The quest for a Canada West championship three-peat begins this weekend for Dean Murten and the UBC Thunderbirds Women's Rugby team. Saturday at UBC the T-Birds welcome their Island rivals from Victoria for a 1:00 p.m. showdown at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.

After a dominant 5-0 Canada West campaign in 2021, the Thunderbirds kick off their 2022 season against the Vikes who went 3-2 in Canada West play last season. The most recent matchup between these two clubs occurred on October 31, 2021 when UBC captured their second straight Canada West crown with a 47-13 victory.

Despite entering the season ranked #2 in the U SPORTS Week 1 rankings, Dean Murten and his club are taking nothing for granted.



"The main message for the team is that this is a new year. Last year is gone. We've prepared ourselves well. We've had a good training camp in both France and then back at UBC, and now it's time to put the training into action against a very good team," said Dean Murten. "I put a lot of pressure on our team to deliver when it matters most, and with each game we'll get better and better. But we can't get too far ahead of ourselves."

Last year's UBC club had six players named to the Canada West all-star team and five of those six are returning in 2022. Leading the way is 2021 Canada West player of the year Savannah Bauder who led the conference in points, tries and converts. Mikiela Nelson, Alayna Scramstad, Piper Logan and Shoshanah Seumanutafa help round out a roster that is looking to secure their sixth consecutive victory against Victoria.

Dean Murten added, "We're fortunate to have a lot of quality returning players who have been here before. Now it's a matter of finding our leaders. Leadership doesn't happen overnight, but I'm happy with our balance of returning and new players. We've challenged our senior players to support our young players and to lead by example both on and off the field."



The Vikes enter the 2022 Canada West season ranked sixth on the U SPORTS Week 1 poll. Despite falling the UBC in the most recent Canada West final, the Vikes did manage to secure a berth in the U SPORTS bronze medal game against Laval which they dropped 32-26.

"Our record against Victoria last year and in previous years is irrelevant," concluded Murten. "They've got an outstanding team. Their backline has a lot of talent and speed and their entire roster is balanced well with good young and senior players. They'll play a game on Saturday that will really challenge us. Our biggest challenge will be to stop their speed."

For the latest roster news, headlines and more, visit the UBC Women's rugby website here.