The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER – The No. 1 University of Alberta Pandas took over sole possession of first place in the Canada West women's rugby standings thanks to a 31-7 win over the previously unbeaten UBC Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon at Lord Field in front of the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre in Vancouver.
 
With the loss, UBC drops to second place in the Canada West with a 2-1 record. Alberta is alone in first with a perfect record after three outings. Lethbridge (2-2), Calgary (1-1) and Victoria (0-3) are in third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
 
"As expected, Alberta was strong. I think this was a good learning experience for us," said UBC head coach Maria Gallo. "A little adversity definitely builds more character. We had some good moments of rugby and definitely some lapses. Any good team will take advantage of lapses and they sure did."
 
Captain Carolyn McEwen, a PhD student in Kinesiology, scored UBC's only try in the 69th minute, when the T-Birds were down 24-0. After a period of sustained pressure, McEwen was driven over the line for the score. Paige Smith, of Surrey, B.C., kicked the convert.
 
Rebecca Fairbairn's 12 first-half points were enough to give Alberta the victory on Sunday. She opened the scoring in the 12th minute.  The Pandas took a UBC kick at centre and moved the ball back to about the T-Bird 22-metre line. After three phases of play, Fairbairn took off on a diagonal run to her left.
 
Then in the 29th minute, Fairbairn intercepted a ball at midfield and outran the UBC defence down the sideline for the try.
 
After that score, UBC responded well, attacking the Alberta defence. For a good 10 minutes, the ball was inside the Alberta 22-m line but after several restarts, the home team couldn't find a way to score.
 
The Pandas came out strong after the halftime break and recorded two more tries within the first 13 minutes to take control.
 
Alanna Fittes capped off the scoring in the 71st with a serpentine run that went about 40 metres.

"We'll regroup; we have six days until Victoria," said Gallo about her team's final regular season game on October 4. "We don't have too many serious injuries so after a couple more training sessions, we'll be better off."
 
The UBC-Victoria game on October 4 will kick off at 1 p.m. in front of the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
12': Alberta try – Rebecca Fairbairn (Rebecca Fairbairn convert)
29': Alberta try – Rebecca Fairbairn (convert missed)
 
Halftime: Alberta 12-0 UBC
 
45': Alberta try – Morgan Patzett (Rebecca Fairbairn convert)
53': Alberta try – Amee Svatos (convert missed)
68': UBC try – Carolyn McEwen (Paige Smith convert)
71': Alberta try – Alanna Fittes (Alanna Fittes convert)