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Weekend Watch: Guelph and McMaster duel for spot in OUA women’s rugby final, U SPORTS national championship

U SPORTS Staff

Welcome to Weekend Watch, your weekly preview of all the best U SPORTS action that can’t be missed across Canada West, the OUA, RSEQ and AUS.

For U SPORTS Football Weekend Watch, click here.

WOMEN'S RUGBY

McMaster @ Guelph

OUA semifinal

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET/ 4:30 p.m. PT

The No. 9 McMaster Marauders travel to Guelph to take on the No.4 Gryphons in what promises to be a competitive OUA semifinal matchup, with the two schools combining for the last five conference titles.

Guelph rolled past McMaster in the OUA season opener with a decisive 49-12 victory. In that game, the Gryphons spread the ball around the field, with eight different players dotting down for tries.

McMaster won their first postseason contest with a resounding victory over Trent, with the Marauders scoring 11 tries en route to a 71-0 triumph of the Excalibur.

Guelph’s Talia Hoffman will be looked to offensively for the Gryphons. The speedy winger accounted for 10 tries during the regular season, which ranks second nationally. McMaster will be reliant on fifth-year veteran Britni French, who scored six tries during the four-game regular season, and added another try in the Marauder’s dispatching of Trent.

The winner takes on either the Brock Badgers or the top-ranked Queen’s Gaels (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT, OUA TV) in the OUA final next week and qualifies for the U SPORTS Championship at the University of Ottawa later this month.

The RSEQ Quarterfinals also get underway this weekend, while CW and AUS regular seasons come to a close.

Full Schedule

CROSS COUNTRY

UNB / St. Thomas Invitational

RSEQ/AUS Interlock meet @ UQAM

Saturday, 11:30 am ET/ 8:30 am PT

The best cross country teams in both the AUS and RSEQ will be meeting in the largest interconference meet of the season.

On the women’s side, the race features the defending conference champion and No.3 ranked Laval Rouge et Or, as well as the No. 4 McGill Martlets, while the AUS contingent includes the reigning conference champion Dalhousie Tigers. Some OUA teams will be also participating in the meet, including No. 1-ranked Queen’s and defending national individual champion Brogan McDougall.  

On the men’s side, No. 4 Laval will be one of the top teams to watch, following an excellent showing at Sherbrooke’s Vert & Or Invitational, with five runners finishing in the top six. Laval’s Jean-Simon Desgagnés won the 8km meet with a time of 27:34, and is looking to build towards to defending his U SPORTS individual silver medal from last season.

The Rouge et Or host the RSEQ Championships this year, while UNB is set to stage the AUS Championships. Both events will be held on Oct. 26.

AUS teams not participating in the interlock meet head to the UPEI Invitational on Saturday.

Marauder Bayfront Open

Friday, 1 p.m. ET/ 10 a.m. PT

It will be a Top 10 showdown on the fields of Hamilton’s Bayfront on Friday, with the No.2-ranked and defending OUA men’s champion McMaster men’s team welcoming the province’s best to the Marauder Bayfront Open. With conference championships just two weeks away, this will be the final tune-up meet for several ranked teams, including the No. 8 Western and No. 9 Windsor men and the No. 7 Western and No. 8 Toronto women.

McMaster will be hosting the OUA Championships on the same course on Oct. 26.

MEN'S HOCKEY

No. 8 Saskatchewan @ No. 1 Alberta

Friday/Saturday, 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT

Canada West TV Presented by Co-op

In a key Top 10 duel, the No.1 nationally-ranked Alberta Golden Bears play host to the eighth-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies. The meeting between the two perennial powerhouses in U SPORTS men’s hockey is one of the nation’s most highly-anticipated events of the Canada West men’s hockey schedule, after the Golden Bears defeated their rival in both the conference championship and the University Cup semifinal last season.

Alberta picked up where they left off last season, starting off with a 2-0 start to their 2019-20 campaign. Saskatchewan, however, opened the regular season with two disappointing losses for the first time since the 1994-95 season.

Saskatchewan will turn to their primary offensive threat in Carson Stadnyk to help right the ship while in enemy territory this weekend. Stadnyk scored 32 points in 28 games last year.

Full Schedule

HONOURABLE MENTION

MEN’S SOCCER

No. 2 Carleton @ No. 6 Ryerson / @ No. 9 Toronto

Saturday/Sunday, 3:15 p.m. / 12:15 p.m. PT

OUA TV

Full Schedule

WOMEN’S SOCCER

No. 8 UQAM @ No. 4 Montreal

Sunday, 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT

Livestream

Full Schedule

Watch all conference events on Canada West TV Presented by Co-op, OUA TV and AUStv. RSEQ teams stream their games independently – check your local listings.