The men’s basketball team opened their season with a bang Friday night, defeating the Brock Badgers 72-66 in front of a packed house at Bartlett Gym. Things went downhill on Saturday though, as they lost 67-62 to the Guelph Gryphons.

Principal Karen Hitchcock got an earful Tuesday as more than 100 people crowded into the JDUC’s McLaughlin Room to laud and condemn the Athletics and Recreation Review. After the summary, Hitchcock and moderator Sean Conway opened the floor to those present. Ruth McArthur of the women’s lacrosse team was the first to speak. McArthur said she was concerned that her team was ranked 22nd by the review despite their string of three straight OUA silver medals and the rising popularity of lacrosse.

If the University adopts the Athletics and Recreation Review’s recommendation to raise the athletics fee and increase external funding, much of that extra cash would go towards athletic financial awards (AFAs). The awards, given to incoming students for the first time this year, would become a larger part of the interuniversity teams’ mandate, said Leslie Dal Cin, chair of Athletics and Recreation.

Despite passionate support from about 120 Gaels fans who made the two-and-a-half-hour-trip to Markham, the men’s rugby team couldn’t come up with a win in their OUA championship match against the Brock Badgers Saturday.

The Gaels continued a winning tradition Friday night at Bartlett Gym as the women’s basketball team began their regular season with an 88-54 defeat of the Royal Military College Paladins. It was the seventh straight win for Queen’s in the seven times they’ve played against RMC since the Paladins joined the league in 2003.

The men’s hockey team got their season back on track this weekend with a pair of home wins. The Gaels beat the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 4-2 in Napanee Friday and garnered a 4-3 win over the Ryerson University Rams at Kingston’s Memorial Centre Saturday.

The men’s rugby team defeated the Western Mustangs last Saturday, earning the Gaels a place in this weekend’s gold medal match against the Brock Badgers. Contributing to the team’s recent victories was scrum-half Bryn Davies, the OUA playoffs’ leading scorer who was recognized as one of the OUA’s Peak Performers for the week ending Nov. 4.

The men’s rugby team is headed to the OUA finals tomorrow after a thrilling 18-13 win over the rival Western Mustangs on Saturday.

It was a less than stellar weekend for both the women’s and men’s hockey teams. The women beat the York Lions 5-0 but fell to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 2-1, while the men lost to both the Blues and the Ryerson Rams.
The women’s team started off their weekend well, pummeling York University 5-0 in Toronto Friday night. Goaltender Katie Boyd made 32 saves to record the shutout for Queen’s, who outshot York 37-32.

It’s shaping up to be a banner weekend for the Queen’s Golden Gaels.
While some varsity teams’ seasons have ended and a few are just beginning, the Queen’s men’s soccer and rugby teams are reaching the most pivotal points of their 2007 seasons.
The rugby team is fresh off the heels of a 99-0 embarrassment of Trent, which both teams agreed to call six minutes early due to its lopsidedness.

Varsity athletes need special accommodations for pre-registration and admission, said Chair of Athletics and Recreation Leslie Dal Cin.
Dal Cin said a special pre-registration process is needed for student-athletes, because they are increasingly torn between athletic and academic committments.

The final regatta of the OUA rowing calendar took place Saturday in St. Catharines and the Queen’s crew ended their strong season with an exclamation mark.