VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds women's rugby team is searching for its first win of 2011 as it hosts the Calgary Dinos Friday afternoon in Canada West regular season action.
 
Kickoff is at 4 p.m. at Wolfson Field.
 
The Thunderbirds faced a tough start to the season, dropping games last weekend against Lethbridge (33-0) and Alberta (60-5), both Top-10 teams in Canadian university rugby. UBC has just one more game after Friday's clash with Calgary before the Canada West playoffs.
 
"The freakishly short nature and the early start of our regular season means that I am still trialing players in various combinations and positions," said UBC head coach Lesley McKenzie.
 
UBC will not have co-captain Megan Hamm (Langley, B.C.) in the lineup after she broke her nose in the game against Alberta.
 
"I'm asking for a greater commitment to contesting ball at the breakdown, but also smarter defensive alignment," said McKenzie of this weekend's game. "I'm also challenging the forwards to more dominance in the set piece. They're young but they've got the technical ability to do it."
 
Calgary is in its third season of Canadian Interuniversity Sport rugby competition but is still looking for the program's first victory. This will be the Dinos' first game of 2011.
 
Calgary features two players, Samantha Crandell and Brynna Walker, who were named to Canada's Under-20 rugby squad, which competed at the Nations Cup this summer. UBC's Paniz Pahlavanlu (Port Moody, B.C.) was also on that team.