Redmen ruggers rule as Quebec champs for sixth straight year
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(PHOTO BY ANDREW DOBROWOLSKYJ)
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MONTREAL - Gideon Balloch, a native of Beijing, scored 13 points as McGill defeated Concordia 28-7 to capture their sixth consecutive men's university rugby championship, in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec, at Molson Stadium, Sunday.
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Balloch, a mechanical engineering senior, scored one try, to go along with a pair of penalty goals and one conversion.
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Despite the lopsided score, it was a very even game in the first half and McGill went into the intermission with a slim 3-0 lead.
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"That's kind of been our story all year," said McGill team captain Alex Sunell, an electrical engineering senior from West Vancouver, B.C., who has played on the varsity squad for the last three championships after serving an apprenticeship with the McGill developmental club in his freshman campaign. "We've come out slow in the first and break out in the second half and that speaks to the fitness level that we have and the skill that we are able to display over a full 80 minutes."
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Other try scorers for the Redmen were Quentin Pradere, a freshman from London, England, plus senior Roderick Mackenzie and Cameron Perrin, both of Vancouver, B.C.
"Winning doesn't get any better than this, it never gets old," said
second-year coach Craig Beemer, who has been with
the team as part of the coaching staff for all six titles and was
rewarded this past week with the conference's coach of-the-year
award. " Hats off to Concordia, they played a great game but we had
a very good team this year. I'm fortunate to have great players who
hold themselves to a very high standard."
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Montrealer Adriano D'Angelo accounted for all of Concordia's points with one try and a conversion.
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"We had 35 guys each of whom could've started in the game and it was about fighting hard every day in practice to make it into the lineup here," said Sunnell. "And yet you come in the last day and you're still just as nervous as ever before the game starts, so its a wonderful feeling to win."
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Among the seniors expected to graduate are Nitai Ben-Shach of Montreal, Jon Lee of Vancouver, B.C., Trevor Friesen of White Rock, B.C., Nicolas Lefrancois-Santo of St. Lambert, Que., and the twin Balloch brothers, Gideon and Josh, who followed in the footsteps of their older brother Caleb.
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"It means a ton to me to go out with a championship, said Gideon Balloch, who started with the developmental team as a freshman and has been part of the varsity squad for the last three titles. "Each one was different. In the earlier years winning was great because I was part of a program that was going somewhere.
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"But as you get older, your role on the team changes. You start to develop, get more playing time and take more of a leadership role. You try to help the younger guys develop and you take a bit more ownership of what's needed on the field to win."
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Although details are yet to be confirmed, McGill is expected to host the top team from the Maritimes next week in an unofficial Eastern Canadian championship.
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications &
Publications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
Ï㽶ÊÓƵ
514-398-7012 (tel.)
514-398-1956 (fax)
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SCORING SUMMARY
McGill 28, Concordia 7
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FIRST HALF
1. McGill: PENALTY GOAL by Gideon Balloch, 38:00 (McG 3, CON 0)
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SECOND HALF
2. McGill: TRY by Gideon Balloch (conversion missed by Balloch) time NA, (McG 8, CON 0)
3. McGill: PENALTY GOAL by Gideon Balloch, 52:00, McG 11, CON 0
4. McGill: TRY by Roderick Mackenzie (conversion missed by Balloch), 58:00, McG 16, CON 0
5. McGill: TRY by Quentin Pradere (conversion by Balloch), 65:00, McG 23, CON 0
6. Concordia: TRY by Adriano D'Angelo (conversion by Adriano D'Angelo), 69:00, McG 23, CON 7
7. McGill: TRY by Cameron Perrin (conversion missed by Balloch), 80:00, McG 28, CON 7
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McGILL DRESS ROSTER | TEAM | TRIES | Converts | Drop | Pen.Goals | PTS |
Balloch, Gideon | McGill | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
Mackenzie, Roderick | McGill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Perrin, Cameron | McGill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Pradere, Quentin | McGill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Albers, Stephen | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Balloch, Joshua | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ben-shach, Nitai | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Blair, Joshua | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bourdeau, Michael | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Carvalho-campos, Ian | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chapman, Keelan | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Charlton, Nicolas | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Clarke, Trevor | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Friesen, Trevor | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Howard, Devon | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kirkman-gagnon, Thomas | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Lee, Jong wook | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Lefrançois-santo, Nicolas | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Levin, Daniel | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mckenzie, Connor | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minz, Jonathan | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
O'briain, Liam | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Skulsky, Sam | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Stephens, Andrew | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sunell, Alexander | McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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CONCORDIA DRESS ROSTER |
ɱç³Ü¾±±è±ð | Essai | Converti | Drop | ±Êé²Ô²¹±ô¾±³Ùé | PTS |
D'angelo, Adriano | Concordia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Ablenas, Daniel | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bang, Jimmy | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Boky, Chris | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chin barnes, Matthew | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chin, Dorian | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cosentino, Alfredo | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Desourdy, Alexandre | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dextras-romagnino, Jonathan | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Drohan, Gavin | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Elliott, Kevin | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Felberbaum, William | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kacou, Frederic | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mackey, Benoit | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Marks-beaubrun, Kevin | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Martinie, Jean-isidore | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Micheletti, Christopher | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Montealegre, Alec | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
O'hara, Conor | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pellizzari, Dario | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ritchie, Alex | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Slegers, Theo | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Stoker, Auguste | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Walkden, Philippe | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Walsh-pickering, David | Concordia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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