CIS TOP TEN TUESDAY (#14)
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OTTAWA (CIS) - A semester-high five McGill varsity teams find themselves ranked in the CIS Top 10 polls released on Tuesday. The hockey Martlets remain at No.1, while the Redmen slipped one spot to No.6. In the first track & field rankings of the new indoor campaign, McGill is ranked third on the men's side and fifth on the women's side. And last but not least, the volleyball Martlets are tied for ninth in the nation.
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The UBC Thunderbirds and Laval Rouge et Or move up to No. 1 in this week's CIS men's basketball and men's volleyball national coaches' polls, respectively.
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In other CIS sports, reigning national champions Simon Fraser (women's basketball), UBC (women's volleyball), McGill (women's hockey) and UNB (men's hockey) hold on to their No. 1 positions, while Queen's tops the first rankings of the season in both women's and men's indoor track and field.
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Men's basketball
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Ranked second behind the reigning champion Carleton Ravens in the first four polls of the season, the 2008-09 CIS finalist UBC Thunderbirds (7-0) climb up to No. 1 in the final rankings of the fall semester.
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The T-Birds, who lost 87-77 to Carleton in last year's CIS final, were No. 1 for one week last season (third poll - Nov. 11). The Ravens, winners of six of the last seven W.P. McGee trophies, had topped 31 of 32 coaches' polls dating back to the start of the 2007-08 campaign.
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UBC, which received 41 of 42 first-place votes in this week's Top 10, improved to 7-0 in conference play over the weekend with a pair of dominating road wins in Winnipeg. The Canada West Pacific Division-leading T-Birds outscored the Wesmen 89-54 on Friday and the Manitoba Bisons 93-75 on Saturday.
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Meanwhile, the OUA East-leading Ravens (7-1), who earned the remaining first-place nod, were upset 76-73 by No. 10 Lakehead (7-1) in Thunder Bay on Friday night, before rebounding on Saturday with an 83-74 win over No. 6 McMaster (3-3).
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There is only one conference game left before the Christmas break in CIS men's basketball. Concordia visits UQAM on Saturday.
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Men's volleyball
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The musical chair continues in men's volleyball as the Laval Rouge et Or become the fourth team in fifth weeks to claim the No. 1 spot. Reigning CIS champion Alberta opened the season at No. 1 and held on for three weeks, McMaster took over in the next two polls, and Calgary was voted as the best team in the nation last Tuesday.
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The Rouge et Or, who dropped a straight-set decision to Alberta last winter in their first appearance in the national final since 2000-01, had last topped the coaches' poll in January of 2000, when they were No. 1 in the final two polls of the campaign. Laval goes into the break with a stellar 9-0 conference record thanks to a pair of 3-0 wins over Montreal and Sherbrooke this past weekend.
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Calgary (6-2) falls to No. 2 following a weekend split against No. 6 Trinity Western (6-2).
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Conference play in men's volleyball will resume on January 8.
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Women's basketball
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Defending national champion Simon Fraser improved to 7-0 in Canada West play with an 84-64 win over Lethbridge and a spectacular 110-73 victory over Calgary. The Clan received all 42 first-place votes from the coaches this week to earn the No.1 position for the 32nd time in 33 polls dating back to the start of the 2007-08 season.
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There are only two conference games remaining before the Christmas break in CIS women's basketball, including Simon Fraser visiting Fraser Valley (1-5) Thursday to make up for a Nov. 20 duel that had to be postponed. The other match-up sees Concordia visit UQAM on Saturday.
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Women's volleyball
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The two-time reigning CIS champion UBC Thunderbirds go into the December break with an unblemished 9-0 conference mark thanks to a straight-set victory over cross-town rival Simon Fraser.
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RMC and York face off on Sunday in the lone remaining regular season duel of the fall semester.
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Men's hockey
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The reigning University Cup champion Varsity Reds improved to 13-0 in conference play over the weekend with wins over Moncton, 7-5, and St. Thomas, 3-2 in overtime. It was the third time this season UNB had to work extra time to earn a W, including twice against cross-town rival St. Thomas.
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Back in 2007-08, when they set a number of AUS records en route to a remarkable 26-1-1 mark, the V-Reds started the regular season with 11 consecutive victories.
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UNB has two conference duels remaining before the break. The V-Reds host UPEI on Friday and No. 9 Saint Mary's (8-3-2) on Sunday as part of a busy 19-game final week in CIS men's hockey.
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Women's hockey
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McGill improved to 9-0 in conference play and moved to within one win of Alberta's all-time record of 67 consecutive overall victories against CIS opponents this past weekend. The two-time defending national champions beat No. 8 Montreal (8-2-1) 5-1 on Friday and Carleton 3-1 the next day.
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The Martlets, whose last loss was a 2-1 shootout affair against Alberta on December 30, 2007, can tie the Pandas' CIS mark on Saturday when they visit Concordia (1-7) for their last QSSF duel of the fall semester. They could shatter the record on December 28 when they battle Toronto at Concordia's Theresa Humes tournament.
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
(regular season record) / (votes - first-place votes) / (previous rankings)
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1. Simon Fraser (7-0) / 504 points (42) / (1)
2. Windsor (8-0) / 446 / (2)
3.ÌýRegina (7-1) / 420 /(3)
4. Laval (4-0) / 356 / (5)
5. Saskatchewan (5-3) / 335 / (4)
6. Cape Breton (7-0) / 313 / (6)
7. Victoria (4-3) / 254 / (7)
8. Alberta (6-4) / 186 / (9)
9. Memorial (5-1) / 154 / (10)Ìý
10. UBC (5-3) / 144 / (8)
Other teams receiving votes: Western Ontario (55), Calgary (48),
Bishop's (13), Brock (9), Carleton (9), StFX (6).
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MEN'S BASKETBALL
(regular season record) / (votes - first-place votes) / (previous rankings)
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1. UBC (7-0) / 502 points (41) / (2)
2. Carleton (7-1) / 462 points (1) / (1)
3. St. Francis Xavier (5-0) / 402 / (7)
4.ÌýCalgary (8-2) / 340 / (4)
5. Cape Breton (4-1) / 315 / (8)
6. McMaster (5-3) / 270 / (3)
7. Windsor (6-2) / 259 / (9)
8. Toronto (5-3) / 232 / (6)
9. Dalhousie (3-3) / 134 / (5)
10. Lakehead (7-1) / 126 / (NC)
Other teams receiving votes: Ottawa (101), Simon Fraser (86), Laval
(18), Saskatchewan (11), Trinity Western (8).
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WOMEN'S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / (previous rankings)
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1. McGill (9-0) / (1)
2. Wilfrid Laurier (13-0) / (2)
3. Alberta (14-0) / (3)
4. Manitoba (10-2) / (4)
5. StFX (9-2-1) / (5)
6. Moncton (8-2-1) / (6)
7. Queen's (10-2-1) / (7)
8. Montreal (8-2-1) / (8)
9. Saskatchewan (6-3-3) / (9)
10. Guelph (7-4-2) / (NR)
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Other teams receiving votes: York.
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MEN'S HOCKEY
(regular season record) / (votes - first place votes) / (previous rankings)
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1. UNB (13-0-0) / 180 points (18) / (1)
2. Alberta (14-1-1) / 162 / (2)
3. Western Ontario (13-2-0) / 140 / (3)
4. Acadia (11-3-0) / 106 / (7)
5. UQTR (13-2-0) / 100 / (4)
6. McGill (10-2-0) / 91 / (5)
7. Manitoba (9-3-2) / 78 / (6)
8. Lakehead (11-3-2) / 51 / (10)
9. Saint Mary's (8-3-2) / 38 / (8)
10. Wilfrid Laurier (10-4-1) / 27 / (9)
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Other teams receiving votes: Saskatchewan (12), St. Francis Xavier (3), Calgary (1), Waterloo (1).
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WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
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1. UBC (9-0) / 60 points / (1)
2. Montreal (13-0) / 56 / (2)
3. Manitoba (7-2) / 52 / (3)
4. Regina (6-2) / 47 / (4)
5. Alberta (10-2) / 43 / (5)
6. Trinity Western (5-5) / 39 / (T6)
7. Brandon (6-2) / 38 / (T6)
8. Laval (10-3) / 31 / (8)
T9. Calgary (4-6) / 27 / (9)
T9. McGill (11-3) / 27 / (10)
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Next highest votes (11th-15th): McMaster (15), Saint Mary's (13), Sherbrooke (11.5), Western Ontario (11), Waterloo (7.5).
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MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
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1. Laval (9-0) / 238.5 points / (3)
2. Calgary (6-2) / 222.5 / (1)
3. McMaster (8-1) / 191 / (4)
4. Alberta (7-3) / 188 / (2)
5. Dalhousie (7-1) / 145.5 / (5)
6. Trinity Western (6-2) / 143 / (7)
7. Manitoba (5-4) / 106.5 / (6)
8. Brandon (5-3) / 71 / (8)
9. Winnipeg (4-5) / 47 / (9)
10. Western Ontario (9-1) / 35.5 / (10)
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WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
(points) / (previous rankings)
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1. Queen's 100.5 points / (-)
2. York 100.0 / (-)
3. Alberta 76.5 / (-)
4. Regina 61.0 / (-)
5. McGill 60.0 / (-)
6. Guelph 53.0 / (-)
7. Dalhousie 10.0 / (-)
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MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
(points) / (previous rankings)
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1. Queen's 99.0 points / (-)
2. York 94.5 / (-)
3. McGill 74.0 / (-)
T4. Regina 69.0 / (-)
T4. Guelph 69.0 / (-)
6. Laval 27.0 / (-)
7. Dalhousie 24.0 / (-)
8. Alberta 21.5 / (-)
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For more information contact:
Michel Bélanger
Manager, Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Ph: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: (613) 447-6334
Fax: (613) 562-5669
belanger [at] universitysport.ca
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