Winter season will bring improvements, renewed efforts and maybe even a national title to McGill
McGill was so close. So close to a national title not once, not twice, but three times. What you might have missed in the hoopla surrounding the Redmen football playoff run was that both Martlets rugby and Redmen soccer were one win away from a gold medal.
McGill cross-country produced some of its fastest times to date, sending the most runners to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship in years. Cross-country coach Dennis Barrett, who also heads the track and field program, was recognized as the Quebec Student Sports Federation coach of the year for both the men and women's cross-country.
Barrett was not the only McGill coach to receive recognition. Football head coach Chuck McMann was named Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference coach of the year and was subsequently awarded the Frank Tindall Trophy as the best coach in Canadian university football.
Overall, it was an exciting semester of McGill sport, capped off with five provincial titles and two national bronze medals. Will it be more of the same at McGill athletics this semester? Not exactly. What gives me the authority to make such a statement? Nothing really. However, if the results produced by the winter teams before December are any indication of what is to come, my predictions shouldn't be too far off.
McGill's best hope for a national title this winter rests on the Martlet hockey players. Peter Smith's team has the experience and skill level necessary for playoff success. Excellent performances by the swim team will undoubtedly continue, particularly with the women. Fans should see some excellent basketball competition as the Redmen look to battle Laval once again for the QSSF championship.
Regardless of wins or losses, you'll surely see hard-hitting body slams by Redmen hockey veteran Daniel Jacob. And the men's basketball team, despite conceding a height disadvantage of at least a foot to most of the opposition, will continue to put on a great show for the crowds at Love Competition Hall.
Golden glove in net
Up until its recent 'Tour de France,' the women's hockey team possessed a six-game shutout streak. Kim St-Pierre, the team's starting goalie and an Olympic gold medalist, saved every shot directed at her for over 360 minutes of play. St-Pierre's experience and talent has given the Martlets an added defensive lift to go along with a wealth of offensive talent. The Martlets have posted several double-digit wins, beating divisional opponents Carleton and UQTR both 10-0 already this season.
Ranked No. 2 in Canada and first in Quebec, the Martlets have nine more regular season games before making a bid for the national championship. The only league competition the team has had thus far has come from the Concordia Stingers, who currently have 14 points compared to McGill's 19.
The Ottawa Gee Gees may pose a threat to the Martlets' quest for gold. Ottawa beat McGill 5-2 earlier in the season. The six games the Martlets played over the holidays in France, however, should give the team an added edge on the competition, with most teams not having played together for several weeks.
Swim team produces winning strokes
McGill hosted the fourth Quebec Cup meet at the end of the 2002 season and dominated the competition. Currently five men and 10 women have swum CIS championship qualifying times. McGill is on pace to break the school record for most swimmers to participate at nationals. The swim team still has two qualifying meets remaining, in addition to the QSSF finals.
There are several repeat qualifiers who compete for McGill in multiple events, including Heather Bell, captain Carolyn McCabe, Doug McCarthy and David Allard. The most promising event for both the men and women is the relay. At the fourth Quebec Cup, both the men's A and B 4x200-metre relay teams won their race comfortably with a combined 200.5 points. The closest team to McGill was Laval, who amassed 122 points. At the same meet, the women's 4x50-m freestyle relay set a meet record.
Broken records, shattered personal-bests and CIS qualifying times are now routine for a team with an incredible amount of momentum.
The McGill swim team looks to build on that momentum coming off a holiday training camp in South Africa.
