CW Announces Players of the Week

Oct. 22, 2024 - It's officially cross-over season, with tons of action to keep track of across the conference.

A pair of CW champions were crowned last weekend, with Victoria women's field hockey and UBC women's rugby continuing their conference dynasties.

Football's penultimate weekend set up numerous playoff scenarios as the final regular season week approaches, and both men's and women's soccer schedules wrapped up the regular season as playoffs loom beginning this Friday.

Meanwhile, a new volleyball season kicked off on the court and hockey action continued into the third week of play.

Here are your Canada West Players of the Week.

Women's Rugby 15s - Savannah Bauder (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 17 vs CGY - 1 Try, 4 Converts in an 81-7 CW Semifinal win
​Oct. 20 vs VIC - 1 Try, 2 Penalty Goals, 5 Converts in a 51-22 CW Final win

It comes as no surprise that Savannah Bauder was a huge factor in UBC clinching their fifth consecutive Canada West title Sunday in Calgary. Competing in her final Canada West match, the fifth-year from North Vancouver scored a try and four converts in UBC's semifinal win over the Dinos.

Bauder opened scoring in Sunday's championship final scoring her first of two penalty goals in the sixth minute, followed by a try in the 11th. She was also successful on five converts.

UBC will now head to the upcoming U SPORTS National Championship in Charlottetown, P.E.I. as the top CW seed. The tournament gets underway on Wednesday, October 30.

View Women's Rugby 15s: Standings | Schedule

Women's Field Hockey - Anni Kleinschmidt (Victoria Vikes)

Oct. 20 at UBC - 1 Goal, GWG in 3-0 win

Anni Kleinschmidt scored the game-winning goal that secured the Vikes' sixth-straight Canada West banner.

Entering the weekend tied with UBC, the Vikes had their backs against the wall after a 1-0 loss to the T-Birds on Saturday. Needing a win on Sunday to keep their conference dynasty intact, Kleinschmidt stepped up her game and opened the scoring, putting in the eventual game winner in a clutch 3-0 win.

View Women's Field Hockey: Standings | Schedule

Football Offensive Player of the Week - Jackson Tachinski (Manitoba Bisons)

Oct. 19 at ALB: 24-33, 267 passing yards, 1 TD, 15 carries, 146 yards, 1 rushing TD

Quarterback Jackson Tachinski was instrumental in leading the Bisons to the largest comeback in school history against Alberta over the weekend, coming back from a 30-4 deficit to win 38-37 in OT.

The fourth year Winnipeg product put up video game numbers in the win, throwing for 267 yards and rushing for 146.

The win secured a semifinal home game for No. 8 nationally ranked Manitoba (6-1), marking the second time the Bisons will host a home playoff game in Tachinski's three seasons as starting quarterback. ​
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View CW Football: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Football Defensive Player of the Week - Aiden Bertuzzi (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 18 vs CGY: 6 solo TKL, 2 TKL assist, 2.5 TKL for loss, 1 sack, 1 FF

Bertuzzi was a force to be reckoned with, playing a huge role in UBC's 21-5 win over Calgary, keeping the Dinos offence completely off the board. The third-year defensive lineman led UBC with six solo tackles while also contributing a sack and a forced fumble. Bertuzzi and the T-Birds defence easily won the turnover battle, coming up with the ball four times in total.

Riding a five game win streak and having secured a Hardy Cup semifinal home playoff berth, UBC heads to Manitoba Saturday for a shot at securing first place in the conference for a second straight season.

View CW Football: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Football Special Teams Player of the Week - Alan Xiang (Alberta Golden Bears)

Oct. 19 vs MAN: 2 kickoff returns, 81 yards, long of 58 yards

Helping flip the field position twice in their game against Manitoba, sophomore Golden Bear Alan Xiang was dynamic in the return game. ​
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​Xiang recorded 81 kickoff return yards on just two touches, including a career-long 58 yard return in to open the third quarter, and give the Bears the ball inside Manitoba territory. ​
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​Through seven games, Xiang leads Canada West with 430 kickoff return yards, already the seventh most in a single season in Bears history.

View CW Football: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Soccer - Jade Taylor-Ryan (UBC Thunderbirds) 

Oct. 18 at UFV - 1 Goal, 2 SOG, 60 mins in a 6-1 UBC win
​Oct. 20 at TWU - 2 Assists, 1 Shot, 49 mins in a 2-0 UBC win

In a historic weekend that saw UBC finish the regular season a perfect 14-0, the first time any Canada West team has ever achieved such a feat, Jade Taylor-Ryan was a big factor in etching the Thunderbirds into the history books.

The fourth-year forward scored her Canada West leading 13th goal of the season as part of a 6-1 victory at Fraser Valley Friday night. She followed that up with another great outing Sunday evening against Trinity Western, setting up the eventual game winner from Holly Whelan in the 20th minute. She added another nice assist on Nisa Reehal's insurance tally three minutes later to complete her sixth multi-point game of the year.

Taylor-Ryan finished the regular season with a conference leading 13 goals and 21 points, just one point shy of tying the single season record. UBC hosts the Alberta Pandas Saturday in a Canada West quarter-final at Thunderbird Stadium.

View WSOC: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Soccer - Miguel Da Rocha (Mount Royal Cougars) ​ 

Oct. 20 at LET: 3 goals, 5 shots in 4-1 win

In the final weekend and with the Cougars battling for second place in the Prairie Division standings, Miguel Da Rocha came in clutch on Sunday versus the Lethbridge Pronghorns.

The product of Caracas, Venezuela dominated the game early, scoring a hat trick in the first half to help the Cougars secure a 4-1 win. His hat trick goal was particularly memorable, as he pulled off an impressive bicycle kick. ​

Da Rocha and the Cougars will prepare to take on Victoria in the quarterfinals this Friday in Edmonton.

View MSOC: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Hockey - Makenzie McCallum (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 18 at TWU - 1 A, 1 Shot, +1 in a 1-0 win
​Oct. 19 vs TWU - 1 G, 1 A, 2 Shots, +2 in a 4-1 win

McCallum set up the only goal in a 1-0 UBC win at Trinity Western on Friday night and followed up with her first goal of the season and another assist in a 4-1 Thunderbirds win Saturday, finishing with a three point weekend while the blue and gold completed their home-and-home sweep over the Spartans.

The fifth-year from Manitoba is tied for the Canada West assists lead with four. McCallum is on pace to exceed her 20 point performance last year. Looking ahead, the T-Birds (4-2-1) hit the road to visit the Alberta Pandas for a two-game series starting Friday night in Edmonton.

View WHKY: Standings | Schedule | Statistics

Men's Hockey - Brett Hyland (Alberta Golden Bears)

Oct. 18 vs Sask - 3 goals, 6 shots, +3 in 5-2 win ​
​Oct. 19 vs Sask - 1 goals, 2 assists, 2 shots, in 5-2 win

Recording six points in a weekend sweep over the previously unbeaten Saskatchewan Huskies, rookie Brett Hyland was the offensive catalyst for the Golden Bears Hockey team.

Hyland scored all three of his goals in the third period on Friday, taking over the final frame for Alberta. The former Washington Capitals draft pick added another goal and two assists on Friday, helping the Bears get to 6-0 for the first time since 2017.

Hyland has 11 points during his current four game point streak, and sits second to teammate Sean Tschigerl in conference scoring through three weeks.

View MHKY: Standings | Schedule | Statistics

Women's Volleyball - Dominique Desautels (Calgary Dinos)

Oct. 18 vs. MAN: 16 Kills, .306 Hitting %, 14 Digs, 3 Block Assists, 18.5 Points

Oct. 19 vs. MAN: 19 Kills, .343 Hitting %, 3 Assists, 12 Digs, 20 Points

Desautels was a key leader for the Dinos during an impressive opening weekend home split with the defending conference champion Manitoba Bisons.

The second year outside hitter from Calgary was consistently impressive on both nights. She helped the Dinos take the Bisons to five sets on Friday, delivering 16 kills and 18.5 points in an eventual 3-2 loss.

Her powerful swing was on full display again on Saturday, as her 19 kills led the Dinos in a dramatic five set victory. She hit .343 in that match, adding 12 digs and scoring 20 points.

View WVB: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Volleyball - Isaiah Olfert (Winnipeg Wesmen)

Oct. 19 vs UBC: 15 kills, .152 Hitting %, 2 BA, 3 digs

Oct. 20 vs UBC: 20 kills, .486 Hitting %, 1 ace, 1 BS, 1 BA, 9 digs

Isaiah Olfert was an offensive driver for the Wesmen as they opened with two key five-set victories over the defending national bronze medallist UBC Thunderbirds.

Olfert is currently tied for the conference lead in kills after garnering 35 in the opening two games, delivering 15 in Saturday's win and 20 more on Sunday. He was particularly efficient on Sunday, hitting for a .486 percentage while also adding a service ace and nine digs.

View MVB: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

About Players of the Week:

The Canada West Players of the Week is a weekly celebration of athletic achievements across the conference. Each week, deserving student-athletes are nominated by SIDs from each member institution. Canada West office staff review nominations and select the recipients.

About Canada West:

As the leading university athletic conference in the country, Canada West is home to student-athletes that excel in the classroom and their communities. The conference is comprised of 17 member institutions spanning from Victoria to Winnipeg, with over 3,200 student-athletes competing across 14 sports. Canada West’s mission is to train leaders and build champions by providing leadership in the delivery, regulation, and promotion of university level high performance sports programs throughout western Canada.