CW Stars: Record-setters shine

EDMONTON – While Brett Layton was making it rain on the hardwood, Danielle Hanus was making a splash in the pool.

The pair are this week's Canada West First Stars after Layton combined for 63 points and 32 rebounds for the Calgary Dinos, while Hanus secured four gold medals, a silver, and two bronze medals at the CW Swimming Championships.

Layton and Hanus now move forward as the CW nominees for the U SPORTS Athletes of the Week.

MEN'S THREE STARS

FIRST STAR: F - Brett Layton

With a number of key players out of the lineup for the University of Calgary Dinos, fourth-year forward Brett Layton stepped up and continued his dominant play.

In two games against the Trinity Western Spartans, Layton scored 63 points and posted 32 rebounds.

On Friday night, Layton collected 23 points, 12 rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and one steal in a 112-74 win at the Jack Simpson Gym.

The following night, the Calgary native had ​ the best games of his career with 40 points and 20 rebounds as the Dinos swept the Spartans with a 110-86 victory. The game marked the first 40-point, 20-rebound game in Canada West history.

Layton ranks second in the conference with 21.7 points-per-game and tied for first in rebounding at 14.5 per-game. 

The Dinos will travel to Kelowna, BC next weekend for a pair of games against the UBC Okanagan Heat.

SECOND STAR: Alex Pratt

Second-year swimmer Alex Pratt from Calgary earned male Swimmer of the Meet, helping lead the UBC Thunderbirds to a seventh consecutive Canada West title. 

Pratt finished the meet in Lethbridge with six gold medals, winning three relay titles and three individual races in an incredibly dominant display in the pool. 

In the final individual event on the last day of competition, Pratt won the 400 freestyle to bring UBC within striking distance of the Calgary Dinos for the team title. On the anchor leg of the medley relay, he pulled his team from behind to edge the Dinos at the wall to snatch the Canada West title away from a strong Calgary team. 

The UBC championship ties the Thunderbirds with the Dinos for the most conference banners in Canada West history, now each with 20.

Pratt and the T-Birds will look to repeat as U SPORTS champions at the 2020 national championship in Victoria in February.

THIRD STAR: OH - Eric Loeppky

Spartans outside hitter Eric Loeppky continued to cement himself as one of the greatest volleyball players to represent Trinity Western University over the weekend.

In Friday's three-set win over Saskatchewan, Loeppky’s five serving aces put him in sole possession as the Spartans career leader in the category. He also added 10 kills with an incredible .833 hitting percentage for the No. 1 ranked team.

Then on Saturday, Loeppky contributed a further 12 kills and seven digs as the Spartans swept their eight consecutive game in straight sets.

The fourth-year Loeppky will be back in action with the Spartans this weekend, as TWU closes out the 2019 portion of its Canada West regular season on the road with a pair of games against the Calgary Dinos Friday (7:30 p.m. MT) and Saturday (7:30 p.m. MT) at the Jack Simpson Gym.

WOMEN'S THREE STARS

FIRST STAR: Danielle Hanus

Danielle Hanus dominated the pool during the three-day Canada West Championships in Lethbridge.

Along with winning seven medals and setting three Canada West records, the fourth-year swimmer left the meet crowned as the Women’s Swimmer of the Meet. She was also a Canada West First Team All-Star and a significant reason why the Vikes placed third- their highest finish at the Canada West meet since 2010-11.

SECOND STAR: F - Danielle Hardy

Coming off her best season as a Panda, fifth-year hockey forward Danielle Hardy recorded seven points in two games, leading the Pandas to a two-game home sweep of the Manitoba Bisons.

Hardy recorded her first career hat-trick on Friday night, scoring twice in the first, and once in the third, as Alberta cruised to a 6-1 win over Manitoba. The former Providence College Friar also added an assist, a +3 rating, and a game-high eight shots. 

The Nanaimo, BC product followed that performance up with three more assists on Saturday, as Alberta shutout the Bisons with a 5-0 win. 

Following her seven-point weekend, Hardy now sits eighth in Canada West with 11 points in 12 games, which represents a career-high point total.

The 8-6-0 Pandas will finish their first half this weekend, as they visit the 8-3-3 UBC Thunderbirds in Vancouver.

THIRD STAR: G - Maria Mongomo

Maria Mongomo put on a show this weekend, reminding the conference why she is one of the most dynamic offensive players in Canada West. Visiting a TRU WolfPack team that was off to a 4-2 start to the season, the “Balla from Las Palmas” was able to assert herself with great success.

On Friday, November 22nd, Mongomo registered a game-high 29 points, adding a season-high 16 rebounds, to go with five steals.

The next night, she went for 31 points, eight boards, four steals, and three assists in a big victory. For the weekend, the fifth-year averaged 30 points, 12 rebounds, 4.5 steals, and 2.5 assists per game. After a slow start to the season, by her standards, Mongomo has worked her way into the top ten in league scoring, rebounding, and steals. In her career, the Spaniard has never finished outside the top ten in Canada West scoring.