Basketball: Redmen 68, UQAM 42, Redmen sweep Weekend Bouts – Bibeau, Mitrovich lead charge
It was quite a weekend for the McGill Redmen hoopsters, who won a pair of close games against tough divisional foes. Starting in Lennoxville on Friday against the top-ranked Bishop’s Gaiters, the Redmen put in a motivated effort to come away with a 63-60 win. Simon Bibeau, back this year after a devastating knee injury, led the team with 17 points. The team then followed up with a 68-42 shellacking of the UQAM Citadins at home on Saturday. This time, Serbian sensation Aleksandar Mitrovich rose to the top, leading all scorers with 14 points and four steals.
With the wins, McGill moves to the top of the RSEQ and will likely return to a national top 10 ranking when the list is released next week.
Quebec Cup 4, Mediocre results for Swim Teams at Quebec Cup 4 – Bielby, Eid earn first place finishes
McGill’s swim teams hit the water at Laval University on Saturday for the Quebec Cup 4. Competing against five other universities across the province, both teams faltered for the first time all year, finishing third in both the men’s and women’s disciplines.
The third place finish is not particularly striking, as McGill won only two races all meet. Both were claimed on the men’s side, as veteran Steven Bielby placed first in the 400m individual medley, and freshmen Sami Eid won the 200m backstroke. The duo then added to their tally with a bronze in the 4×100 relay.
On the women’s side, the lone bright spot was Kathleen Caldwell, who guided the team to one silver and two bronze finishes.
The teams will look to rebound when they take part in the RSEQ Swimming Championships, again taking place at Laval on Feb. 9 & 10.
Basketball: Martlets 75, Concordia 44, Sylla, Him-Lazarenko shine for Martlets – McGill moves into tie for first in RSEQ
In what was a good week for McGill basketball, the Martlets also added a pair of wins themselves—first against Bishop’s Gaiters and then over the Concordia Stingers.
Coming off a double-double in last week’s contest, rookie Miriam Sylia continued her hot streak against Bishop’s, tallying 17 points and 10 rebounds. The winless Gaiters did little to worry the skilled Martlets, who came away with a decisive 66-51 victory.
It was a similar story on Saturday, as the Martlets routed the division-leading Stingers, 75-44. This time, fourth-year centre Anneth Him-Lazarenko notched a double-double.
The offensive success is an encouraging sign for the Martlets, who move into a tie for first place with Concordia in the RSEQ. This recent surge should bode well, as the team enters the closing half of the season.
Soccer: Martlets, Redmen SWAP – Coaches in program shake-up
A big shake-up to the men’s and women’s soccer teams was announced by McGill Athletics this past week. Effective immediately for the indoor campaigns and into the next outdoor season, interim Redmen Head Coach Jose Valdes and veteran Martlet Head Coach Marc Mounicot are switching roles. This moves Valdes over to the Martlets, where he was an assistant coach for 11 years under Mounicot. Mounicot will lead the Redmen, a team that slotted a 0-12 record in 2012 after ineligible player sanctions.
The move is a curious one—Valdes only took over the Redmen head coaching job last year, while Mounicot found much success with the Martlets, having guided them to an overall 222-72-54 record over 15 years. In a statement on the McGill Athletics website, Executive Director Drew Love cited a desire to move the programs in different directions.
