CIS Top Ten: Reigning champs open at No. 1 in soccer and rugby, OUA teams slot in at No. 2

OTTAWA (CIS) – A trio of reigning champions tops the inaugural national rankings of the 2013 season in Canadian Interuniversity Sport soccer and rugby.
 
In women’s soccer, the Trinity Western Spartans open at No. 1, ahead of No. 2 Queen’s, Victoria, No. 4 Ottawa, Dalhousie, Montreal, Sherbrooke, No. 8 Wilfrid Laurier, Cape Breton and UBC.
 
Trinity Western edged Queen’s on kicks in the 2012 CIS final to capture the Gladys Bean Memorial Trophy for the third time in five years, and the fourth time in school history. The Spartans, who show a 1-1 pre-season record following a 2-0 win over Saskatchewan (Aug. 26) and a 3-1 loss to Western Washington of the NCAA (Aug. 31), kick off their Canada West schedule on Saturday when they visit their archrivals from UBC.
 
League play started in the OUA this past weekend with second-ranked Queen’s beating RMC 1-0, No. 4 Ottawa defeating Ryerson 2-0 and Toronto 3-1, and No. 8 Wilfrid Laurier settling for a scoreless tie against McMaster before doubling Waterloo 2-0.
 
In men’s soccer, the UBC Thunderbirds open the new campaign ahead of No. 2 York, Alberta, No. 4 Carleton, Montreal, UNB, No. 7 Queen’s, Laval, Cape Breton and No. 10 Western.
 
UBC added to its own CIS record last fall, claiming the 12^th Sam Davidson Memorial Trophy in program history thanks to a 1-0 shutout of Cape Breton in the national championship match. The T-Birds, who dominated UBC Okanagan 4-1 (Aug. 26) and NCAA foe Simon Fraser 3-0 (Aug. 31) in pre-season action, travel to Victoria on Friday for their Canada West opener.
 
In OUA action last weekend, No. 2 York beat Windsor 2-1 and Brock 8-0, No. 4 Carleton blanked Toronto 1-0 and tied Ryerson 2-2, while No. 10 Western outscored Waterloo 4-0 and battled Windsor to a 1-1 draw.
 
In women’s rugby, the St. Francis Xavier X-Women top the first ranking, with No. 2 Guelph, Alberta, No. 4 Queen’s, Concordia, Laval, Calgary, Lethbridge, McGill and Acadia following in order.
 
StFX won its second Monilex Trophy in three years and its third overall last November thanks to a convincing 37-0 CIS gold-medal victory over Guelph. The X-Women dominated McGill 29-0 in their lone pre-season match on Sunday and kick off their AUS schedule at home against Acadia, on Friday.
 
Conference action got started in Quebec over the long weekend. The only Top-10 team to take the field, No. 6 Laval, picked up a 32-10 win over Montreal.

WOMEN'S SOCCER
(regular season record)
 
1. Trinity Western (0-0)
2. Queen’s (1-0)
3. Victoria (0-0)
4. Ottawa (2-0)
5. Dalhousie (0-0)
6. Montreal (0-0)
7. Sherbrooke (0-0)
8. Wilfrid Laurier (1-0-1)
9. Cape Breton (0-0)
10. UBC (0-0)
 
MEN'S SOCCER
(regular season record)
 
1. UBC (0-0)
2. York (2-0)
3. Alberta (0-0)
4. Carleton (1-0-1)
5. Montreal (0-0)
6. UNB (0-0)
7. Queen’s (0-0)
8. Laval (0-0)
9. Cape Breton (0-0)
10. Western (1-0-1)

WOMEN’S RUGBY
(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes)
 
1. StFX (0-0) / 82 points (7)
2. Guelph (0-0) / 72 (1)
3. Alberta (0-0) / 62
4. Queen’s (0-0) / 52 (1)
5. Concordia (0-0) / 46
6. Laval (1-0) / 38
7. Calgary (0-0) / 27
8. Lethbridge (0-0) / 24
9. McGill (0-0) / 19
10. Acadia (0-0) / 11
 
Other teams receiving votes: Western (8), Waterloo (3), McMaster (3).