U SPORTS News

A pair of teams are on top of this week’s U SPORTS national rankings for the first time in program history.

In women’s rugby, the Queen’s Gaels are the top-ranked squad for the first time since national rankings began in 2009. The Gaels (3-0), who were ranked No. 3 last Tuesday and had previously reached as high as No.2, moved into top spot after a commanding 54-19 victory in OUA action over the then-ranked No.4 Guelph Gryphons (1-1).

This win snaps a nine-game losing streak for Queen’s against Guelph, who move down to No.6 this week. The Gaels visit Brock (1-1) on Saturday in its regular season finale.

In the first cross country rankings of the season, the reigning first-time men’s national champion Calgary Dinos open the campaign as the No. 1 team in the country, while the defending silver medalist and national championship host Gaels took top spot on the women’s side. Queen’s opens its season this Saturday at the Western Invitational, with Calgary racing the following weekend at the Vikes Invitational in Victoria.

In men’s soccer, the defending U SPORTS champion Montreal Carabins (4-0-0) are the new team to beat in the national rankings, thanks to a pair of clean sheets over then-ranked No.10 UQAM (2-2-1) and UQTR (3-2-0) in RSEQ action. It’s the first No.1 ranking for this year’s national championship host since a four-week run at the top ending on Oct. 24, 2017. The Carabins battle crosstown rivals this week, visiting McGill (1-2-1) on Thursday before hosting Concordia (1-1-2) on Sunday.

In other U SPORTS rankings, Ottawa (women’s soccer) remains at No.1 for another week.

Click here for this week’s Football Top 10 rankings.

For the second straight season, U SPORTS is using the ELO Rating System for the calculation of its weekly national rankings. Powered by RankR, ELO’s unique algorithm blends a statistical calculation with customized variables that is adaptable across a range of sports. For more information, click here.  

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Rank School Points Previous Ranking
1 Calgary 93 -
2 Guelph 85 -
3 McMaster 83 -
4 Laval 71 -
5 Queen’s 57 -
6 UBC 45 -
7 Victoria 25 -
8 Western 22 -
9 Toronto 15* -
10 Trinity Western 15* -
Other teams receiving votes: Windsor (14), Dalhousie (10), Ottawa (7), StFX (6), Regina (4), Waterloo (3), Laurentian (1), Wilfrid Laurier (1) 

*Toronto ranked No.9 over Trinity Western due to a higher number of higher-placed votes

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Rank School Points Previous Ranking
1 Queen’s 93 -
2 Laval 92 -
3 Guelph 84 -
4 McGill 60 -
5 UBC 53 -
6 Victoria 40 -
7 Calgary 27 -
8 Toronto 22 -
9 Western 20 -
10 Trinity Western 19 -
Other teams receiving votes: Dalhousie (17), Montreal (9), McMaster (9), Saskatchewan (8), Windsor (2), Waterloo (1), Regina (1), Laurentian (1)

WOMEN’S RUGBY

Rank School Regular Season Record ELO Previous Ranking
1 Queen’s 3-0-0 1746.95 3
2 Laval 3-0-0 1744.87 2
3 StFX 2-0-0 1732.08 1
4 Ottawa 1-1-1 1634.90 5
5 Acadia 2-0-0 1625.68 6
6 Guelph 1-1-0 1602.59 4
7 Victoria 2-0-0 1591.95 7
8 Calgary 2-1-0 1573.01 9
9 Lethbridge 1-0-0 1547.13 10
10 Sherbrooke 1-1-1 1514.37 8

MEN’S SOCCER

Rank School Regular Season Record ELO Previous Ranking
1 Montreal 4-0-0 1801.09 2
2 Cape Breton 3-0-1 1769.59 1
3 York 4-0-1 1761.24 4
4 Carleton 6-0-0 1760.47 3
5 Ryerson 5-0-1 1674.65 5
6 UBC 3-1-1 1656.38 6
7 Toronto 4-0-1 1621.51 7
8 UNB 2-1-1 1619.64 9
9 Guelph 3-1-2 1607.98 NR
10 Thompson Rivers 1-1-4 1586.14 NR

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Rank School Regular Season Record ELO Previous Ranking
1 Ottawa 5-0-1 1812.72 1
2 Cape Breton 4-0-0 1769.90 2
3 Trinity Western 3-0-1 1764.05 3
4 Montreal 3-1-1 1701.60 4
5 Laval 4-1-1 1682.46 5
6 Calgary 3-0-1 1673.07 7
7 Acadia 3-0-0 1655.98 9
8 UBC 2-0-2 1654.26 10
9 Western 5-0-1 1654.05 8
10 Guelph 4-1-1 1638.64 6