The Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre is the place to be on Saturday, October 5th, as that's when the UBC Thunderbirds take on the Victoria Vikes in the final match of the Canada West regular season.
The conference's two premier programs faced off just under a month ago over on the island, when UVic pulled the upset in a 22-17 win over the T-Birds. It was the first time in five years that UBC lost to the Vikes, and served as a warning that the 'Birds would have their work cut out for them if they wanted to win their fifth straight Canada West title.
Both teams have won all their matches since they first played, with UBC holding a record of 3-1 and UVic undefeated at 4-0. The Vikes are #4 in the U SPORTS national rankings, while the T-Birds sit at #6.
When it comes to taking on UVic for a second time, Thunderbirds head coach
Dean Murten believes his squad is definitely in a stronger place now than they were in early September.
"I feel that we're a little better organized in several important areas of the game," said Murten. "We have also had chance to integrate some of the players that did not play in the early games of the regular season."
The T-Birds bounced back very well following that opening week loss, beating Lethbridge, Alberta and Calgary by a combined score of 207-21. The offense has been high-powered, led by
Adia Pye (the two-time Canada West Player of the Week) who has 11 tries on the season.
Kiki Idowu and
Olivia Sarabura are next on that leaderboard with six and four tries, respectively.
Savannah Bauder and young rookie
Brooklyn Roddham have both performed well on kicking duty.
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The Vikes will provide a sterner test, and a good tune-up ahead of the postseason. After this match there will be less than two weeks rest before the Canada West Final Four in Calgary, and beyond that the T-Birds hope to compete for an as yet elusive national title at the U SPORTS Championships in Charlottetown.
While the 'Birds don't have to worry about whether or not they'll qualify for the postseason, they're determined to not let their rivals from the island get one over on them once again.
"A win is important for our confidence going into the Canada West playoffs, where we could potentially meet UVic in the final game," added Murten.
Saturday's match is also important for another reason. As the final day of the regular season, it's the final time that this year's class of graduating seniors will play as Thunderbirds here at home. With such a winning legacy on the field during their time at UBC, they're aiming to go out on a high.
The 'Birds and Vikes face off at 12:45 p.m. (PT) at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre. The match will also be broadcast on canadawest.tv.
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