | 56 | 4 |
| 5 | Calgary | 56 | 6 |
| 6 | Queen's | 40 | 5 |
| 7 | Victoria | 33 | 7 |
| 8 | McGill | 29 | 10 |
| 9 | Dalhousie | 28 | N/A |
| 10 | McMaster | 18 | 7 |
Other teams receiving votes: Laval (15), Alberta (10), Lakehead (5), MacEwan (5), Laurentian (3)
Men's Cross Country
| Rank | Team | Votes | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laval | 100 | 1 |
| 2 | Guelph | 80 | 2 |
| 3 | Victoria | 76 | 3 |
| 4 | Trinity Western | 68 | 4 |
| 5 | Windsor | 66 | 5 |
| 6 | McMaster | 38 | 6 |
| 7 | St FX | 38 | 8 |
| 8 | Calgary | 29 | 9 |
| 9 | Western | 23 | 7 |
| 10 | Queen's | 12 | 10 |
Other teams receiving votes: Queen's (9), Alberta (6), Toronto (5), McGill (3), Waterloo (2), Regina (2)
Women's Soccer
| Rank | Team | Season | Votes | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laval | 11-0-1 | 59 | 1 |
| 2 | Trinity Western | 11-0-3 | 55 | 2 |
| 3 | UOIT | 13-2-1 | 40 | 8 |
| 4 | York | 11-2-3 | 37 | 4 |
| 5 | Calgary | 9-1-4 | 37 | 5 |
| 6 | Montréal | 9-1-1 | 27 | 6 |
| 7 | Cape Breton | 10-1-0 | 27 | 7 |
| 8 | UFV | 9-2-3 | 21 | 9 |
| 9 | Ottawa | 9-3-4 | 18 | 8 |
| 10 | Western | 9-1-6 | 4 | 10 |
* Ottawa edges Western for No. 9 spot thanks to a higher ranking the previous week.
Men's Soccer
| Rank | Team | Season | Votes | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | York | 12-0-2 | 60 | 1 |
| 2 | Alberta | 13-1-2 | 54 | 2 |
| 3 | Ryerson | 14-1-0 | 45 | 3 |
| 4 | Guelph | 10-2-2 | 41 | 4 |
| 5 | Toronto | 7-1-1 | 27 | 7 |
| 6 | Laval | 5-1-3 | 23 | 6 |
| 7 | Cape Breton | 11-2-2 | 17 | 5 |
| 8 | UQAM | 5-1-2 | 17 | 10 |
| 9 | Acadia | 10-1-3 | 14 | N/A |
| 10 | UBC | 3-0-5 | 13 | N/A |
Other teams receiving votes: StFX (9), Dalhousie (6), Carleton (5)