OTTAWA (CIS) – The race is on for the 2011 McCrae Cup and, to no one’s surprise, the Toronto Varsity Blues and UBC Thunderbirds are once again among the favourites in the five-team battle for CIS women’s field hockey supremacy this week.

The Field Hockey Canada – CIS championship, hosted for the third time in history - and for the first since 1994 - by the University of Calgary, gets under way Thursday at Hawkings Field. The round-robin portion of the tournament runs until Saturday, with the event culminating Sunday at 1 p.m. Mountain with the gold-medal final.

The top two squads at the end of the preliminary round will square off in the title match.
Competing for the McCrae Cup will be the reigning national champion and top-seeded Varsity Blues, the second-ranked Thunderbirds, as well as the No. 3 Calgary Dinos, No. 4 Guelph Gryphons and No. 5 Alberta Pandas.

The championship kicks off with a bang Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Mountain when Toronto opens its title defence against UBC. Other opening day matchups will feature Calgary-Guelph at 11:50 a.m., UBC-Alberta at 3:30 p.m., and Toronto-Guelph at 5:50 p.m.

A year ago, the Varsity Blues edged the T-Birds 2-1 in the gold-medal match to claim their 11th CIS banner, which tied them with Victoria for second on the all-time list of national championships won, one title behind UBC.

The Blues are red-hot going into this week, having crushed Western 7-1 in the OUA semifinals and Guelph 6-0 in the conference final. Toronto was as dominant on defence as it was on offence throughout conference play, allowing a remarkably stingy three goals against in 12 games while finishing second in league scoring with 51 markers en route to an 11-1 record.

The Blues’ lone loss came in their regular season finale, a 2-1 result against archrival Guelph. Toronto had taken the first head-to-head meeting of the fall 3-0 at the end of September and more than made up for the late-season setback with their rout of the Gryphons in the OUA championship game.

“We played really well today. I think we made a statement, especially on Guelph’s home turf and we kept distractions to a minimum,” said OUA coach of the year John DeSouza following the Ontario final. “Now we’re focused on the CIS championship and excited to see what we can do in Calgary.”

Guelph also finished conference play with an 11-1 mark, thanks in large part to the offensive prowess of Brittany Seidler, who was named OUA player of the year after scoring a mind-boggling 26 goals in 12 contests.

Last year, it was the Gryphons who entered the CIS tournament as No. 1 favourites. However, Guelph lost its tourney opener 2-1 to UBC and never recovered, en route to a fourth-place finish.

“We came off a rough game... against Waterloo in the (OUA) semifinals and I think the nerves were there,” said head coach Michelle Turley after the OUA final. “It was anybody’s game... and they (Toronto) came out flying and we didn’t carry out our game plan. The one fortunate thing is that we won a silver medal and there is a silver lining in that.

“We just have to be much better at the CIS championship,” added Turley, whose program’s best result at the national tournament is a silver medal in 2007. “Every single person has to play to the best of their ability. We’re not as deep as were last year and we have a lot of young kids, so the experience will be new to them.”

In Canada West, where there are no playoffs and the regular-season champions are crowned, UBC claimed a ninth straight banner thanks to an 8-2-2 record. Calgary (5-3-4) was second and Alberta (4-6-2) third.

While the T-Birds have racked up a record 12 national titles since the inaugural CIS tourney in 1975, the Pandas have won a single title (2005) in 14 previous appearances and the Dinos, about to compete on the national stage for the first time since 1997, are still looking for their first gold medal.

UBC has played in 13 straight CIS tournaments since 1998 and has amassed an amazing 11 medals over that period, including seven gold, three silver and one bronze. This season, the ‘Birds posted a 3-1 record against Alberta and went 3-0-1 versus Calgary.

“I am very happy with our performance this season,” said Calgary sideline boss Jenn Swagar, the 2010 CIS coach of the year. “We battled through some hard games. Being down 3-0 and coming back against UBC was a huge emotional boost.

“I feel that our best game is still out there, that we have not played at our best as a team. I hope that our preparation to this point will help us with the physical demands of playing five games in four days,” she added. “I am very proud of my players, but I know they all have an extra gear and skills in their tool box. I look forward to our next challenge, and we’re excited to have it on our home field.”

TEAM PROFILES

No. 1 Toronto Varsity Blues (OUA champions)
Head Coach: John DeSouza (6th season)
Regular season record: 11-1-0
Regular season standing: 1st OUA
Playoff record: 2-0
Playoff finish: OUA champions
Conference award winners: Amanda Woodcroft (rookie), John DeSouza (coach)
Conference all-stars: Kaelan Watson (D), Hannah Tighe (M), Amanda Woodcroft (M), Alexandra Evanyshyn (F)
CIS championship appearances (including 2011): 35 since inaugural championship in 1975
CIS championship best result: 11-time champions (2010, ‘07, ‘96, ’93, ’88, ’86, ’85, ’81, ’79, ’77, ’75)
CIS championship last appearance: 2010 (champions)
CIS championship sequence: 8th straight appearance

No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West champions)
Head Coach: Hash Kanjee (19th season)
Regular season record: 8-2-2
Regular season standing: 1st Canada West
Playoff record: No playoffs in CW
Playoff finish: No playoffs in CW
Conference award winners: Robyn Pendleton (MVP), Sarah Keglowitsch (rookie), Hash Kanjee (coach – co-recipient)
Conference all-stars: Miranda Mann (D), Kirsten Bertsch (D), Robyn Pendleton (F), Poonam Sandhu (F)
CIS championship appearances (including 2011): 32
CIS championship best result: 12-time champions (2009, ‘06, ‘04, ‘03, ‘01, ‘99, ‘98, ‘90, ‘83, ‘82, ‘80, ‘78)
CIS championship last appearance: 2010 (silver medallists)
CIS championship sequence: 14th straight appearance

No. 3 Calgary Dinos (second place Canada West)
Head Coach: Jenn Swagar (5th season)
Regular season record: 5-3-4
Regular season standing: 2nd Canada West
Playoff record: No playoffs in CW
Playoff finish: No playoffs in CW
Conference award winners: Lindsay Koch (Gail Wilson award nominee)
Conference all-stars: Carolina Romeo (D), Serena Lockhart (M), Courtney Campbell (M), Kaitlyn Longworth (F)
CIS championship appearances (including 2011): 6
CIS championship best result: 4th place (1987, 1982)
CIS championship last appearance: 1997 (fifth)
CIS championship sequence: 1st appearance since 1997

No. 4 Guelph Gryphons (OUA finalists)
Head Coach: Michelle Turley (8th season)
Regular season record: 11-1-0
Regular season standing: 2nd OUA
Playoff record: 1-1
Playoff finish: OUA silver medallists
Conference award winners: Brittany Seidler (MVP)
Conference all-stars: Kaye McLagan (G), Brittany Seidler (F)
CIS championship appearances (including 2011): 6
CIS championship best result: 1-time finalists (2007)
CIS championship last appearance: 2010 (bronze medallists)
CIS championship sequence: 5th straight appearance (6th in 7 years)

No. 5 Alberta Pandas (third place Canada West)
Head Coach: Stefanie Sloboda (2nd season)
Regular season record: 4-6-2
Regular season standing: 3rd Canada West
Playoff record: No playoffs in CW
Playoff finish: No playoffs in CW
Conference award winners: Stefanie Sloboda (coach – co-recipient)
Conference all-stars: Jackie Trautman (D), Julianna Cormier (D)
CIS championship appearances (including 2011): 15
CIS championship best result: 1-time champions (2005)
CIS championship last appearance: 2009 (silver medallists)
CIS championship sequence: 6th appearance in 8 years

McCRAE CUP CHAMPIONS

2010 Toronto
2009 UBC
2008 Victoria
2007 Toronto
2006 UBC
2005 Alberta
2004 UBC
2003 UBC
2002 Victoria
2001 UBC
2000 Victoria
1999 UBC
1998 UBC
1997 Victoria
1996 Toronto
1995 Victoria
1994 Victoria
1993 Toronto
1992 Victoria
1991 Victoria
1990 UBC
1989 Victoria
1988 Toronto
1987 Victoria
1986 Toronto
1985 Toronto
1984 Victoria
1983 UBC
1982 UBC
1981 Toronto
1980 UBC
1979 Toronto
1978 UBC
1977 Toronto
1976 Dalhousie
1975 Toronto

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (All times local: Mountain Time)

Wednesday, Nov. 2
19:00 All-Canadian Awards Banquet (Four Points Sheraton)

Thursday, Nov. 3
9:30 Round-Robin Game 1: Toronto vs. UBC
11:50 Round-Robin Game 2: Calgary vs. Guelph
15:30 Round-Robin Game 3: UBC vs. Alberta
17:50 Round-Robin Game 4: Toronto vs. Guelph

Friday, Nov. 4
10:00 Round-Robin Game 5: Calgary vs. UBC
12:20 Round-Robin Game 6: Guelph vs. Alberta
16:00 Round-Robin Game 7: Toronto vs. Calgary

Saturday, Nov. 5
10:00 Round-Robin Game 8: Calgary vs. Alberta
12:20 Round-Robin Game 9: UBC vs. Guelph
16:00 Round-Robin Game 10: Toronto vs. Alberta
17:30 Tie-Breaking Strokes (if necessary)

Sunday, Nov. 6
10:00 Bronze medal
13:00 Championship final

-CIS-