CMU Celebrates National Coaches Week with 21 Matches Played
It was the busiest week of the young 2024-25 season so far, and a fitting way to showcase our incredible coaching staffs here in Blazers Athletics, as all six varsity programs were in action, competing in 21 exhibition and MCAC league matches between Wednesday and Sunday.
The week started early with a Wednesday night clash with Les Rouges at home for Blazers Soccer. In a season full of upsets and strange results, the CMU men dropped the first of the evening matches to their cross-city counterparts in a 0-5 loss. On the women's side the Blazers had the opportunity to grab sole possession of third place in the conference standings with a win, and took full advantage in a 2-1 victory, lifting them to a 2-2 record. Kalyssa Wasylik and Sumeet Brar notched the two tallies for the home side.
Blazers soccer also finished off Week 3 of the MCAC schedule with an away date with the Pilots. With both Providence teams sitting above CMU in the standings it was going to be a tough test in Otterburne, and the results showed it, with the men taking a 1-6 loss, while the women followed with a 0-5 scoreline. Tristen Holfeld was the sole scorer on the day on the men's side as he continues his great start in his rookie campaign.
On Thursday both the Blazers Women's and Men's Basketball squads headed West on a three-game CCAA road trip. The first stop was Briercrest College on Thursday evening, where the Clippers hosted CMU in their first official games of the pre-season. With plenty of unknowns and re-worked rosters, both CMU teams played around with their lineups and took losses to the strong ACAC program out of Caronport, Saskatchewan. The teams then continued West to Medicine Hat for Friday night showdowns and Saturday matinees with the Rattlers. Once again, the ACAC showed their strength, taking both wins on Friday night, albeit by a slim margin on the men's side. Saturday was a new day, and the women started the final matchup playing catchup to the tough Medicine Hat squad. A monumental effort in the fourth quarter saw the Blazers draw even with the Rattlers at the end of regulation time, and CMU kept the momentum rolling in OT, as the women's program notched their first win of the pre-season 67-63. The CMU men also closed the gap on Medicine Hat in a very tight game that came down to a final shot for the win, but unfortunately for the green and gold it didn't drop, and the Blazers men had to head home empty-handed but with plenty of high-calibre experience to draw on as they head into their regular season.
Both Blazers Volleyball teams were also in action throughout the weekend, with the women playing in a USports Tournament here in Winnipeg, while the men took on some ACAC competition themselves in Lloydminster, Alberta. With a completely re-tooled roster, the CMU men played with their lineups all weekend, coming home with a 2-3 record. It was a far-cry from the perfect pre-season the team had last year, but a great chance to work everyone on the roster into the games to test depth at all positions. The two Blazers wins came over the host Lakeland's second split squad in a five-set thriller, as well as fellow Manitobans Assiniboine College Cougars, while the losses came at the hands of Lakeland, Augustana, and Olds College. Head coach Don Dulder will certainly have a tough task ahead choosing his starters from the young but talented rookies and solid veteran core as the team continues their pre-season this coming weekend as they host Briercrest in another ACAC showcase.
Meanwhile, Blazers Women's Volleyball were hard at work at home going up against top local talent from USports. They started the weekend off right with a Friday morning match with the Brandon Bobcats in which they swept the Western Manitoba team, showing that the new-look Blazers still have a lot of spunk in them after last season's MCAC Championship run and appearance at CCAA Nationals. Losses to the U of M Bisons split squads closed out the team's Friday, but they started the day strong again on Saturday, taking a set off of Thunder Bay's Lakehead Thunderwolves. The two teams will meet again later in October for inter-conference matchups. Losses to Saskatchewan's Huskies, and then on Sunday morning to Newfoundland's Memorial Sea Hawks closed out a weekend showcasing some of the top university talent in the prairies and beyond, in which the Blazers certainly held their own playing up a level. Rookie setter Abi Jeffrey was sensational throughout the weekend, showing that the team is still in good hands as they await the return to full health of veteran setter Paige Wright, while veterans Annika Kornelsen, Halle Meisner, Kiera Haney, and Rachel Bartel were solid in their return to play.
With 21 matches played in total it was certainly a National Coaches Week for the record books, and Blazers Athletics would like to once again thank all of our head coaches and their assistants for their incredibly hard work now in the season and over the spring and summer in bringing all of our Blazers programs together! For full results on all the games played, stay up-to-date through the Blazers Instagram, Facebook, or X accounts, or here on the Blazers Athletics website.
Print This Article
