Canada West Communications
Highlights:
- Trinity Western’s Regan Yee (TF) and Calgary’s David Kapinga (BB) are the Canada West first stars of the week
- Yee won two gold medals at the U SPORTS Track and Field Championships, while Kapinga led Calgary to the first men’s basketball title in program history
- Saskatchewan’s Summer Masikewich (BB) and UBC’s Kiera Van Ryk (VB) are the other women’s stars, while Alberta’s Austin Cole (TF) and Trinity Western’s Eric Loeppky (VB) are the other men’s stars
EDMONTON – Veteran middle distance runner Regan Yee of the Trinity Western Spartans and fourth-year guard David Kapinga of the Calgary Dinos are the Canada West first stars of the week for the period ending March 11.
Yee concluded her university career in style, taking home gold in both the 1500m and 3000m at the U SPORTS Track and Field Championships in Windsor, Ont. The national medals were the fourth and fifth respectively for Yee, who became the first Spartan in history to win multiple gold medals at the national meet.
Meanwhile some 2,000 km east, David Kapinga put on a show at the U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Final 8 in Halifax. The guard posted a combined 62 points over three games, as the Calgary Dinos claimed their first national title in program history. Kapinga posted 25 points in Calgary’s 79-77 national final win over the Ryerson Rams Sunday, as the Dinos capped off their Canada West winning season as the nation’s top team.
Also earning stars this week were: Saskatchewan’s Summer Masikewich (BB) and UBC’s Kiera Van Ryk (VB) on the women’s side, while Alberta’s Austin Cole (TF) and Trinity Western’s Eric Loeppky (VB) are the other men’s stars.
Four Canada West teams complete their seasons this weekend, as the Alberta Golden Bears and Saskatchewan Huskies are in Fredericton, N.B. for the University Cup, while the Manitoba Bisons and Huskies are in London, Ont. for the U SPORTS Women’s Hockey Championship. Both tournaments are set for Thursday through Sunday.
You can watch the action beginning with the quarter-finals on Thursday by tuning into USPORTS.live.
Women’s first star – Regan Yee
Trinity Western Spartans track
Middle distance runner
5th –year
South Hazelton, B.C.
Sciences
Meet log: Friday, March 9 & Saturday, March 10 – gold in the 3000m in 9:08.99 and gold in the 1500m in 4:24.92 at the U SPORTS Championships.
Trinity Western’s Regan Yee capped a remarkable five-year career as a Spartan by winning two gold medals this past weekend at the U SPORTS Championships.
Yee opened the meet with a first-place finish in the 3000m, clocking a time of 9:08.99, before duplicating her performance the next day with a gold-medal winning performance in the 1500m, posting a time of 4:24.92.
With her double-gold effort, Yee finished her career with a TWU-record five individual U SPORTS track and field medals, earning all of them in the last three years of her career. With her third career individual title – she also won U SPORTS gold in the 3000m in 2016 – Yee equaled TWU alum Emma Nuttall, who won high jump gold in 2012, 2014 and 2016, for most individual track and field national championships in program history.
Yee also became the first Spartan to win two gold medals at a single U SPORTS championship meet.
Men’s first star – David Kapinga
Calgary Dinos basketball
Guard
4th-year
Calgary, Alta.
Arts
Tournament log: Thursday, March 8 – 18 points, five rebounds, six assists, and four steals in 78-76 W vs. Brock in U SPORTS quarter-final / Saturday, March 10 – 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 65-43 W vs. McGill in U SPORTS semifinal / Sunday, March 11 – 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and one steal in 79-77 W vs. Ryerson in U SPORTS final.
David Kapinga and the University of Calgary Dinos are national champions in men's basketball.
A fourth-year guard, Kapinga was named the tournament MVP at the U SPORTS Final 8 as the Dinos captured their first-ever national title in men’s basketball.
The Canada West third team all-star recorded 18 points, five rebounds, six assists, and four steals as the Dinos edged Brock in their opening game of the tournament, winning 78-76.
Despite struggling in the opening half of Calgary’s national semifinal versus McGill, Kapinga finished with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a 65-43 victory, booking the Dinos’ ticket to the national championship game.
Much like he did in the Canada West championship game a week earlier, Kapinga was crucial in the Dinos’ banner night as he posted a team-high 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists, one steal.
The Dinos defeated Ryerson 79-77, scoring the winning basket with only two seconds remaining.
Women’s second star – Summer Masikewich
Saskatchewan Huskies basketball
Forward
2nd-year
Calgary, Alta.
Arts & Science
Tournament log: Thursday, March 8 – 25 points, 14 rebounds, one steal and one block in 72-67 W vs. Acadia in U SPORTS quarter-final / Saturday, March 10 – seven points, six rebounds, two assists, and three blocks in 74-71 W vs. Regina in U SPORTS semifinal / Sunday, March 11 – 19 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in 69-48 L vs. Carleton in U SPORTS final.
University of Saskatchewan forward Summer Masikewich helped the Huskies to a silver medal at the U SPORTS Final 8 tallying 51 points and 32 rebounds in the three games at the tournament.
The Arts & Science student from Calgary tallied a double-double in Thursday’s 72-67 win over the Acadia Axewomen in the quarter-final. She added seven points and six rebounds in the 74-71 semifinal win over the Regina Cougars and another 19 points and 12 rebounds in the 69-48 loss to the Carleton Ravens in the final.
Masikewich was named player of the game for the Huskies in both the quarter-final and final. She was also named a tournament all-star.
This was Saskatchewan’s fifth straight trip to the national championship and second time in the tournament final in three years.
Men’s second star – Austin Cole
Alberta Golden Bears track
Sprinter
2nd-year
Sherwood Park, Alta.
Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation
Meet log: Friday, March 9 & Saturday, March 10 – gold and new U SPORTS record in 300m, gold in 4x200m relay, and gold in 4x400m relay at U SPORTS Track and Field Championships.
After another dominant weekend on the track, this time at the 2018 U SPORTS Track and Field Championships at Windsor, sophomore Golden Bears sprinter Austin Cole is a Canada West second star.
After tearing up the Canada West championships in Winnipeg two weeks ago with three gold medals and a record-setting performance, Cole followed that up with three national gold medals, while setting a new U SPORTS record in the men's 300 meter dash.
Cole began his remarkable weekend with the record-setting performance on Friday, breaking a 19-year old record in the men's 300m, surpassing the old record of 33.40 with a time of 33.37 seconds. Cole's time also set a new Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse record, and was his third time this season breaking the Bears program record, after he also set a new Canada West Championship record two weeks ago at 33.74.
On the final day, Cole added another two gold medals, one in the 4x200m relay, and another in the 4x400m relay, before being named one of two co-Athletes of the Year. Thanks to Cole's efforts, the Bears earned a national team silver medal, their best finish at the national championship since winning in 2001, and first team medal since earning a bronze in 2006.
Women’s third star – Kiera Van Ryk
UBC Thunderbirds volleyball
Left side
1st-year
Surrey, B.C.
Kinesiology
Game log: Friday, March 9 – 14 kills, 16 points, six digs, and four blocks in 3-1 L @ Calgary in CW Championship Game.
The newly minted Canada West Rookie of the Year paced the Thunderbirds with 14 kills and 16 points in Friday’s conference championship that saw UBC fall in four sets to the number one ranked Calgary Dinos.
Van Ryk finished the Canada West post-season with the second most kills with 64 as well as the second most points with 74.5.
Named to the conference’s all-rookie team as well as a first team all-star, Van Ryk tied for the regular season lead in kills with 352 and alone in first in overall points with 411.5.
Van Ryk is headed to her first ever U SPORTS national tournament as the defending champion Thunderbirds are seeking their record 12th banner and eighth in the last 11 years.
UBC heads to the University of Laval as the third seed and will face the AUS champion Dalhousie Tigers in the quarter-finals on Friday afternoon.
Men’s third star – Eric Loeppky
Trinity Western Spartans volleyball
Outside hitter
2nd-year
Steinbach, Man.
General Studies
Game log: Saturday, March 10 – 19 kills, .412 hitting percentage, six digs, four blocks, and two aces in 3-1 W vs. Alberta in Canada West Championship Game.
The Canada West First Team All-Star helped Trinity Western to its third straight conference championship, leading the Spartans with 19 kills in a four-set win over Alberta in the title tilt.
Loeppky hit .412 on the night while adding six digs, four blocks and two aces in TWU’s victory. All told, Loeppky, who was second in U SPORTS with 5.0 points per set during the regular season, finished the night with 5.9 points per set.
With the win, the second-year Loeppky and his Spartan teammates will head to the U SPORTS championship looking to win their third straight national title. The Spartans enter the tournament as the top seed and will play the University of Windsor in the quarter-finals Friday at McMaster University.