Queen’s lightweight rowers Simon Gowdy and Morgan Jarvis did not have a typical summer vacation. Gowdy and Jarvis were named to the Under 23 National Team that represented Canada at the world championships in Poznan, Poland this past August.

The mens’ varsity rugby team followed up on their win over Brock last weekend with another narrow victory Saturday, defeating the U of T Blues 17-15 in Toronto.
For the second week in a row, the Gaels dominated play, but they were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. Spencer Cameron, a fourth-year second row player, drew some close parallels between the team’s efforts against Brock and U of T.

The Golden Gaels men’s and women’s lacrosse teams showed their skills this past weekend as the women played a preseason tournament and the men kicked off their seasonal campaign.

Detractors will say that activities involving frisbees do not constitute sport. It’s what people do on Sunday afternoon in the park with their dogs. But pessimists overlook the growing global popularity of Ultimate Frisbee—the sport is now played by an estimated 100,000 people, in more than 30 countries worldwide.

With the roster finalized and jerseys handed out, the Queen’s Golden Gaels baseball team readied themselves for their first test of the season last weekend. However, they were not ready to begin the 2004 campaign just as they had last season’s—with a split.

The men’s and women’s cross-country teams have seemingly traded places from this time last year.
Last season, the men were a young team, and their strong group of rookies took them to a surprising fourth place finish in the OUA and tenth place at the CIS Championships.
The women, on the other hand, easily took the OUA Championship after an undefeated regular season, and ran some brilliant races at the CIS final to finish second in Canada.

Even the presence of The Tragically Hip couldn’t inspire the Gaels football team in their Saturday afternoon game against the Guelph Gryphons. Hip members Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair made the ceremonial kickoff—possibly an omen foreshadowing the significance that kicking would play throughout the game. After another game marred by mistakes, the only thing “tragic” is that the team has now begun its season 0-2 for the first time in two years.

The Varsity Mens’ Rugby team opened its season on Saturday with a tightly contested match against the Brock Badgers. The game’s result looked in doubt until the final play, when Queen’s second-year fly-half Dave Poettcker slotted a dramatic 30-yard penalty to give the Gaels a hard-fought 22-21 victory.

Kingston Field has endured two weeks of training camp punishment by sixty men with cleats on their feet and a fire in their bellies. After last year’s disappointing loss to Western in the OUA semi-finals, the Queen’s Rugby Football Club is eager to field a more disciplined and fit team for the upcoming 2004 season.

Both the men’s and women’s Queen’s soccer teams brought their preseasons to a close last weekend with the Old Four tournament at Richardson Stadium. The Gaels played host to McGill, Western and Toronto, and while neither team finished in the top half, their games boasted some strong performances and good signs for the upcoming seasons.

The Golden Gaels football season began on Monday in the same fashion in which it ended last November—with a closely contested but disappointing loss. The eighth-ranked Gaels travelled to Windsor and came home with a 30-28 defeat.