Guelph women's cross country teams open No. 1 in CIS Top 10

TORONTO (CIS) – The Laval Rouge et Or (men) and reigning champion Guelph Gryphons (women) top the first national cross country rankings of the season, while the Alberta Golden Bears are the new team to beat in men’s soccer.

In cross country, Laval earned 98 points to claim a historic pole position ahead of Guelph, ending the Gryphons’ near seven-year streak atop the rankings. The last time Guelph did not hold the No.1 ranking was Oct. 27, 2009.  Defend champ Victoria, Trinity Western and Windsor round out the top five.  On the women’s side, the 11-time defending gold medalist Gryphons received 95 points to open at No.1 ahead of Trinity Western, Toronto, Calgary and Western.

Last fall, the Rouge et Or men captured the bronze medal at the CIS Championship, while Guelph secured the women’s banner on home soil, continuing an 11-year run that began in 2005.

In men’s soccer, Alberta (9-0-1) takes over the lead position following a 3-1 win over UBC Okanagan (3-3-2) and a 4-2 victory against Thompson Rivers (3-6-1). The defending champion York Lions (7-0-2), who held the top ranking since the opening of the season, dropped to No. 2 after a scoreless draw at Windsor followed by a 1-1 tie with Western. The Golden Bears pay a visit to Calgary this weekend to battle the Dinos and Mount Royal Cougars.

In women’s soccer, Laval (5-0-1) held on to top spot for the fourth straight week, following a 2-2 draw at Montreal (4-0-1) and 5-0 win at McGill (1-2-1). The Rouge et Or, who received the nod ahead of surging No.2 Ottawa (9-0-0) thanks to a higher ranking in last week’s coach’s poll, will play Concordia (1-3-1) and Sherbrooke (4-1-0) on the road this weekend.

In women’s rugby, McMaster (3-0) validated its No.1 ranking, with 32-0 shutout of No.4 Queen’s (2-1) at home in a rematch of last year’s CIS championship final. The Marauders head to Peterborough, Ont. to face Trent (0-3) on Saturday.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
(points) / (previous ranking)

1.       Guelph  95 pts / (-)
2.       Trinity Western 89 pts / (-)
3.       Toronto 79 pts / (-)
4.       Calgary 66 pts / (-)
5.       Western 45 pts / (-)
6.       Queen's 39 pts / (-)
7.       Dalhousie 37 pts / (-)
8.       McMaster 32 pts / (-)
9.       Laval 32 pts / (-)
10.     Victoria 22 pts / (-)

Other teams receiving votes: Alberta (7), Sherbrooke (6), McGill (4), MacEwan (3), Windsor (2)

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
(points) / (previous ranking)

1. Laval 98 pts / (-)
2. Guelph 83 pts / (-)
3. Victoria 83 pts /  (-)
4. Trinity Western 59 pts / (-)
5. Windsor 52 pts / (-)
6. McMaster  45 pts / (-)
7. StFX 34 pts / (-)
8. Calgary 27 pts / (-)
9. Western 25 pts / (-)
10. Queen's 20 pts / (-)

Other teams receiving votes: Lakehead (8), Toronto (8), Dalhousie (6), McGill (4), Manitoba (3), Sherbrooke (2), Regina (2)

WOMEN’S RUGBY
(regular season record) / votes / (previous ranking)

1. McMaster     (3-0) / 181 pts / (1)
2. Guelph         (3-0) / 155 pts / (2)
3. Ottawa         (4-0) / 136 pts / (3)
4. St. FX          (3-0) / 103 pts / (5)
5. Queen’s       (2-1) / 93 pts / (4)
6. Calgary        (2-0) / 68 pts / (NR)
7. Laval           (3-1) / 67 pts / (8)
8. Concordia    (2-2) / 43 pts / (7)
9. Victoria        (1-1) / 34 pts / (6)
10. Alberta       (1-0) / 29 pts / (9)

Other teams receiving votes: Acadia (23), Carleton (10), York (5), Western (4) 

MEN’S SOCCER
(regular season record) / votes / (previous ranking)

1. Alberta 9-0-1 / 57 pts / (2)
2. York 7-0-2 / 54 pts / (1)
3. Ryerson 8-0-0 / 51 pts / (3)
4. UQTR 3-0-2 / 39 pts / (10)
5. TWU 7-2-1 / 29 pts / (4)
6. Carleton 7-1-1 / 20 pts / (NR)
7. UNB 2-0-3 / 19 pts / (6)
8. Acadia 4-1-0 / 18 pts / (7)
9. UBC 5-1-4 / 16 pts / (5)
10. StFX 4-0-2 / 13 pts / (NR)

Other teams receiving votes: Guelph (8), Toronto (3), UQAM (2), Calgary (1)

WOMEN’S SOCCER
(regular season record) / votes / (previous ranking)

1. Laval (5-0-1) / 56 pts* / (1)
2. Ottawa (9-0-0) / 56 pts* / (2)
3. Calgary (6-0-0) / 46 pts / (4)
4. Trinity Western (5-0-2) / 42 pts / (5)
5. York (6-0-3) / 38 pts / (3)
6. Montreal (4-0-1) / 23 pts / (9)
7. Cape Breton (6-0-0) / 22 pts / (8)
8. Alberta (4-0-2) / 20 pts / (NR)
9. UOIT (7-1-1) / 15 pts / (6)
10. UBC (2-1-4) / 6 pts / (7)
  * Laval edges Ottawa for No. 1 spot thanks to a higher ranking the previous week

Other teams receiving votes: Memorial (3), Western (2), Acadia (1)