Athletes of the week

Mariam Sylla

It was a bit more than business as usual for star forward Mariam Sylla this weekend. The two-time Athlete of the Week scored her 500th regular season point in a Martlet uniform on Thursday, posting a double double in the lopsided win over Bishop’s. She would record another double double on 10 points and 10 rebounds to sweep the doubleheader on Saturday. Consistency and excellence has become synonymous with the name Sylla; through 16 games this season, she is averaging 12.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, and is the driving force behind the Martlets’ success.

Jenning Leung

Leung, a six-foot sophomore guard from the Philippines, came up big time and time again for the Redmen basketball team this weekend, carrying McGill to consecutive victories over Bishop’s. After getting a tough layup to go with a minute left to keep his team in the game, Leung drilled a three-pointer with 4.3 seconds left to seal the win in Saturday’s game. Leung scored 24 points on a hyper-efficient 69 per cent shooting against only two turnovers over the two games.

Beyond the box score

MARTLET HOCKEY

The Martlets returned from winter break with a successful road trip to Ottawa, topping the University of Ottawa 5-2 and beating Carleton 4-2. Both games featured comeback efforts from McGill who  now sit tied with the University of Montreal for the division lead. Saturday’s game saw the Martlets rally from down 2-0 late in the second period to score five unanswered goals. Despite a shaky start to the game, goaltender Brittany Smrke turned in a solid effort for her fifth win of the season, stopping 25 of the 27 shots she faced. McGill was forced to play catch up again in Sunday’s game after falling behind 2-1 in the second period. A three goal outburst in the third period sealed the victory for the Martlets. Senior forward Leslie Oles had a weekend to remember, as she notched two goals and two assists in total, including the game-winning goal against Carleton. The Martlets’ road swing continues Friday with a game against Concordia before finally returning home to take on Montreal Sunday afternoon.

REDMEN HOCKEY

After entering the winter break red-hot, the Redmen have cooled off somewhat, splitting a pair of road games over the weekend. McGill lost 2-1 Saturday to Waterloo before bouncing back with a 6-2 victory over Wilfrid Laurier. The Redmen continued to receive quality goaltending, as both Karel St. Laurent and Jacob Gervais-Chouinard put forth strong performances. Even this far into the season there is no clear number one, but the two are working quite well in tandem. Offensive production came from familiar faces, as centre Cedric McNicoll scored in each game, tallying three goals in total. McNicoll now sits tied for sixth in the OUA scoring race, with 28 points in 18 games so far this season. Third year winger David Rose contributed three points in the win over the Golden Hawks, which pushes his point total to 21. The Redmen return home this Friday for an important match-up with second-place Carleton in the annual Carnival Game.

TRACK & FIELD

The Martlets finished first of five teams and the Redmen finished second overall at the Sherbrooke Invitational meet at the Pavillon Univestrie, on Saturday. The women’s first-place finish was built on the strength of three silver medals, won by Melanie Myrand (1500m), Nicole Bewski (pole vault), and Helena Reinfels (60m hurdles). Myrand, a graduate student from Lachine, Quebec, is also a standout on McGill’s cross-country team. For the men, Vincent Parent led the way with a gold medal finish in the 1500m event, finishing with a time of 3:59.66. Senior electrical engineering student Riley van Ryswyk also came up big for the Redmen, earning a silver medal in the long jump event.