CIS Top Ten Tuesday (#8): No changes atop national rankings

OTTAWA (CIS) – There are no changes at the top this week in Canadian Interuniversity Sport national rankings in cross country running, hockey, rugby, soccer and volleyball.

In cross country, Guelph tops both men’s and women’s rankings for the fifth consecutive week. The Gryphons have captured the last six CIS women’s titles and five straight men’s banners – both all-time records. The 2011 conference championships are scheduled for this weekend, with the CIS meet following on Nov. 12 in Quebec City.

In women’s hockey, the No. 1 McGill Martlets (3-0) enjoyed a break in the RSEQ schedule last week. The reigning CIS champions resume conference play this weekend against Montreal (2-1) and Carleton (2-0-2).

In men’s hockey, the top-ranked and defending University Cup champion UNB Varsity Reds improved to 4-0 in regular season action thanks to a 7-6 win over No. 8 StFX and a 4-2 defeat of Saint Mary’s.

In women’s rugby, a number of ranked teams kicked off the post-season over the past weekend and the No. 1 St. Francis Xavier Women (6-0) will do the same on Saturday following a well-deserved one-week break. The reigning national champions host Acadia (3-3) in the AUS final.

In women’s soccer, the Montreal Carabins (11-0-1), the only team in the country without a regular season loss, top the coaches’ poll for the second week in a row following lopsided wins over UQTR, 6-1, and Laval, 4-0. The Carabins wrap up conference play this weekend against McGill (7-3-2) and No. 7 Sherbrooke (9-1-2).

In men’s soccer, the No. 1 York Lions (12-1-2) closed out the regular schedule with a pair of 2-0 shutout victories over Laurier and Western. The 2010 CIS champions will host an OUA quarter-final on Sunday against a rival still to be determined.

In women’s volleyball, the top-ranked UBC Thunderbirds officially begin the defence of their four consecutive CIS titles this weekend with a two-game series in Regina.

The Canada West men’s volleyball regular season also gets under way this week with the No. 1 and defending CIS champion Trinity Western Spartans visiting Saskatchewan for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

(points) / (previous rankings)
1. Guelph 98.3 points / (1)
2. McMaster 91.7 / (2)
3. Victoria 77.5 / (3)
4. Saskatchewan 60.0 / (4)
5. McGill 52.5 / (6)
6. Western Ontario 50.0 / (5)
7. Calgary 37.5 / (7)
8. Queen’s 27.5 / (9)
9. Dalhousie 25.8 / (8)
10. Alberta 8.3 / (10)

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

(points) / (previous rankings)
1. Guelph 99.2 points / (1)
2. Windsor 90.0 / (2)
3. McMaster 64.6 / (T3)
4. Victoria 61.5 / (5)
5. Western Ontario 59.2 / (T3)
6. Queen’s 53.8 / (6)
7. Laval 41.5 / (7)
8. Regina 32.3 / (8)
9. Calgary 21.5 / (9)
10. Toronto 16.2 / (10)

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. McGill (3-0-0) / (1)
2. StFX (2-0-0) / (2)
3. Laurier (4-0-0) / (3)
4. Calgary (2-0-0) / (6)
5. Guelph (5-1-0) / (5)
6. Alberta (2-1-1) / (4)
7. Queen’s (4-1-0) / (9)
8. Manitoba (1-2-1) / (7)
9. York (4-1-0) / (10)
10. Saskatchewan (2-2-0) / (8)

Other teams receiving votes: Lethbridge, Montreal, Moncton.

MEN’S HOCKEY

(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)
1. UNB (4-0-0) / 170 pts (17) / (1)
2. Manitoba (4-1-1) / 138 / (3)
3. Acadia (3-1-0) / 118 / (4)
4. McGill (4-0-2) / 112 / (2)
5. Saskatchewan (4-1-0) / 75 / (5)
6. UQTR (5-2-0) / 68 / (NR)
7. Western Ontario (3-0-1) / 62 / (6)
8. StFX (2-2-0) / 56 / (7)
9. Waterloo (4-1-0) / 55 / (10)
10. Calgary (3-3-0) / 24 / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Moncton (21), Nipissing (12), Lakehead (12), Alberta (9), Queen’s (3).

WOMEN’S RUGBY

(regular season / playoff record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. StFX (6-0 / 0-0) / 78 points / (1)
2. Guelph (5-0 / 2-0) / 76 / (2)
3. Lethbridge (4-0 / 2-0) / 69 / (3)
4. Laval (6-0 / 1-0) / 57 / (4)
5. McMaster (5-0 / 2-0) / 48 / (5)
6. Concordia (4-2 / 1-0) / 33 / (6)
7. Alberta (3-1 / 1-1) / 28 / (7)
T8. Queen’s (4-1 / 1-1) / 15 / (8)
T8. McGill (4-2 / 0-1) / 15 / (9)
10. Calgary (2-2 / 1-1) / 14 / (10)

Other teams receiving votes: Acadia (10), Victoria (1), Trent (1).

WOMEN’S SOCCER

(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. Montreal (11-0-1) / 50 points / (1)
2. Trinity Western (10-1-1) / 45 / (2)
3. UBC (9-1-2) / 38 / (4)
4. Queen’s (13-1-2) / 36 / (3)
5. Wilfrid Laurier (12-2-0) / 31 / (5)
6. UPEI (10-1-0) / 24 / (7)
7. Sherbrooke (9-1-2) / 16 / (8)
8. Ottawa (12-3-1) / 15 / (10)
9. Alberta (8-4-0) / 10 / (6)
10. Saint Mary’s (8-1-1) / 8 / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Toronto (2).

MEN’S SOCCER

(regular season record) / (previous rankings)
1. York (12-1-3) / 60 points / (1)
2. Cape Breton (9-1-1) / 49 / (4)
3. UBC (7-1-4) / 48 / (2)
4. Laval (5-5-1) / 41 / (5)
5. Victoria (8-2-2) / 36 / (8)
6. Carleton (11-3-0) / 27 / (3)
7. McMaster (10-2-4) / 23 / (6)
8. Toronto (10-2-2) / 22 / (9)
9. StFX (6-2-3) / 14 / (7)
10. Montreal (7-1-2) / 6 / (NR)

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. UBC (0-0) / 60 points / (1)
2. Alberta (0-0) / 56 / (2)
3. Laval (0-0) / 50 / (3)
4. Manitoba (0-0) / 47 / (4)
5. Saint Mary’s (0-0) / 46 / (5)
6. Winnipeg (0-0) / 39.5 / (6)
7. McGill (0-0) / 31.5 / (T7)
8. Montreal (0-0) / 31 / (T7)
9. Calgary (0-0) / 28.5 / (9)
10. Trinity Western (0-0) / 20.5 / (10)

Next highest vote getters: Dalhousie (18), Regina (15), Brandon (15), York (9), StFX (3), UBCO (3).

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)
1. Trinity Western (0-0) / 230 points (23) / (1)
2. Alberta (0-0) / 188 / (2)
3. Manitoba (0-0) / 177 (1) / (3)
4. Calgary (0-0) / 172 / (4)
5. UBC (0-0) / 143 / (5)
6. Laval (0-0) / 107 / (6)
7. Dalhousie (0-0) / 81 / (7)
8. Brandon (0-0) / 80 / (8)
9. Western Ontario (2-0) / 55 / (9)
10. Thompson Rivers (0-0) / 38 / (10)

-CIS-