Simon Fraser's Ozi Nwabuko (centre) went 6-for-6 from the field Friday in the Clan's season-opening loss to the Drury Panthers of Missouri, the No. 1-ranked team in all of NCAA Div. 2 women's hoops. (File photo by Brad McLeod property of SFU Athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Basketball

SFU hoops: Clan lead with their Hart, but even Claudia Hart’s first career double-double not enough against NCAA D2’s No. 1 Drury Panthers

The Simon Fraser Clan said they wanted to start their 2019-20 women’s basketball season against the best competition they could find.On Friday, they quite literally got just that.Junior forward Claudia Hart put forth her first career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, however the Clan had a hard time early coming to grips with […]

Trinity Western's new plug-and-play guard Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath showed in the preseason that he is capable of filling it up. (Photo by Scott Stewart property of Trinity Western athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

Trinity Western men’s basketball: Who are these guys? With 10 newcomers and a first-year head coach, Spartans begin new adventure Friday at TRU

LANGLEY — It’s hard to paint the precise picture that best captures the state of the 2019-20 Trinity Western Spartans men’s basketball team.First, you start with the basics: A team coming off an 0-20 conference season a year ago, with a brand new head coach and 10 new players, many of whom had likely never […]

UBC's second-year defensive back Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown is living up to his potential as a future star. The Hamilton native came up with three interceptions Saturday against the Calgary Dinos. (Photo by David Moll property of Calgary Dinos athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

Thunderbird Stadium was a ‘Land of Opportunity’ for youthful UBC football in 2019, Saturday loss in Calgary turns page on next chapter

In his 20-plus seasons as a U Sports head football coach, Blake Nill has made a habit of his coaching his teams into national-title contention.When exactly the opposite happens to the degree with which it did this season, it’s no wonder that the UBC Thunderbirds’ veteran football boss was having a tough time coming to […]

Four years after helping UBC earn its 100th national title in its 100th birthday year, 'Birds defender Amelia Crawford leads her team back into the playoffs for the final time in her career. (Photo by Bob Frid property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Soccer

UBC women’s soccer: On the road and in the shadows, these 2019 Thunderbirds seem built for U Sports’ second season

VANCOUVER — The UBC Thunderbirds have won the second most U Sports titles this century and are one of those programs which annually finds itself in the conversation when the talk turns to who will hoist the Gladys Bean memorial trophy, emblematic of Canadian women’s university soccer supremacy.

Simon Fraser's Farnaaz Johal has emerged as one of the rising young stars on a Clan volleyball team riding a five-game GNAC win streak into a four-game homestead beginning Thursday atop Burnaby Mountain. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Simon Fraser Clan athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Volleyball

Clan ‘creating their own luck’ as preparation, opportunity meet to give SFU volleyball chance to set new program GNAC win streak on ‘Dig Pink’ night

BURNABY — You’ve no doubt heard about the concoction produced from that time-tested recipe, the one where preparation meets opportunity?Simon Fraser head volleyball coach Gina Schmidt isn’t denying the existence of old-fashioned good luck at various points of the five-match win streak her Clan (7-3) carry into the start of a four-game Great Northwest Athletic […]

Is he set to become the new face of UBC football in 2020? 'Birds quarterback Gabe Olivares engineered his team's 38-37 win over No. 3 Saskatchewan on Saturday at T-Bird Stadium. (Photo by Darryl Dyck property of UBC athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

A SUNDAY READ: Why UBC football’s upset stunner over No. 3 Saskatchewan has ‘Birds coach Nill convinced it’s deja vu, all over again

VANCOUVER — Blake Nill didn’t hesitate for a second. When placekicker Garrin McDonnell booted his fifth field goal of the day, an 11-yarder with just 31 seconds to play to lift the underdog UBC to a most improbable 38-37 win over a Saskatchewan Huskies’ team ranked No. 3 in the nation, the grizzled Thunderbirds’ head coach […]

SFU rookie quarterback Brandon Niksich was near perfect through the air as he engineered three second-half scoring drives to lead the Clan past host Azusa Pacific on Saturday in California. (Photo property of Crossview Studios through the permission of Azusa Pacific Athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Football

A Sunday Read: How Simon Fraser football snapped its 48-game losing streak! “It’s just the beginning for us” says Clan coach Ford

Sooner rather than later, Thomas Ford wants nights like Saturday to be business as usual.But he knew just as well as anyone who has held an emotional stake in Simon Fraser football over the past five-plus seasons that Canada’s NCAA team was smack dab in the middle of very a special moment.“Oh, man it was […]

Trinity Western's star senior trio of (left to right) Rachel Hutchinson, Brooklyn Tidder and Jenaya Robertson have exerted their influence on every part of Chase Office Field. This weekend, the three play their final regular-season games at their cozy Langley fortress. (Photo by Scott Stewart property of Trinity Western athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Women's Soccer

TWU’s Jenaya, Rachel & Brooklyn: Three for the show… it will be tough for Spartans’ fans to see this dynamic soccer trio go!

LANGLEY — Jenaya Robertson reaches back in her mind to a time 10 years ago, and with an inflection so very apropos, the 22-year-old lets loose with a 12-year-old’s joyful enthusiasm.“We all played together on the same team for one season, and I am pretty sure we were all centre-midfielders, too,” remembers Robertson of the […]

Giving his Cascades' teammates a pair of shoulders to lean on, UFV's fifth-year senior captain and all-time program scoring leader Gurmaan Jhaj closes out his U Sports' regular-season career this weekend with a playoff berth on the line in the nation's toughest conference. (Photo by Dan Kinvig property of University of the Fraser Valley athletics 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Soccer

A Jhaj of greatness: Amidst the emotion of UFV seniors night, Cascades’ all-time scoring leader Gurmaan Jhaj must summon his best game

ABBOTSFORD — Gurmaan Jhaj has brought a rare talent to the fore over the course of his university soccer career with the Fraser Valley Cascades.