Apr 15th, 2011 by Erin
We’ve made some changes to the Athletics Review. We are now posting our weekly round-up of our sports teams’ performances on the SMUS Review. All of our previous Athletics Review posts are on there, and you can see them by clicking on the Athletics category on the SMUS Review.
Thanks for reading!
Mar 8th, 2011 by Erin
This past weekend, the SMUS rowing team attended the Elk Lake Spring Regatta. It was the first regatta of our spring competitive season on the west coast. The weather behaved: sun, some wind, warmer temperatures and a small amount of rain. Our small team of 23 athletes entered 18 boats (of the possible 20) into finals with the following results:
It was a great weekend of racing! Congratulations to the entire SMUS Rowing team! Our next racing event will be Dueling Over a Grand April 2-3 at Elk Lake.
Mar 4th, 2011 by Erin
The Grade 9 girls basketball team qualified for the Island Championships February 18-19 in Nanaimo. They first faced a fast Dover Bay team, and were able to keep the game close with good rebounding and some key steals from Vivian Lam, who was selected as the player of the game. At the end of the game, the Jags could not keep up with the fast paced Dolphins and lost 44-31. They then played the #1 North Island seed and tournament host, Woodlands. The teams were evenly matched, but a 2nd half press from Woodlands made it difficult to come back after a few turnovers.
Again, SMUS held their own on the boards, but the battle of the boards did not win them the game. Stephanie Wong-Harrison led the team with 12 points (including a clutch 3 pointer), and was the player of the game. SMUS then wrapped up the tournament against familiar foe, Spencer. It was a tight game, with many ties and lead changes. Though SMUS won both previous matches against Spencer by a slight margin, this game tipped in their favour. Emma Laprise was the player of the game for SMUS with 8 points. The girls finished 6th.
The City Playoffs found the Grade 9 girls pitted against the #1 team in the league, PCS. With depleated numbers, SMUS held their heads up and played a disciplined final game of the year. Chris Chen led the team with 10 points, and Vivian Lam chipped in with 6. Stephanie Wong-Harrison, Hayley Burns, Yasmin Roudsari and Jill Ding left it all on the floor in a performance that found PCS with 5 – 24 second clock violations.
Feb 15th, 2011 by Erin
With the 2011 basketball playoffs just round the corner, several SMUS teams came through with impressive wins in key recent action.
First, the Senior girls completed an impressive double against BC #8 Lambrick Park, shooting impressively all game en route to a 70-62 win. Sophia Ducharme notched 14 of her game high 24 points in the opening quarter, while Abbey Piazza (15 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds) flirted with a triple-double. Madison Hadfield (15-8) and Annie Pike (21-7) also figured prominently, while guard Ally Pollen connected on a critical basketball with under a minute to play to thwart any opposition comeback.
The team now advances as South #1 to the Island Tournament, to be held at SMUS February 24-26.
The Senior boys, after an injury-riddled and frustrating January, seemed rejuvenated after the half-term break. With the City AA league title at stake, the team likewise hosted Lambrick Park, #2 in the BC rankings, on February 10. A spectacular 25-15 opening blitz by the Lions looked ominous, but SMUS held its ground and kept the margin to nine points at intermission. However, despite several opportunities to cut into the deficit in the third period, SMUS still trailed 51-42 with ten minutes to play.
Then, on the back of some outstanding defence, key rebounds and impressive post play from David Lafleur, the comeback began. With 45 seconds to play, and the score knotted at 54, senior guard Mitch Wiggins connected on a deep three-pointer, and, after some last-second free throws, SMUS ended up on top 60-57!
With the victory, SMUS now enters the February 17-19 South Island qualifying tournament on a roll, even if formidable obstacles await in the form of Lambrick Park, Brentwood and Shawnigan. Four teams move on to the Islands, February 24-26 in Ladysmith, with the top three from that event then advancing to the BC AAs March 9-12 in Kamloops.
At the Junior boys level, SMUS completed its City tournament, beating decisively Oak Bay, Belmont and Lambrick Park to secure top seeding at the Island Tournament February 17-19 at Claremont. Point guard Mark Yorath has continued his commanding play, while Georgios Ikonomou and Dawit Workie complete an ultra quick and competitive back court trio.
Of course, the group also has one eye on the 16-team BC Invitational Tournament, to be hosted at SMUS March 3-5.
The Grade 9 boys, behind forward Matt Rud and guard Danny Wu, are also South #1 seed at their February 18-19 Island Tournament, to be held in Wellington. The team prepped effectively this past weekend, performing well against BC #1 Vancouver College before going down 53-42.
Likewise, the Grade 9 girls, behind wing Sofia Liang, are moving on to their Island event February 18-19 at Woodlands SS in Nanaimo.
Finally, by virtue of a pre-Christmas playoff win over arch-rival Monterrey, the Grade 8 boys continue their preparation for the BC Tournament, which will be held March 10-12 at Pitt Meadows. This weekend, the team will contest the ISA event, with potential matches against St. Georges and Collingwood. The three waged some great battles against each other a year ago at the CAIS U13 Nationals.
While the Grade 8 girls were not successful in reaching provincials, the team did play very well in two post-Christmas tournaments, winning at Hugh Boyd in Richmond and falling by a single point to York House in the ISA final.
Feb 9th, 2011 by Erin
Squash
In Ontario this past weekend, Tyler Olson and Nicole Bunyan participated in the Toronto Gold Tournament. Nicole Bunyan won the quarter finals but fell in the semi finals. She managed to finish 3rd after winning her final game 3-0. After losing the quarter finals, Tyler Olson placed 5th.
Both Tyler and Nicole are participating in the Canadian Winter Games in Halifax, NS from February 11th-27th.
Senior Girls Basketball
Over the long weekend, the Senior girls basketball team was off to Vancouver to play at the Big Kahuna Cup at York House. With three girls unable to play this weekend, two juniors were brought up, Jocelyn Yan and Kate Cluley. The tournament was expected to provide much competition, as the top 10 ranked teams would be participating.
The SMUS girls were in a pool with St. Thomas Moore, ranked 3rd and Nechako Valley, ranked 5th. The first game was on Thursday against St. Thomas Moore. The first 5 minutes of the game were scoreless until STM managed to get some points on the scoreboard. After the 1st quarter SMUS were down by 5 points. During the 2nd quarter, STM’s main player went down with a knee injury which gave SMUS a chance to catch up. Once the half time buzzer rang, it was a one point game. The game was close until the very end. With two missed foul shots in the last couple minutes, STM pulled out a win by 2 points. The girls played extremely well, especially Abbey Piazza who managed 22 points for the game.
On Friday, the girls were up against Nechako Valley. After losing to them in December, the girls expected tough competition. Similar to STM, Nechako’s main player had gone down with a knee injury at the end of December and was not playing in the tournament. This gave SMUS a slight advantage. During first half, the girls played well defensively and managed to score offensively which put them ahead by a couple points. After the first half, the girls allowed Nechako to catch up in the 3rd quarter. Both teams were in it by the 4th quarter and the game was put into over time. With 5 minutes left, the girls put all they had into playing hard on defence and scoring offensively. With a shot from Madison Hadfield, to put the girls up by two, SMUS won the game. Both Sophia Ducharme and Annie Pike had a great game as Sophia had 12 points and Annie had 13 points.
Later that day, STM beat Nechako which put SMUS 2nd in their pool. This meant they were going to face Holy Cross, ranked 2nd, on Saturday morning. SMUS, only being ranked 10th in the province, had a tough game ahead. The girls proved they can play at the level of the top-ranked teams. Throughout the first half and the 3rd quarter, the girls were neck and neck with Holy Cross. Only down by 2 points after the 3rd quarter, the girls had a chance to win the game. Once the 4th quarter began, the fatigue from the previous two days set in. The girls were unable to keep up with Holy Cross and unfortunately allowed them to gain a large lead. With 11 points and a great number of rebounds, Madison Hadfield had a spectacular game.
The final game of the tournament was against Sa-Hali from Kamloops, ranked 4th. They had not done as well as they hoped in the tournament and had something to lose whereas SMUS only had something to gain in this tournament. After the 1st half, it seemed as if SMUS was in it to win it. Yet, similar to the game against Holy Cross, fatigue kicked in and the girls were just too tired. Sa-Hali went on a scoring spree and managed to get ahead. SMUS were unable to keep up and Sa-Hali pulled out a win. Annie Pike, after working extremely hard all weekend, kept going throughout the entire game. She managed 12 points and overall had a great weekend.
SMUS now faces Lambrick Park on Thursday for 2nd league game. If they pull out a win, they will be ranked 2nd in the South Island.
Feb 2nd, 2011 by Erin
Junior Boys Basketball
It was another week of highs and lows for the Junior boys basketball team.
Following the best performance of the season, a comprehensive 70-26 league defeat of Claremont, and a subsequent 56-41 win over well regarded JN Burnett of Richmond, the team then came hit some misfurtune in the final of the Claremont Invitational, losing 55-52 to the hosts.
This stunning 47 point turnaround in the space of only five days reflected something of a disturbing trend in the Junior boys’ performances to date, with little consistency shown from game to game. When on song, the players are capable of some sublime basketball, but when not alert and focused, they are vulnerable to any opponent.
The team did bounce back with a 60-44 victory over Spectrum, thereby clinching the City league title in advance of the February 8-11 City playoff tournament.
Senior Girls Basketball
This past weekend the girls participated in a tournament at Belmont. There were a total of six teams involved including a big rival for SMUS, Brittania. Friday the girls faced the home team Belmont, who they played back in December when they were missing players. The girls expected some competition, but while the game was close for the first quarter, by the half the girls were up by 20 points and kept this lead throughout the game. Annie Pike was named player of the game as she worked hard despite the 20-point lead. Abbey Piazza and Allie White also had a great game as both had 20 points each for the game.
The following day came a big game against Brittania. The girls faced Brittania last year in a challenge match to determine who would qualify for provincials. It was a close game last year but the girls pulled through. Unfortunately for this game, despite the 1 point difference after the first quarter, the girls were unable to keep up. The girls played tough defence, preventing them from scoring too much, yet when it came to the girl’s offence, they were unable to get on the scoreboard. Madison Hadfield was named player of the game as she got us up on the scoreboard in the second half with some great shots.
The final game of the weekend was against a tough team from Terry Fox Secondary School in Coquitlam. Terry Fox managed to get ahead in the first half yet the girls did what they could defensively. After the first half, the girls played much more aggressively and managed to only be down by 6 points. In the last couple minutes of the game, when the girls thought we could make it close, Terry Fox scored a couple baskets to win by 13. Sophia Ducharme had an amazing game with great defence as well as some great shots; Sophia was named player of the game.
Squash
This past Friday, the competitive squash group participated in the ISAs in Vancouver. SMUS had three teams participating: the Junior boys, Senior boys and a girls team. The Junior boys (Matthew Ashton, Michael Rossi, Zachary Kahn, Jack Janus and Liam Keeler-Young) played well and managed a third place finish.
The Senior boys (Tyler Olson, Rodrigo Lima, Moishe Steinbok, Lachlan Glen, Michael Groot and Cole Turner) played great and placed second.
The girls (Nicole Bunyan, Paula Weech, Arden Mollenhauer, Nghi Nguyen and Vivian Lam) also captured second place.
Upcoming for squash is the Pacific Northwest Junior Tournament held here in Victoria at the Cedar Hill Squash Club on February 18th-20th. Many SMUS players will be participating and it will be a great weekend!
Jan 28th, 2011 by Erin
Squash
The competitive squash team went to Vancouver this weekend for the BC Junior Open. Nicole Bunyan won the Girls Under-19 title, defeating the #1-ranked girl in the province. With Nghi Nguyen being the only other girl in attendance from SMUS, she played extremely well in her last game and was excited about her win.
In the boys section, three were entered in the Under-19 division: Rodrigo Lima, Moishe Steinbok and Cole Turner. Rodrigo finished 5th after defeating the 7th ranked player in BC. Moishe pulled through and placed 7th, while Cole lost his first match in the B division but came back to win the silver.
Matthew Ashton and Michael Groot were placed in the Under 17 division. Matthew played well in the main division and Michael Groot, in the B division, lost his first match but came back to win the silver.
Michael Rossi and Jack Janus participated in the Under-15 division, with Michael in the main division and Jack in the B division. Michael Rossi lost his first match but pulled through and played in the final for the silver. Jack Janus, following the examples of Cole Turner and Michael Groot, lost his first game but came around and won the silver.
Overall, they all played well and learned a great deal about tournament play and team spirit.
Senior Girls Basketball
The Senior girls have been busy since the season began. In December, the girls participated in the annual Santa Slam Tournament at Lambrick Park. With opponents such as PCS, Port Alberni and MacNeil, SMUS pulled through easily with three wins.
During the Christmas break, the girls had much training to prepare themselves for the SMUS Invitational. With Oak Bay and York House participating in the SMUS Invitational, there was some competition. The girls managed two wins against Rundle College and Medicine Hat while they put up a good fight against York House, who is ranked #1 in BC.
The girls placed 3rd and Annie Pike was named to the All-Tournament Team and Abbey Piazza was named a Tournament All-Star.
The following weekend was the Police Tournament and the girls managed three wins and only one loss. With their first game being their only loss, they were unable to make it to the top 4. The girls managed to win their next three games, even against McNair who they had lost to in early December. They placed 5th out of 16 teams which was a great accomplishment. Allie White had a phenomenal weekend and was named All-Star.
With Parklands rescheduling their first league game, the girls were then set to play Lambrick Park first. Lambrick Park, being a highly ranked team, have always been great competition for SMUS. After the first quarter, the score was 21-20 for SMUS, a very close game in the beginning. After that quarter, SMUS took off and at the half they were up by 7 points. The girls managed to keep their lead after the half and pulled through with a big win by 19 points (final score was 67-48). Annie Pike had 23 points with Abbey Piazza following with 16 points.
Upcoming for the girls is a tournament at York House in Vancouver where there will be big competition against highly ranked teams.
Grade 9 Girls Basketball
The Grade 9 girls opened their week with a loss against a powerful Oak Bay team. After regrouping, they faced St. Andrew’s on Thursday. Down 13-10 after the half, SMUS gained confidence in the 3rd quarter and took the lead 18-15. Stephanie Wong-Harrison and Yasmin Roudsari led the team in scoring with 6 points apiece. The final score, was 25-20 in favour of SMUS.
On January 25, SMUS played Dunsmuir, the girls were able to come together on defence and create turnovers which turned into points. Stephanie Wong-Harrison again led the team with 11 points and Vivian Lam had 10. SMUS came out of a well played game with a 25-17 victory.
Jan 19th, 2011 by Erin
Grade 8 Boys Basketball
The Grade 8 boys basketball team played in the St. Georges tournament, recording very good wins over South Okanagan and Notre Dame, but suffering their first loss of their season, 48-34, in the semifinals vs Vancouver College. Max Pollen was named a tournament All-Star.
January 21-22 the team will host its own tournament, with a possible Vancouver College rematch on the cards in the semifinal round.
Grade 9 Boys Basketball
The SMUS Grade 9 boys basketball team went undefeated this weekend on their half of the draw at the ISAs. In the first game they overcame a bigger team with aggressive rebounding on both ends of the floor. On the scoresheet, they were led by game MVP Matt Rud who had a game-high 18 points.
In their second game versus Mulgrave, the boys carved their way through the opposing team’s defense en route to a convincing 57-16 win. Jeremy Chan’s guard play and decision making initiated a balanced offensive attack that saw 9 teammates hit the scoresheet. Michael Baart led an intense pressure defense that forced several turnovers accounting for his 7 points scored in transition.
In their final challenge of the weekend they faced an able opponent in GNS. Despite being up only 17-16 early in the 2nd quarter the team outscored their rivals 29-13 in the 2nd half en route to a decisive 52-34 result. The team was led by the fearless rebounding and emotional spark of Jack Manus. In the front court, Jordan Lane and Danny Wu hit 5 shots from beyond the arc at critical moments to maintain the momentum swings in SMUS’ favour.
After a very successful weekend that saw the team overcome emotional adversity and implementing new systems on the fly, the boys look forward to their upcoming games in the Cowichan Invitational next weekend.
Grade 10 Boys Basketball
Unfortunately for the Grade 10 Boys, an 11-0 record entering the New Year and the #1 ranking in BC proved to be shortlived, as the team first fell 60-56 in the opening round of the Vancouver College Tournament to streaky Burnaby South and then 42-40 to a vastly improved Brentwood in the ISA semifinal. Seven other comfortable wins were of no real consolation, as the two defeats cost the team a valuable chance to measure itself against some of the best in the province.
On the plus side, the team is slowly regaining health, with both Georgios Ikonomou and Colton Stockus back from long term injuries. Sparkplug guard Dawit Workie, sidelined since December 13 with a broken hand, is also due to resume playing shortly. Not far off is the BC Tournament, which SMUS will host March 3-5!!
Senior Boys Basketball
At the Senior level, little went right in the early January SMUS Invitational, with the team losing all four of its games despite patches of good play. The Police Tournament the following week was a definite improvement, with the squad reaching the semifinals after wins over Esquimalt and Shawnigan. However, a quick, physical and feisty GW Graham then proved to be a real handful, with another loss to Oak Bay following in the bronze medal game.
Liam MacLure and Connor Eden did have the distinction of being named to the All-Star team. Though only 8-9 overall to date, the team has shown at times the ability to compete with the very best AA programs in BC, but must improve defensively and rebound more consistently.
League play is set to begin January 18 and 20 with contests vs Parkland and Edward Milne.
Jan 14th, 2011 by Erin
Grade 9 Girls Basketball
The Grade 9 girls basketball team resumed league play last week with a battle against Parklands. SMUS came out strong in the first quarter, and led 14-8.
Vivian Lam led the team with 9 points, and Hayley Burns contributed 4 points. The full court press and zone defense of Parklands slowed SMUS progress, and the Jags lost by a score of 28-20. They next face Lambrick Park on January 12th.
Jan 7th, 2011 by Erin
Junior and Senior Boys Basketball
Over the Christmas break, both the Junior and Senior boys basketball teams travelled to Honolulu for four games and some Hawaiian holiday magic. The trip, organized by Mr. Mat Geddes, went off without a hitch, with the two teams combining to win seven of the eight contests played.
First up was a pair of games vs Lanakili Baptist College, with the Juniors opening impressively. David Pollen’s first quarter sharp shooting staked SMUS to a 22-9 lead, with the team then playing very well indeed en route to a 60-30 win.
At the Senior level, the going proved much harder, with SMUS struggling to adapt to a different set of rules (FIBA is not used at the US high school or college level) and no shot clock. The latter proved especially aggravating as a small but clever opponent spread the floor and kept possession of the ball for over a minute on many possessions. It was not until late in the third quarter that a trio of three pointers, two by Derek Hyde-Lay and one by Murphy Liu, finally edged SMUS in front 29-25, with the team then hanging on to gain victory by 38-32!
Next up were games against Manilani HS. Again, the Juniors exploded out of the gate, this time led by Steve Whillans (21) and Trenton Schulz Franco (15). Smothering defence and numerous fast breaks, keyed by Mark Yorath’s superb passing, kept the scoreboard ticking over, with the team reaching the 80-point mark in the last minute of play.
The Senior game lacked the same flow or hot shooting, but finally a fourth quarter breakout, fueled by Conor Eden, Joe Erlic and David Lafleur, allowed SMUS to take the lead. Some late FTs put a gloss on a 41-26 victory.
Game 3 came against the tournament hosts Hanalani College. For the third straight time, the Juniors performed very efficiently and won easily. Montgomery Fraser-Brown connected on four tries and Graeme Hyde-Lay, on loan from the Grade 8 team as a replacement for the injured Dawit Workie, chipped in with seven points and five rebounds.
At Senior level, the hosts provided stiff opposition, again running a delay-type offence in order to limit possessions and keep the score down. All SMUS counters to try and inject some pace in the game proved fruitless. In the end, three late FTs by Liam Maclure were just enough in a 36-35 win, with a last second game winning shot by the Royals impressive point guard just spinning out.
Following a day off, the teams completed action with games against Kalaheo HS. Heavy overnight rain and the subsequent moisture left the court quite slippery, and the Juniors, for the first time, struggled. Fortunately, very good defence helped and order was restored after the break, with a fine third quarter ensuring another double digit vctory.
The Seniors jetted out to lead 11-0 and then 13-2, but were unable to retain this early momentum. Down 49-34 with four minutes to play, a SMUS reserve group, along with a flu ridden Mitch Wiggins, battled well to keep things interesting. Chris McEachren-Law, well supported by Miu, Johnny Huang, Lewis Liu and Mike Shaw, got back within five points, before eventually going down 51-44.
Off the court, among other things, the players and coaches enjoyed a memorable visit to Pearl Harbour, surfed at Waikiki, were pounded by the waves at Waimea Bay on the North Shore, and watched the top-ranked team in the USA, Oak Hill Academy from Virginia, utterly defeat a talented field in a local high school tournament.
Now back at home, both SMUS teams are already back in training. The Juniors will take their provincial #1 ranking to the prestigious Vancouver College Emerald Tournament January 7-8, while, on the same weekend, the Seniors open their own Invitational with pool games against Cowichan and Bishop O’Byrne (Calgary). Indeed, in addition to O’Byrne, the tournament features four other out of province teams, as well as a wildcard, Del Academy from Lagos, Nigeria.
Fans can get all the action and tournament updates here.