The 2015 PING CCAA Golf Championships opening ceremony was Tuesday morning, and the tournament tees off Wednesday at Chilliwack Golf Club.
The PING CCAA Golf National Championships highlight a busy week of UFV Cascades varsity sports action.
Golf nationals officially tee of Wednesday and run through Friday at Chilliwack Golf Club. But that’s just the start of a week laden with exciting events. The Cascades volleyball teams host their home openers against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats on Saturday, and the UFV women’s soccer team takes on the Manitoba Bisons and Winnipeg Wesmen in a pair of huge Canada West regular season games this weekend.
The Cascades women’s basketball team continues its preseason preparations with a home game vs. the Vancouver Island University Mariners on Friday, while the UFV rowers make a short road trip to Burnaby Lake for the Western Canadian University Rowing Championships.
Golf: National tourney tees off on Wednesday
Teams from across the nation arrived at Chilliwack Golf Club on Tuesday to participate in the opening ceremonies for the national tournament and to play a practice round.
The event gets going for real on Wednesday, as the first round tees off. The action continues on Thursday and Friday, starting at 8:30 a.m. each day.
“I can’t believe it’s here already – we’ve been planning it for over a year,” Cascades head coach Chris Bertram said. “We’re excited, all the people around Chilliwack are excited, all the staff are really excited, and the members can’t wait to get it going.
“I think it’s going to feel like a really first-class event, and that’s certainly been our goal all throughout the planning – to give the all of the student-athletes an experience they’ll remember.”
Volleyball: Crosstown clash vs. Bearcats to open PacWest season
The Cascades volleyball teams launch into the PacWest regular season with a home-and-home set against their crosstown rivals, the Columbia Bible College Bearcats.
The two teams lock horns on Friday at Columbia Place (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m.), and they’re back at UFV’s Envision Athletic Centre on Saturday for the Cascades’ home openers (women 5 p.m., men 7 p.m.).
“We couldn’t ask for a better way to start the season,” said Cascades head coach Kyle Donen. “It’ll be a nice emotional lift to play in front of really good crowds.
“Their team is very different from last year, but it’s a rivalry that stays true no matter what lineup is on either side. And I think the same goes for the fans. It’s a rivalry that people associated with the two schools are always going to enjoy.”
Mike Gilray, UFV’s first-year women’s volleyball coach, will be coaching his first PacWest regular season games against the Bearcats.
“I’m definitely excited,” he said. “It’s a new year and a new direction. We’ll find out in a few days what we need to continue to work hard on and get better at.”
WSOC: Manitoba teams visit, Senior Night on Saturday
The CIS No. 10-ranked Cascades (6-3-1) get a double dose of Manitoba teams this weekend. On Friday at 4 p.m. they host the Manitoba Bisons (6-2-2), and on Saturday at 5 p.m. they take on the Winnipeg Wesmen (1-8-1). Both games are at Abbotsford Senior Secondary.
These are the last regular season home games for the UFV soccer women, and Saturday’s game is of particular significance. It will be Senior Night for a trio of fifth-year graduating Cascades: Dayle Jeras, Shelby Beck and Jade Palm.
The Cascades are looking for a bounce-back effort this weekend, coming off a pair of defeats in a home-and-home set vs. the Trinity Western Spartans.
“I’ve said it all year long – I love the character of my team,” UFV head coach Rob Giesbrecht said. “I know they’re going to respond well, and they’re eager to get back at it.”
WBB: Cascades host PacWest’s Mariners in preseason
The Cascades women’s hoopsters welcome Nanaimo’s VIU Mariners to the Envision Athletic Centre on Friday for an exhibition tilt tipping off at 6 p.m.
Head coach Al Tuchscherer’s squad is coming off a series of tough tests at the Cougar Classic preseason tournament hosted by the University of Regina last weekend. The Cascades sustained defeats at the hands of the Saskatchewan Huskies and the host Regina Cougars, but wrapped up the event with a confidence-boosting 69-53 win over the Guelph Gryphons highlighted by a 21-point outing from Sydney Williams.
“We need to build on our last game in Regina,” Tuchscherer said. “It was a real strong defensive effort, and we want to build our game around that and continue that this weekend.”
Rowing: Cascades to compete at Western Canadians
The UFV rowing program participates in one of its biggest events of the fall season on Saturday – the Western Canadian University Rowing Championships.
The event will be held at Burnaby Lake, and will feature teams from B.C., Alberta and Manitoba.
Head coach Liz Chisholm believes she’s got at least four boats able to give the favourites from UBC and UVic a run for their money: the men’s four (coxswain Ben Schreiner, Stephen Wall, Kyle Krahn, Riley Dueck and Mike Moreton), the lightweight women’s double (Arden Holmes and Emily Klootwyk), the men’s pair (Krahn and Wall), and Holmes in the lightweight women’s single.
“We’re looking for some good stuff from them,” Chisholm said. “It’s always a tough competition at Western Canadians.”
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