Vikes in need of a win

It's not very often that you see the UVic Men's Rugby team drop back to back losses at Wallace Field. After losing 32-23 against Gordon Head rivals Velox on Feb. 28, Meraloma edged out the Vikes last weekend with a convincing 38-28 win.

With five of their starters returning this weekend against the Castaway Wanderers, however, Friday night's match at Centennial Stadium will be a different story.

The Vikes were missing key players at the breakdown as Meraloma drove them back through grinding pick-and-drive tactics. Despite strong tackling by John Moonlight and the front row, UVic's forwards were missing some key tackles that saw them retreat for much of the 80 minutes. Adam Kleeberger and Neil Meechan should make a huge difference with their tenacious tackling and quick breaks from the scrums.

Despite strong running from Ben Grant and Kyle Buckley over the past couple of weeks, the Vikes haven't run up the score lines like they did in the fall semester. Gordie Sawers, Jordan Kozina and Phil Mackenzie could make the difference if they're back in the line up after their tough exit from the RWC Sevens.

The Castaway Wanderers are on a three game win streak at the moment and with the return of Ciaran Hearn to their lineup, won't be looking to concede any points to the Vikes. The sides split their two regular season meetings in the fall. This one might go down to the wire but the returning UVic starters just might make the difference.

Dykstra is best women's basketball in Canada, while Forsbauer completes comeback year

The awards for Kayla Dykstra and Vanessa Forstbauer just seem to keep on coming. Last night at the 2009 CIS Banquet Awards dinner, Dykstra and Forstbauer received national recognition for their outstanding seasons. Dykstra claimed the CIS Player of the Year award, to go along with her Canada West Player of the Year honours. The six-foot-two post was in a league of her own this season, leading the conference in field-goal percentage, scoring and rebounding. The Horn has dedicated probably 10000 words on Dykstra's sensational season and there really isn't anything more to say.

Other than this.

She is the best womens college basketball player in the country. Period.




The return to basketball for Forstbauer was officially complete on Thursday, as Vanessa captured the National Comeback Player of the Year award. Vanessa returned to the Vikes lineup this season after missing all of the 2007-08 season due to a complication in her heart. She is the first Vikes player to ever win this award

Velox the Real McCoy

In the battle for McCoy road bragging rights, the Velox Valhallians prevailed 32-23 over the shorthanded Vikes.

Andrew Smith was at the game and submitted this report and video.

Neil Meechan named as Canadian Sevens Captain

The Canadian National Senior Men's Sevens team is off to Dubai on Friday, Feb. 27 for the Rugby World Cup Sevens. On the roster of Canada's 12 top sevens players are five Vikes - one of which has just been named Captain.
Neil Meechan may not be a man of many words but he certainly leads by example. Whether it's on the international sevens circuit or back home playing in the CDI Premier Leauge, Meechan's opponents fear him and his teammates look up to him. He's a tough player known for his aggression and quickness at the breakdown.
The national side is certainly in good hands as they face off against South Africa, Scotland and Japan during their opening day of competition.

Kayla D = MVP, Forstbauer receives comeback award, and Gudgeon an All-star

Kayla Dykstra
In the most shocking news of the year, Kayla Dykstra of the Vikes women's basketball was named the Canada West MVP.

Who would have ever thought the leader in scoring (18.6 p/g), leader in rebounding (11.2 p/g), the owner of the leagues top field goal percentage (61%) and the catalyst to the best defensive team in the conference would win the award. Still can't believe it.

All jokes and sarcasm aside, Kayla Dykstra put together just an unbelievable year of basketball. She was destined to win this award from about January onward and was about as sure a bet as President Obama was on Election day.

Night in and night out Dykstra would craft double double performances like she was working the 24 hour drive-through at Tim Hortons. To finish out the regular season Kayla D would put together back-to-back weekends worthy of Canada West Player of the Week recognition. I would stay posted to the Horn because there could, and probably should, be one more award. Possibly a CIS National Player of the Year award? Time will tell.

Vanessa Forstbauer
You don't usually think about your heart. It's just something that you take for granted. It keeps you going and pumps blood. But students that have never struggled through Human Anatomy at UVic really have no clue how it works, other than it beats and can be crushed on Prom Night.

Yet for the Vikes Vanessa Forstbauer, her heart became the only thing she could think about. Forstbauer began to notice something was abnormal with her heart roughly two years ago during a Vikes practice. At first, Forstbauer and numerous doctors thought she had an irregular heartbeat. The problem wouldn't subside however, becoming more persistent and noticeable with every practice.

Forstbauer was forced to take a year off and undergo a surgical procedure. After numerous tests, it was discovered that the Chilliwack native had what is referred to as Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT). In English it mean that she had extra electrical tissue in her heart, or a short circuit, that caused increased heart rate and palpitations. The surgery performed successfully froze that extra tissue, making it torment, and thus allowing her heart to pump out the correct amount of blood during exercise.

When the 2008-09 basketball season came around Forstbauer was ready to return to the Vikes lineup. She didn't miss a beat. The third year forward started in all but one of the Vikes games, finishing second on the team in both points (8.2 p/g) and rebounds (7.0 p/g). Hustle, grit and hard work were just a few adjectives to describe Forstbauer's unwavering contribution to the Vikes this past season.

For her amazing return to the court, Forstbauer was awarded the recipient of the Tracy McLeod award as the Canada West Comeback Player of the Year.

Mitch Gudgeon
The Senior from Oak Bay was selected to the Canada West second team all-star team for his efforts during his swan song season. The big man led the Vikes in scoring (15.6 p/g) rebounding (10.1 p/g) and dunks over seven footers. His rebounding totals ranked 3rd amongst conference leaders and point total ranked him 15th amongst league leaders.

Stats aside, Gudgeon left a lasting impression with the Vikes program on and off the court. This selection is the final chapter to what was a terrific collegiate career.

Re-cap

In case you're just tuning in this would be my "first post" seeing as I had to remove my last post. A long story short, my last post was considered "campaigning too early" when I said that I was running for the UVSS elections! So I had to remove the post and was disqualified! It's an unfortunate scenario, but more bizarre than anything. If you plan on running for the elections be sure to read the entire 20 page manual of do's and don'ts from section A to J plus all the miscellaneous sub headings in between! They have no leniance towards inexperienced first-time nominees apparently! My only thought is that they miss out on a chance to finally include a whole other percentage of campus population for once and not just the same people who run and same people who vote. Oh well! Maybe next time!

As co-president of the varsity council I thought I would also take this opportunity to update you on what's on the go! First and foremost... February athletes of the month:

TEAM of the month: Women's basketball
FEMALE athlete: Kayla Dykstra (Women's Bball)
MALE athlete: Doug Csima (Men's Rowing)

A special shout out to Kayla!! She was just named Canada West MVP and her team mate Vanessa also won a major award so congratulations to both of you on a great season!!

In the works with the Varsity council are the following:

• "Rubik's Cube Pubcrawl" held mid to end of March (each sport will be dressed as a certain colour from a rubik's cube and by the end of the night you must have talked to someone on the other teams and collected an article of clothing or accessory of each colour!) Tickets will be on sale soon!
• Athlete and Awards banquet (+Vikes Hall of Fame) April 1st I believe is the date and we will be organizing a get-together afterwards so plan ahead wisely!
  
• Graduating players ceremony will be held separate from the banquet so look out for more news regarding that!

That's all for an update on my end! Congrats again to the Men's and Women's basketball teams for a great canada west season, to the Women's soccer team for a good record in Florida over reading break, and to McKenzie Downing and the swim team for a solid performance at Nationals!!!

Campus Showdown

All of us students have sauntered down it before at some point during our time at UVic. Heading to Ian Stewart for a workout from campus or stumbling home from a night at Felicitas, McCoy Road is a staple thoroughfare for UVic students. Yet perhaps you didn't know that the skinny road is the only thing that separates the UVic Vikes rugby team's Wallace Field and their arch rival Velox Valhallians home pitch.

This rivalry has taken a backstage over the past few years due to the Valhallians futility in both the Island and Premier League. But so far in 2009 the Valhallians have been far from league bottom feeders, jumping out a 4-0-1 record and currently sitting atop the CDI B.C. Premier League standings.

Saturday at Wallace Field the Valhallians would love nothing more than to upset the undefeated Vikes and assert themselves as the team to beat not just in Gordon Head, but on the Island.

Kick-off for this much anticipated showdown will go at 2:45.

Spartans roster gaffe nearly gives Vikes second life

There were a few moments on Tuesday where it looked like the UVic Vikes men's basketball team would be given a second chance in the 2009 Canada West Playoffs. Days after losing in the elimination Game 3 to the Trinity Western Spartans, the Vikes discovered that there was something not quite right with the Spartans lineup in Game 2 and 3.

The violation was simple. The Spartans broke the playoff rule that teams must "freeze their roster lineups at 12 through an entire three game playoff series." Simply put, the rule states that the same 12 players that dress for game one must be in the lineup for each proceeding game in the series, and no new player (a 13th player) may draw into game 2 or 3 regardless of injury, illness or fatigue to the original 12 players.

This is what Trinity Western did.

12 players played game one. 12 players saw the floor in game one. Nothing wrong with that.

But in game two, Spartans rookie Head Coach Scott Allen would elect to insert Daniel Demian into the lineup and take out Ryan Froese. And than in game 3, Allen would dangle with his lineup again, scratching Joe Vroom and inserting Froese back into the lineup.

The musical chairs on the bench is fine during the regular season, but is a no-no in post season basketball. It gave a clear advantage to the Spartans as it allowed them to insert fresh legs in for game two and three. In each of the three games all 12 Spartans players saw floor time.

This violation of Canada West rules was hotly discussed on CIS Blogs and discussion boards across Canada and had many thinking that the Spartans could, and maybe should, be forced to forfeit the series against the Vikes.

So yesterday, after hours of speculation the Canada West came down with their decision. Rather than force the Spartans to forfeit the series, or at the very least, make the Spartans and Vikes replay Game 3, the Canada West suspended Scott Allen for two games and fined Trinity Western Athletics Department $1000 dollars.

The Horn understands that forcing the Spartans to forfeit the series with the Vikes may be slightly unfair and a bit extreme. The Spartans players had nothing to do with this inexcusable mistake made by their rookie head coach. However, you cannot deny that the Spartans got a sizable advantage by having a fresh body on their bench in each game. Remember the Vikes lost by just one in game 1 and by just two in game 3. You're telling me that a rested player in a three game series doesn't make a difference in a two point game. Come on!

Furthermore, the two game ban for Allen is inconsequential.

Take a look at the Canada West playoff picture. There is pretty much no conceivable way that the Spartans don't get the wild card berth into the Canada West Final Four. They have the third highest CIS National Rankings of the six playoff teams remaining. Yes, Allen will miss the upcoming weekend series against the UBC Thunderbirds at War Memorial. Who Cares!
It doesn't matter if the Spartans lose by 10 or by 50. They will in all likelihood get that berth into the CW Final Four and be within one victory of going to nationals in Ottawa.

Meanwhile, over on the Island basketball is finished.

After the way the Vikes lost game one and three, to now have this happen is just a terrible way to finish a promising year.
The roller coaster of emotions that the players must have felt over the past few days. Unimaginable. I don't understand why they couldn't have had a winner take all game on Thursday at War Memorial with the winner taking on the T-Birds.

I never in my wildest dreams would think that i would write the following three words on the Horn.

But it's all that Vikes fans can do now.

GO BIRDS GO

Spartans, Birds crush Vikes dreams

Ouch!

This one is going to sting for a long time. A very long time.

Playoff basketball came to a screeching halt Saturday night, as both the Vikes men's and women's basketball teams dropped heart breakers in do-or-die situations.

The Men (Game 3 vs TWU)

Over in Langley the men came out in the do-or-die game three flatter than a 99 cent slice of Second Slice Pizza. The Spartans used their crazy crowd at the David E. to jump out to a 25-16 first quarter lead. They would keep the pedal-to-the-medal in the second Q and would enter the break up by 27 points! Over Right?
Nope! As whatever Coach Beau said, or most likely yelled, during the break it was heard loud and clear by the Vikes, as they came out in the final 20 minutes a team possessed.

Led by Senior Tyler Hass, the Vikes erased the massive deficit with a 25 point explosion in the 3rd quarter. Hass, playing in what would be his final game of his hallmark collegiate career, poured in 22 points and refused to let his team go quietly into the night. Hass hit what TWU's radio announcer would call a "NBA sized 3" with 24 seconds left to cut the Spartans lead to 85-80. He would than be fouled on a three-point-attempt with just 15 seconds left. The Victoria native would hit his first two but miss the third. Jacob Doerksen would grab the 'board and than stick it to his former teammates by knocking down both his free throws to put his squad back up by 5. However, Hass would rise up again as he nailed yet another bomb from the corner to put the Vikes back within two with less than 10 seconds to go. But after Lous Hurd missed both his free throws the Vikes were unable to grab the board, allowing Jamie Vaughn to swoop in and grab the loose ball. Devastating way to lose a game, as the Vikes and the red hot Hass were unable to muster up a final attempt for a game tying shot.

After what transpired in Game 1 (see video in post below), to have this happen in Game 3...just devastating. Being down 27 at half and than to come that close in front of that crazy crowd. Heartbreaking.

One shot was the difference between a date with UBC at War Memorial gym and going home for good. An unfair outcome for a team that was far too good to have their season end in mid-February. This team was built for success in the playoffs. Built on defence and grit. But as the CIS BLOG mentioned, the competition in the Pacific Division is outstanding.

You have to feel for the Seniors Hass and Gudgeon. They wanted nothing more than a return trip to Ottawa for Nationals.

Still a very solid year for a team that climbed as high as No. 6 in the CIS National Polls and put together a regular season record of 17-6. However, the rebuilding process and forward thinking must start, and start quickly, as next year the Vikes will have some massive spots to fill with the absence of Hass and Gudgeon.

The Women (Game 2 UBC)

As painful as the outcome from the men's series in Langley, perhaps what transpired on the Island was even more gut-wrenching.

The lady Vikes were playing a do-or-die game of their own, down 1-0 in their series against the defending National champs from UBC.

The women also had a halftime deficit of their own to overcome, as an absolute abysmal 2nd quarter had the Vikes down 8 heading into the halftime break.

But Ashley Yee, the only fourth/fifth year player on the Vikes, put her squad on her back in the 2nd half and led the charge as the Vikes clawed their way back and actually led by two heading into the final quarter. Yee finished the night with 18 points and gave the Vikes some much needed secondary scoring as the Birds were draped over Kayla Dykstra all series long.

The final ten minutes had both teams get some clutch buckets from the most unlikely of sources. Two rookies, T-Birds Lia St. Pierre and Vikes Debbie Yeaboah, played liked seasoned veterans down the stretch as they exchanged back-and-forth buckets. With the score tied at 62 with only 30 seconds left, UBC had the ball and held for last shot. The 'Birds would miss their shot however and the Vikes Dykstra would grab the board. But it was the rookie St. Pierre who darted into the key to steal the Dykstra outlet pass and go hard to the rack before Dykstra was forced to foul her. With the Vikes season on the line, St. Pierre would deliver the knock-out blow by calmly draining both foul shots. Unreal poise shown by the recruit from Moncton, New Brunswick.

A great regular season record and likely a MVP award for Kayla Dykstra could not translate into any sort of post-season run for the Vikes. But it will be used as a painful learning experience for the Vikes, as unlike the men, the ladies lose nobody from this years squad. They will be right back here next year, and this bitter defeat will go along way in terms of experience and motivation for the upcoming summer workouts.


Two season's ending much too quickly for the Horns liking.

That's sport though, and as they say "there is always next year".......i guess.

Some mayhem on the mainland, and upsets on the Island

First off gotta say sorry for the delay in getting a new playoff post up on the Horn. A couple of ferry rides will cause that.

But how about the series that is shaping up over in Langley! Wow. The Horn was over there on Thursday and what an absolute mad house the David E. Enarson Gymnasium is. Just a incredible atmosphere and an incredible game Thursday night. The Vikes weathered an early Spartans storm and battled all the way back to actually lead by 5 with 4 minutes to go. However, "The Shot Hurd Round the Pacific" would come in the final seconds of the contest as Spartans gurad Louis Hurd hit a buzzer beating 3 to give the Spartans the 64-63 victory. The highlights from game 1 can be viewed below or on the UVicVikes channel on youtube

Yet, the resilient Vikes who only lost back-to-back games once all season long battled back in game 2 on Friday night. Led by Jeff Cullen's game high 24 points, including 9 in the final frame helped the Vikes stave off elimination and force a deciding game 3 tonight at the David E. The place should just be a nut house again but the Vikes have the momentum on their side and are really thriving playing in front of a hostile crowd. Game 3, winner take all. What more could you ask for!!!

Over on the Island the UBC T-Birds women's flew into McKinnon Gym and stunned the UVic Vikes with a 57-54 victory. The Birds had a great game plan as they completely devised their defence around shutting down the Vikes superstar post Kayla Dykstra. It worked as Dykstra was held quite for the majority of the night. The Vikes will need a complete four quarter effort in game two and start hitting those free throws if they want to extend this series to Sunday.

Its do-or-die time for both our Vikes teams, so get out to McKinnon and cheer on our girls than tune into TWU's radio broadcast and listen into the boys!

Playoffs..... We talking 'bout Playoffs

Playoff hoops is finally upon us.

Starting tonight the men and women's Vikes basketball teams will embark in what they hope will be a long and prosperous journey to national greatness.

The men will start their best-of-three series tonight in Langley against their old buddy Jacob Doerkson and his upstart Trinity Western Spartans. As the playoff preview discusses, the Vikes will not only have to deal a regular season MVP candidate in Doerkson, but will also face the rowdy Spartans fans who cram the cozy confines of David E. Enarson. The gym (Pictured Right) is widely considered the loudest and toughest place to place in all of CIS basketball. The Horn will be giving live updates from the mad house all Thursday night long, so be sure to check back as the Vikes look to spoil the party.

On the other side of the Georgia Strait, the Vikes women's will get one more nights rest before they welcome in the defending CIS National Champion UBC Thunderbirds. The best-of-three PAC-D semis will get going Friday night at 7 PM. This series should also be intense from the get go as there is certainly no love loss between these long time west coast rivals. If for whatever reason you can't make it down to Shields Court, you can catch the entire game on the Vikes Streaming Network

Wishing men's basketball best of luck

The women's basketball team is just finishing up a good week of practices to get ready for the playoffs against the UBC Thunderbird's this weekend. We're super happy to be playing in Mckinnon gym in front of a home crowd for the first time in any of our careers at UVIC. The only downside to playoffs? We don't get to watch the men's team take on the Spartans in their own playoff challenge. The men play their first game tonight, and I hope everyone will be cheering on the men from the live broadcast if they couldnt make it over to Abbostford for the game.
Good luck Vikes!!!

Finally....Some Vikes Video

After weeks of promising, the Horn has finally delivered some game highlights. This video is a recap of Seniors night on Saturday, as the Vikes men rolled all over the Thompson Rivers WolfPack. Mitch Gudgeon's 3 first half dunks are all included. Look for full video/highlight recaps of both the men's and women's first round playoff series next week.

Candidate for CIS dunk of the year

The Vikes Mitch Gudgeon had a few dunks on the weekend that were impressive, but not quite as impressive as the one that Ryerson's N'Kruma Hylton threw down back in December. Love the bench!

Rugby team picking up right where they left off

Lost in all this chatter about playoff basketball is the scorching hot start by the UVic Vikes men's rugby team. The reigning Island Champs from the fall season are a perfect 3-0 to start the CDI B.C. Premier League and sit atop the standings with 13 points.
This Saturday the Vikes will head up the Malahat for a date with the Cowichan Piggies. The Piggies come into the weekend sitting in eleventh, and only have 1 point to show for through 3 games.

The Horn's already getting a whiff of that sweet smell of Bacon.

The Week Ahead

Wow! the regular season is over, and we have finished on a roll which is awesome.
Just thought I would give you a sneak peek at the week ahead for the woman's basketball team as we prepare for playoffs. Come tomorrow it is right back to work to get ready to go. ONLY three practices to go until it is DO or DIE time. The week will be spent trying prepare as best we can for the UBC Thunderbirds. Everything from on the court practice, to recovery after, and getting enough rest is important as this is the week the season comes down to... the weekend that you work so hard for so that you can keep alive for another weekend, another round. You just never know where you might be able to go.

Feel good story of year

It took six seasons, 128 games, and 5120 minutes of basketball. Finally, after years of futility and frustration, it happened.

Congratulations RMC. Hope you celebrated accordingly!

Vikes stars shine bright to close out regular season

No more trial runs. No more experimenting. And certainly no more opponents with 2-and-20 records. It's time to start growing the beards and dusting off the towels.

The Vikes men's and women's hoops teams dimmed the lights on the 2008-09 regular season this past weekend. In the final two contests of the season, a couple of Vikes stars shone very bright and gave the McKinnon faithful fans tons of optimism heading into the second season.

The four-for-four Vikes weekend was led by a pair of career performances by Mitch Gudgeon and Kayla DykMVPstra (sorry for the typo). Their effort on the Fri and Sat night was a perfect way to wrap up their terrific regular seasons, and for Gudgeon, a Hollywood scripted finish to cap off a hallmark five years of basketball at McKinnon Gym.

The long and grueling quest for national glory will begin next week for both Vikes teams, with the Women hosting the defending CIS National Champion UBC Thunderbirds in the opening round of the best-of-three PAC-D playoffs. The men got no love from Winnipeg (And we thought Cyril had connections in that city) so they will be forced to travel to the not so friendly confines of David E. Earnson Gym to take on their old friend Jacob Doerksen and the rest of the Trinity Western Spartans. However, before we look forward to the opening round of the playoffs, lets look back at what transpired this past weekend. The Horn will have a full playoff hoops preview in the upcoming days!

The Women

You know whats scary. Like really scary. Terrifyingly scary. The fact that Kayla Dykstra has two more years of eligibility. She can't possibly dominate a league more than she dominated the Canada West in 2008-09. Nobody in the conference even came close to stopping her this season. If she does not win the leagues MVP award it will be the biggest injustice in voting since George Bush was re-elected President back in 2004.

This past weekend Dykstra put an explanation mark on her record setting year. Friday night she realized a career high in scoring when she poured in 33 points to go along with 13 boards in the Vikes 78-52 victory over UFV. The next night, another personal career high, as she set a new mark in rebounds by grabbing 23 in the Vikes 65-56 win over TRU. She also locked up the Canada West scoring title with her fifth straight 20-plus effort, netting 21 points on 8-17 shooting. Ohh ya I almost forgot, Saturday night's monster game saw her end up just two blocks shy of recording her first ever triple-double.

Lets just take a quick look at her year:

• 18.6 points-per-game (1st in the Canada West and the second straight year that a Vike captured the scoring title (Ryan McKay last season 18.3)
  

• 11.2 rebounds-per-game (1st in the Canada West)

• 61% field goal percentage (1st in the Canada West)

• 1.4 blocks-per-game (6th in the Canada West)

Like I said, scary good. If I am the UBC T-Birds i would maybe spend just a little time in practice this week preparing for #14.

The Men

Talk about going out in style. Seniors Mitch Gudgeon and Tyler Hass likely played their last games on Shields Court on the weekend. And if it is their last game, they certainly left a lasting mark. Just ask the rims.

Gudgeon, obviously upset that the Horn labeled him as the grinder and Hass as the high-flyer, threw down three You Tube bound dunks in Saturday's victory against a very over matched TRU team. The Horn will post these dunks in the coming days but if you weren't there to see them in person you sure missed out on some huge crams by #33. The best one coming in the second quarter when the big man received a Ryan MacKinnon pass at full speed and went ride down broadway before cramming all over three unsuspecting WolfPack defenders, (although i'm not sure defender is the best word to describe their effort on that play, or on the night for that matter). Just Nastyness from Gudge!

This dunking display came after his huge Friday night performance where he set a new career high in rebounds, grabbing 20 in the Vikes victory over the Fraser Valley Cascades. That night also included a 21 point effort on the offensive end, giving him his first 20-20 performance of his career. Like i said, a great way to finish.
A send off right up there with Wayne Gretzky's final waltz around MSG and Seinfelds final hour on TV.

Well not quite, but close...sorta.....well not really, but you see what i am getting at.

"A" News feature on Hass and Gudge

We talked about it yesterday on the Horn and here is another piece on Mitch and Tyler's five year career with the Vikes. The video starts playing about 8 seconds in.


I like Jordan Cunnigham's question to the guys about if they are going to cry during the ceremony.
The Horn's prediction is Tyler no, Mitch.....maybe.
Its okay Gudge, we wont judge

Forstbauer gets some much deserved recognition

She is the queen of the intangibles. Constantly doing what Head Coach Brian Cheng refers to as the "dirty work". Without her the Vikes unstoppable high-low offense, that leads to so many easy baskets for post Kayla Dykstra, would have no high. And to think her college career could have easily been cut short if it wasn't for successful off-season surgery.

Vanessa Forstbauer's return to the Vikes this season has been nothing short of remarkable. A year removed from an irregular heart condition that forced her to watch all of last season from the stands, Forstbauer has returned to the Vikes lineup and started in every game but one. She enters the weekend averaging a shade over 8 points-per-game and is second on the Vikes in rebounds grabbing 7.0 r/g. However, it's the energy, hustle, and incredible court vision that she brings to the table that makes Forstbauer so valuable

Friday's Times Colonist feature on Vanessa details her return to CIS basketball and the hurdles that the Chilliwack native had to overcome.

You can see Forstbauer and her teammates this weekend as they look to cap off an incredible regular season that has them winners of their last seven, and 14 of their past 15. Tip-off for Friday's contest against UFV goes at 6:00, while the regular season finale on Saturday against TRU goes at 5:00. Both games can be viewed on the Vikes Streaming Network

Saying goodbye to two hometown boys

One is perhaps the most athletic player to ever suit up for the Vikes. The other is possibly the toughest player to don the blue and gold in quite some time. One terrorized opponents above the rim, while the other made his living in the paint. One was renown for his nasty dunks and massive blocks, the other noted for tenacious rebounding, tireless work ethic and silky smooth touch around the rim.




Although different in style, Victoria local products Tyler Hass (Pictured Above) and Mitch Gudgeon (Left) have both had their unique blueprint on Vikes basketball over the past five years. This weekend the senior duo and co-captains of the Vikes will take to Shields Court for one final weekend of regular season basketball.





To put the pair's prolific careers into perspective take a look at these numbers and tidbits.

Tyler Hass

• The high flying Tyler Hass has scored over 1000 points during his acclaimed Vikes career. The Langford native was named a Canada West second-team All-star last season, and was honored with the conference's Defensive Player of the Year award back in his sophomore campaign (2005-06).
  
• Hass started all but five of his 106 games with the Vikes. He will leave UVic having averaged 10.3 p/g and 4.6 rebounds-per-game. However, numbers don't do justice the athletic forwards ability to change the outcome of a game with one play. Very few players in CIS basketball had the ability to bring people out of their seats the way big #14 could. His dunks were Legendary. His blocks just down right mean. As A Calgary Dinos player said to me after last weekends game,

  "Hass is fearless! He is like the only player that would ever challenge Bekkering above the rim, and not only did he challenge him, but I thought he got a clean block off. Man he can jump."
  

  Although Hass was whistled for the foul on the play, that quote pretty much summed up Hass's career at UVic. Afraid of no one and more than willing to challenge anybody above the rim.
  

Mitch Gudgeon

• The gritty Mitch Gudgeon sits just 17 points shy of 100o for his Vikes career. Gudge has led the Vikes in rebounding in each of the past two seasons and currently sits third in the conference in 'boards-per-game averaging a shade under 10.

• During his five years Gudgeon averaged 9.5 p/g and snagged 5.1 boards-per-game. Like Hass, Gudgeon's contribution to the Vikes can't simple be measured by the numbers. The 6"7 post developed into a team leader and exemplified what it meant to wear the Vikes colours. Gudge could beat opponents with his back to the basket or face up, as his offense arsenal included his signature baby hook or his Tim Duncan like 12 footers of the window. The Oak Bay grad was also a dynamic rebounder, often taking it upon himself to ensure the Vikes would win the nightly battle on the glass.
  

Both players have left a lasting impression at UVic and would like nothing more than to cap off their careers by bringing playoff basketball to Victoria. Although the Vikes will need the Trinity Western Spartans to lose one of their final two games for that to happen, the Vikes can do their part by taking care of business this weekend. And you can do your part by making your way to McKinnon Gym this weekend to say adieu to two Vikes greats.

Must see footage of coach striking timekeeper

Teams are always trying to deliver that knock-out punch in the final minutes of a close basketball games. It can be a big three pointer or a massive dunk to put an explanation point on a victory.

However, the Assistant Coach of the St FX X-men took that to a whole new meaning in a recent game against Cape Breton. With his team down 3 points with 12 seconds to go, Gary Gallimore became irate at the Cape Breton time keeper who failed to blow the horn and signal to the referees that STFX wanted to call a time out. What transpired was shocking, as Gallimore reached over the scorers table and struck the student official. Bedlam ensued as both teams left their respective benches.

Check the video out. Its long but really picks up around the 6:00 minute mark

League Play Wrapping Up

Thanks Jane for the birthday shout out. It was a great way to spend the weekend having two wins.
One more practice to go before the last weekend of regular season games...wow does the season fly by fast. From training camp in September, first league games in October and now almost on to playoffs. It is a great feeling to know that we have home court advantage going in to the first round. It will be the first time I get to play a playoff game in my home gym...I can't wait.
It is also seniors night on Saturday, and for the first time in my years with the Vikes the womens basketball team has no members graduating. Talk about exciting for next year.
But enough about the future, what is on everyones minds right now is this weekend. We have two games, first against UFV on Friday and then TRU on Saturday. We are looking to continue to build on our season, always being better than the game before and striving to become the best team we can possibly be.
Hope you all come out to watch some action packed games this weekend, and recognize the great accomplishments and many contributions of Mitch and Tyler (mens basketball) as Saturdays game is the last regular season game they will play as UVic Vikes.

#14 turns #22!

The talk of Vikes women's basketball this year has undoubtedly been Kayla Dykstra, who had yet another unbelievable weekend against Calgary and Lethbridge. Thunder pretty much summed up the games but what he failed to mention was that it was also Kayla's birthday on Friday! Not a bad way to enter her 22nd year. So, on behalf of the womens basketball team, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLA! keep on rockin.

Dinos and Vikes play one for the ages

First things first. What a game!

Friday night's men's basketball showdown at Shields Court was what college hoops is all about. Two nationally ranked teams playing a spirited back and forth game in front of a jam packed crowd with the final outcome unclear until the final horn. The highly anticipated match up exceeded expectations and was by far the best game at Mckinnon Gym this year.

The Dinos and Vikes left everything on the court and left the thousand plus on Ring Road and 300 plus tuning into the Vikes Streaming Network entertained until the final minute. And just when you thought it was all over for the Vikes, Cyril Indome decided to catch fire and keep everyone in the building and tuned in for another nail biting few seconds. The box score will say the Dinos picked up a 86-81 road victory, but there was so much more to this game than the score. It was chippy. It was spirited. It was intense. And it was ohh so heartbreaking for the Vikes.

A few lasting images from Fridays game:

• The Dinos Robbie Sihota going absolutely unconscious in the 2nd half. He basically put his team on his back and led them to the victory. Sihota nearly accounted for half of the Dinos 26 point 3rd quarter explosion. It didn't matter if there was one, two or three Vikes defenders on him. He was feeling it and he wasn't missing.
• The gutsy effort put forth by Vikes senior Mitch Gudgeon. Whether it was his team leading 22 points, his tenacious defense on the Bekkering brothers, or his pretty behind the back pass to fellow senior Tyler Hass, Gudge brought his A+ game on Friday night to Shields Court. You could see the frustration in his face in the dying seconds of the game when it became apparent that the Vikes late 4th quarter comeback was going to come up short. If this was the final close contest that Gudgeon plays at Mckinnon gym, he definitely left a lasting impression.
  
• Cyril Indome! Wow where did that come from. The Winnipeg native almost single handedly brought his Vikes back from extinction, knocking down two treys and a lay up in the final 30 seconds of play. You gotta wonder where he was for the other 39 minutes of the game?
  
• Henry Bekkering's spectacular dunk show in pre-game warm ups. Fans got their money's worth before the game even started, as Bekkering put on dunking display worthy of the NBA slam dunk competition. Through-the-legs, behind-the-back, free throw line, double pump reverse, this kid has it all in his repertoire. Look for the Horn to post some of those incredible dunks later on in the week.
  

The loss makes the Vikes quest for home court in the playoffs that much more difficult. However, the Vikes got some help on Friday night as the SFU Clan went into Langley and pulled of a big upset by ending the Trinity Western Spartans 12 game winning streak. What does this all mean? Well the Vikes have 3 games remaining and sit 2 points behind the Spartans . With the Spartans holding the tie-breaker, the Vikes will need to win out and hope that their PAC-D rivals lose one of their final two games next weekend. Trinity travels East to take on Manitoba and Winnipeg. The Vikes meanwhile host Lethbridge tonight, and than will wrap up the regular season when they welcome the Fraser Valley and Thompson Rivers next weekend.

Regardless of how the men do over the final three games, the Women Vikes made sure that there will be post season basketball in Victoria, as they clinched homecourt in the opening round of the postseason by knocking off the Calgary Dinos 65-52. Kayla Dykstra once again had a MVP-caliber performance, scoring a game high 24 points and grabbing 15 boards. The Vikes (14-6) will either host Trinity Western (11-10) or UBC (10-10) in the opening round of the playoffs. It will mark the first time since 2004 that the Vikes will host a playoff series.



The Horn would love to hear your thoughts from either of Friday's games. If you were there witnessing the showdown or out there playing, feel free to leave your comments.

Vikes look to capsize Rowers

Thanks to a forfeit last weekend by the Burnaby Lakers, the Vikes didn't even need to take the ferry ride to the mainland to pick up a week one victory. Tomorrow at Wallace Field the Vikes will take to the pitch the first time in the 2009 CDI Premier League when they host the Vancouver Rowers at Wallace Field.

BCRugbynews has the Vikes favored by 12.

Horns Prediction
The Vikes will be playing without five of their starters and Head Coach Doug Tate as the Vikes contingent is off to New Zealand for the first leg of International Rugby Board Sevens Tour. Yet the Vikes will still field a very talented lineup that will be revved up to play their first game of the new year. Look for Canada Rugby Player of the Year Adam Kleeberger to play a huge roll throughout the game and captain his Vikes to a decisive victory.

Youtube legend makes his way to Victoria

Woody Harrelson proved it through his role as a basketball hustler playing in the streets of Southern California.
Chris "the Birdman" Anderson tried to prove it, but failed miserably in the 2005 NBA slam dunk competition.

What i am talking about of course is the notion that white man can jump.

Over the past few years another baller is doing his best to make even the most nonathletic, Canadian proud. His name is Henry Bekkering and he and his amazing resume of dunks are coming to Shields Court this Friday night.

Bekkering, who is currently averaging team high 18 points-a-game for the Central Division leading and CIS No. 4 ranked Calgary Dinos, has made for than just a name for himself on Youtube. The guy's dunks have had enough online hits to make even the likes of Britney Spears blush.

His through the roof hops has seen him featured on Fox's hit show, The Best Dam Sports Show Period. He's also treated basketball camps and dunk contests across the continent to his vast arsenal of ferocious slams.

The guy can jump over 5 kids for crying out loud!

So Bekkering will bring his ridiculous spring to McKinnon Gym for the first time, looking to add to his impressive portfolio of You Tube clips. Standing in his way, is the Vikes own high flyer's of Tyler Hass and Wendell Thomas. Don't think for a minute that those two are going to stand there and let Bekkering steal the home crowd thunder.

If there is one game not to miss this season it's this showdown.
But don't get too close to the action or you may find yourself on the wrong end of a poster.

Monster Erg promises to bring the pain

Rowers are a tough breed to figure out. Aside from the way-too-early mornings, it's the concept of sitting on your ass going backwards while someone yells at you to "STROKE" that seems a little bizarre. I guess in the context of conventional sports that is.

So Sunday's event at McKinnon Gym, on the Superbowl of all days, should really leave one head's spinning at the strangeness of it all. What I'm referring to is the annual playing of the Monster Erg - erg being short for ergometer, or those strange machines you see in the Fitness Weight Centre but are too timid to strap your self into.

To summarize the ergometer competition, competitors try to "row" a distance of two kilometers in as short a time as possible, while pitted against each other in a video game-type format beamed on a video display monitor.

Sounds pretty harmless right? But rowers don't throw around the word monster lightly. This is a beast of competition. Just imagine hopping on a treadmill and maintaining a steady sprint for seven minutes, and even that time would probably get you cut. A former rower once told me about the Monster Erg that if you don't puke at the end you're doing something wrong.

Personally I try to avoid puking at all costs, even in the event that it results in too much fun. So carnival rides and tequila are out of the question. And somehow I don't think the sensation of lactic acid burning through your thighs while your hands is blister is exactly the best of times.

So why do it?

I'll leave that one up to the rowers to answer. Post a comment as to why you row. And for the rest of you, the Monster Erg begins Sunday morning at 8 a.m. in McKinnon Gym.

Vikes bring out the brooms in Kamloops

Another weekend and another 4-for-4 performance by the Vikes men's and women's basketball team.

On Saturday, the women had a much tougher time with the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack than they did on Friday, but still escaped with a hard fought 63-54 road victory. The Vikes, who actually trailed with two and a half minutes remaining, played some clutch basketball down the stretch scoring the final ten points of the contest. A big character win for this team as numerous girls were battling flu like symptoms and could have easily mailed this road game in. This team is learning how to win every style of basketball game and Saturday's gutsy performance demonstrated that they can win even when they aren't at full strength. Coach Cheng's girls have now won 11 of their last past 12 games, and other than their loss to the CIS No. 1 ranked SFU Clan back on Jan. 9th have not lost since Nov. 14th in Regina. The Vikes can now clinch a home playoff series at Shields Court with a win this weekend and a Trinity Western Spartan loss.

The Men got the job done in Kamloops for the second consecutive night as well, jumping out to an early lead to dispose of a WolfPack team that can't seem to have this long season end quicker. The 91-61 victory by the Vikes was their second straight win in which they blew out their opponents by 30 or more points.

However, it wasn't all good news for the Vikes as they returned to their hotel room on Saturday night only to hear that the Trinity Western Spartans had gone into CIS No. 4 ranked Calgary Dino territory and pulled out a massive road victory. Just how big was the Spartans victory? Well with only four games remaining on the schedule, the Spartans now control their own destiny in their quest for a home playoff series. The Vikes now must likely win out and hope that the Spartans drop one of their four remaining contests if they plan on making Shields court the home for a opening round playoff series. The Spartans who have an identical record with the Vikes but own that all important tie-breaker finish the season by playing two at home against SFU before hitting the road to take on Manitoba and Winnipeg.
The Vikes final four games of the season are all at home, with Calgary Lethbridge, Fraser Valley and Thompson Rivers making their way to the Island.

It will be tough as the Spartans are playing some unbelievable basketball right now, but crazier things have happened . Don't put away your playoffs towels just yet and check back with the horn from all the latest from around the Canada West!

JC checks in from Kamloops

Hey, my names Jeff Cullen and I'm a 3rd year guard on the Men's Basketball team. This is my first time writing a blog for the Vikes Horn, and I'm doing it from my hotel room in Kamloops. We're here to play two games against Thompson Rivers University. Last night was the first of two, and we came away with a decisive win in a good team effort. We play them again in a few hours, and if we get off to a good start, we should be able to come away with another win. The trip home tomorrows gonna be a long one, but it'll be easier if we come home with 2 wins. Once we're home we get to stay for at least 2 home weekends, and hopefully 3 if Trinity drops a game and we take care of our home games, which include a visit from a very good Calgary team next week.

Talk soon.

JC

Vikes take two from lowly 'Pack

The Thompson Rivers men's and women's basketball teams have combined for a total of five wins this season. That number didn't change on Friday.

The women were led by a 17-point effort from Vanessa Forstbauer en route to a 71-57 victory over the hometown 'Pack. Forstbauer, who is primarily known for her efforts on the defensive end, showed she can also put up some numbers, going 7 of 12 from the floor and hauling in a game high 8 'boards. The full game recap can be viewed by clicking here.

On the men's side it was all Vikes all game. Tyler Hass led the Vikes in the 88-56 blowout victory, pouring in a career high 27 points. The seniors loudest bucket of the game came in the first half when he capped off a 12 point Vikes run by throwing down one of his signature two-handed crams. The Vikes Horn is already pumped for next Friday night when Hass goes up against Youtube sensation and Calgary Dinos forward Henry Bekkering. The two are perhaps the most athletic forwards in the conference and the head-to-head showdown is sure to produce some highlights. So in T.O's words, "Getcha popcorn ready." Fridays recap can be accessed by clicking here

The Vikes will look to bring out the brooms tonight when they finish the two game set against TRU. Tip off goes at 6PM and 8PM.

Burnaby forfeits giving Vikes 5-0 win

The start to the 2008-09 season will have to wait a little longer for the Vikes men's rugby team, as the Burnaby Lakers forfeited todays season opener against the Vikes because of unplayable field conditions. Supposedly most fields in Vancouver are still frozen and Burnaby was unable to find a field in time for the 2:45 PM kickoff. The Vikes offered to host the game at Wallace field but Burnaby declined.

A bit of unfortunate start to what promises to be a exciting season of rugby. The league must address this issue and address it quickly. However, the Vikes will take the three points to start the season. The season opener will now be next Saturday at Wallace field when the Vikes entertain the Vancouver Rowers.

Lads kickoff B.C. Premier in Burnaby

The Island Champs get their first taste of CDI B.C. Premier league competition this Saturday when they travel to Burnaby to take on the Burnaby Lakers. Kick off will go at 2:45 at the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex (The venue could change due to weather conditions). Hopefully the Barnard Cup Champ Vikes will teach a certain hockey team that practices in Burnaby how to win a game.

The full season/game preview can be accessed by clicking here.

The Horns Prediction
This one will come down to the field conditions in Vancouver. If the fields a quagmire than it favours Burnaby, as they will likely be able to grind the pace down and keep it close. The Vikes, however, are playing at full strength as their national sevens players don't head to New Zealand until next week. I like the Vikes to carry the momentum over from last December's Barnard Cup victory over James Bay and come out flying.

Olympians to compete in Canada West Championships

Michael Phelps swam here.

Well not here, as in the McKinnon Gym, but here in Victoria at Commonwealth Pool. Just saying that makes the chlorinated waters of Commonwealth akin to holy water. At least in some circles.

But now that I got your attention by name-dropping the greatest Olympian, and coincidentally greatest Halloween costume inspiration of the past year, lets turn our attention to some other Beijing Olympians who will be swimming in Victoria this weekend. Three members of Canada's swimming delegation to Beijing will be competing at Commonwealth Pool January 23-25, as part of the Canada West conference championships.

UBC's Annamy Pierse and Calgary's Mike Brown and Erica Morningstar headline a banner field of elite competitors who will don the swimsuits in hopes of bringing home the conference banner. Pierse, a breaststroke specialist, set a new Canadian standard in the 200m at the 2008 Olympics, and would later place sixth. Brown meanwhile came within 0.09 seconds of the podium with a fourth place finish in the 200m breaststroke.

Calgary and UBC remain the frontrunners, once the championships get underway on Friday. The Dinos are the defending champs, and between them and the T-Birds, it has been 16 years since another school held a title outright. Sixteen years ago Michael Phelps was seven and you may recall Mark Tewksbury swimming to gold in the Barcelona Games.

The Vikes hopes rest largely with MacKenzie Downing, who suffered heartache at last summer's Olympic trials and missed her ticket to Beijing by four tenths of a second. The butterfly specialist has 19 Canada West career medals to her credit and will be looking to go out on top in her fifth and final year of eligibility. Downing holds the Canada West record in the 100m fly, with a time of 1:01.02.

The full Vikes preview and schedule is posted on the UVic website and can be accessed by clicking here.

While a Phelps inspired eight-medal performance from any of this weekend's competitors might be a stretch, you can expect to see some of Canada's swimming hopefuls for the London 2012 Olympics. And if nothing else, you will feel a step closer to the Olympic God.

Vikes big movers on Top Ten Tuesday

You never know what the brain trust in charge of the CIS Top Ten rankings are going to come up with. The unpredictability and eastern biases often leaves western schools pondering the crazy formula. However, the Top Ten gods have shone down on the Island this week, as the Vikes Women moved up three spots to No. 6 and the Men jumped a couple spots to No. 8. Considering the Vikes only knocked off one team that was nationally ranked team this weekend (Women, Winnipeg) it was a surprising jump. But the National love is not undeserving as both teams record and quality of opponents in the Pac D speak for themselves.

Women
School (record) / vote pts
1. Simon Fraser (16-1) / 292 pts / (1)
2. Windsor (13-1) / 263 / (2)
3. Saskatchewan (14-2) / 245 / (3)
4. Regina (12-4) / 217 / (5)
5. Alberta (11-5) / 192 / (4)
6. Victoria (11-6) / 146 / (9)
7. Memorial (9-1) / 128 / (7)
8. Winnipeg (10-6) / 106 / (6)
9. Calgary (7-9) / 86 / (8)
10. Western Ontario (11-3) / 47 / (NR)

Men
School / record / vote pts
1. Carleton (11-1) / 504 votes - 42 / (1)
2. Ottawa (11-1) / 459 / (2)
3. UBC (15-2) / 418 / (3)
4. Calgary (14-2) / 381 / (4)
5. St. FX (9-1) / 338 / (5)
6. Western Ontario (10-2) / 286 / (7)
7. Concordia (5-3) / 225 / (6)
8. Victoria (12-5) / 205 / (10)
9. Windsor (7-5) / 111 / (8)
10. Dalhousie (7-3) / 107 / (9)

Weekend Jolts

The Vikes went a perfect 4-0 at Shields court this weekend.
Saturday's early contest saw the Vikes Women play a complete four quarters of basketball to knockoff the CIS No. 6 ranked Winnipeg Wesmen 69-56. Jane Anholt led all scorers with 20, and Vanessa Forstbauer put the defensive clamps on Amy Ogidan, the reigning CW Rookie of the Year and 4th leading scoring in the conference. Ogidan who came into the contest averaging 15 pts-a-game was held without a field goal for three quarters and finished with a season low of only 5 points.

In the late game the men dismantled the visiting Wesmen with a decisive 76-55 victory. The game for all intensive purposes was over after the first half as the Vikes big guns got the majority of the second half off. Tyler Hass led all scorers with 16 pts, while Mitch Gudgeon hauled down a game high 12 'boards. Next weekend the Vikes travel to Kamloops for a pair against Thompson Rivers. The Wolf Pack sit in last in the Pac D on both the men's and women's side. I hear that brooms are easy to find in the 'loops.

Now onto the weekend awards:

Best Vikes female- Although Anholt made this decision a little bit harder after a great game on Saturday, this award has to go to Kayla Dykstra. The star post had a double-double in both contests (15 pts 12 reb on Fri, 16 and 15 on Sat). Dykstra's effort on the weekend moved her into sole possession of first in both conference scoring (16.4 ppg) and rebounding with (10.4 rpg). Yes you read that correctly, the third-year post is averaging a double-double. And what's that your hearing, well that's a certain three letter chant.

Best Vikes male- The nod here goes to Brandon Dunlop. The third-year guard put his squad on his back Friday night, spearheading a third-quarter Vikes comeback. Dunny finished with 17pts on the night, 7 of those coming in the 3rd quarter, to lead all Vikes scorers. The poise and confidence that he showed down the stretch in a back-and-forth contest is something that Vikes fans and Head Coach Craig Beaucamp must be excited about.
And on Saturday night, well on Saturday night Dunlop didn't get lost on the way to McKinnon Gym. And just showing up to that game made Dunlop the Vikes player-of-the-weekend

Herd sent running from the Island

After nearly a two month absence from McKinnon Gym, the Vikes men's and women's hoops team returned to their home court and took care of business, defeating the Manitoba Bisons in both contests.

The women were led by their superstar Kayla Dykstra, who posted a double double (15 pts, 12 'boards) to lead her side to a 66-43 victory. It was the fourteenth time Dykstra has led her team in scoring. The Vikes Horn will be shocked if Dykstra doesn't get some serious consideration in early February when its time to hand out a certain Canada West Award (MVP,MVP,MVP!!!!)
Tonight the Vikes will look to make it 9 wins in their last 10 contests when they host the No. 6 ranked Winnipeg Wesmen. The Wesmen were upset in Vancouver on Friday night, falling to the unranked T-Birds.

The men survived a good-ole-fashioned shootout Friday night, as the visiting Herd came in to town guns-a-blazing. The visitors knocked down 13 three pointers in the contest and had the Vikes faithful nervous until the final whistle. It was a very interesting, and for the most part entertaining game, and i loved the style of play shown by the Bisons, as they pushed the ball and shot the long ball at every opportunity. I was equally impressed by the play of Bisons guard Nathon Dixon. The fourth-year veteran stands a mere 5'9 but utilized his quickness and lightning fast release to light up the Vikes for 27 pts. In the end though the Vikes proved to be too strong, as a clutch three by Ryan MacKinnon with a minute propelled the Vikes to a 84-80 victory. Player of the Game has to go to Brandon Dunlop who poured in 7 of his team 17 points in the 3rd quarter, a quarter that saw the Vikes overcome a 46-43 halftime deficit.

Check out these two links that recap Fridays action: Times Colonist Article, UVic Press Release

Tip off for Saturdays contest against the Wesmen goes at 7PM. The Wesmen were smoked by the T-Birds on Friday night and sit in last in the Great Plains division.

TC preview for hoops weekend

Check out the Times Colonist Article by Ron Rauch. The piece gives some much deserved love towards Kayla Dykstra and the Vikes effort on the defensive end this season.

Six Vikes selected to National Sevens team

The UVic Vikes rugby team continues to be the breeding ground for National sevens players, as six Vikes have been selected to the National Sevens team. Sean Duke, Ben Grant, Jordan Kozina, Phil Mackenzie, Neil Meechan and Gordie Sawers get the nod to represent Canada at the International Rugby Board events in Wellington (Feb 6-7) and San Diego (Feb 14-15)

For more about the team, check out http://www.bcrugbynews.com/show_news.cfm?ID=289

The 'Peg invades the Island

The Manitoba Bisons and Winnipeg Wesmen make the long flight to the Island for a pair of weekend contests at Shields Court. After last weekends loss to the Spartans the Vikes men team dropped to 3rd in the Pac. Division and cling on to the #10 spot in the CIS National Rankings. The women also earned a split on the weekend and remain as the # 8 ranked team in the nation. The girls however used Saturdays victory over the Spartans to gain some further separation between them and the third place Spartans in the Pac. Division .

A weekend sweep by both teams would go a long way in ensuring both squads a home playoff series come late February.

Check out the complete men's and women's weekend preview's at
www.govikesgo.com

Fridays game against the Bisons tip off at 6 (women) and 8 (men), while Saturdays contests against the Wesmen go at 5 (women) 7 (men). If you can't make it to Shields court you can check out the live online streaming broadcast at
http://vikes.uvic.ca/news/broadcast-info.php

Big game for JC

After a slow start to the 08-09 campaign, and finding himself on the wrong end of coach Beau's substitution patterns, Jeff Cullen needed a break through game to reassert himself in the lineup. He got that on Friday. The Oak Bay grad and Victoria native went off from beyond the arc, knocking down five treys en route to a game high 19 points. It's good to see Cullen get back on track and provide the Vikes with some much needed secondary scoring.
Cullen has agreed to contribute some posts to the Horn, so look for some inside insight from the Vikes veteran guard in the upcoming weeks.

Weekend Jolts

• The Vikes Men's basketball team came out of the mainland on the weekend with a split, knocking off SFU 78-53 on Friday night, but falling 87-83 to the Trinity Western Spartans the following night. Saturday's win for the Spartans gives them the all important tie-breaker against the Vikes, as they take the season series 2 games to 1. Both teams now sit with an identical 10-5 record, and have 8 games remaining to decide the second seed in the Pacific division and the all important home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Vikes now return to Shields court for a couple of home games against teams from the Keystone province, as Manitoba and Winnipeg will make their way to the Island. The Boys will likely need a sweep on the weekend if they hope on continuing their current streak of five straight years of hosting a playoff series. The Province newspaper Howard Tsumura was at Friday's contest and wrote this story about the swarming Vikes D

http://www.theprovince.com/Sports/Vikes+trounce+Clan+with+solid+defence+lights+shooting/1165113/story.html

• The Vikes women also made their way back to the rock with a weekend split to show for. Friday's night contest saw the girls battle the #1 ranked team in the Nation for four quarters, before falling 63-56 to the SFU Clan. The Vikes bounced back on Saturday, knocking off the Spartans by a 70-63 final. The victory gave the Vikes some separation in the Pac division standings, as they now sit in second place a game clear of the Spartans. The Vikes also own the tiebreaker against the Spartans, having swept them 3-0 in the season series. If all goes according to plan down the stretch, the Vikes women are in great shape to host their first playoff series in four years.
  

Check out www.govikesgo.com for recaps of both contests

CDI Men's Rugby Schedule Released

The B.C. Premier league has announced the schedule for the upcoming 2009 spring season. The schedule will see the Vikes play 3 of their first 4 contests away from Wallace Field, including the season opener on January 24th against the Burnaby Lake Rugby Club. The reigning island champs will than return back home for a string of three straight home games, accumulating on Mar 14th when the Vikes play host to the rival Castaway Wanderers.

The last two weeks of the regular season should be interesting, as the Vikes will travel back to the site of December's Barnard Cup final for a rematch against James Bay. The following weekend the Vikes will play host to the Lower Mainland Champs from Capilano in a showdown agaist the two fall champions. Check out the BC Rugby Website for the complete schedule.

Best Player In Canada Dons Yellow and Blue

Fans of UVic rugby and the BC Prem. league have been treated to his skill, grit and overall beastliness for years, but now the national stage is beginning to realize just how good Adam Kleeberger is. Kleeberger, or "kleebs" as hes known on the pitch, spent the majority of the fall playing on Canada's national team, where he was without question the consensus pick as Canada's top player. The back row froward returned from across the pond to suit up for the Vikes in the Barnard Cup final, where he pretty much single handedly led his squad to a memorable 23-18 victory against James Bay. The Elk Point, Alb native was named as the bcrugbynews.com player of the year for 08 and is becoming one of the most respected players in not just North America, but the World.

Check out these two links that praise Kleebs effort in 08

BC Rugby Article

Rugby Canada Article

Vikes women's hoops team make it six in a row

A long break and buckets of snow couldn't cool off the lady Vikes, as the girls continued to turn some heads this past weekend, disposing of UCFV 57-40 on Jan 2nd, and 77-54 the following night on the 3rd. The girls success so far this season (8-5, 2nd in Can West) has bolted them up to 9th in the National Polls. A home playoff series for Mr. Chengs squad is quickly becoming a reality. Check out www.govikesgo.com for the game recaps.