2012-13 StFX Athletics season recap

As universities are in the off-season, StFX Athletics would like to take this opportunity to recap the 2012-13 varsity season on the fields, running trails, courts and ice.

Four StFX teams took home AUS championship titles, while the highlight of the season was the CIS national championship won on home turf at Oland Stadium by the X-Women rugby team. Joining women’s rugby as AUS champions in their respective sports were X-Women cross country, X-Men cross country and X-Women hockey, who also claimed CIS bronze. The StFX track and field team won a record number 11 gold medals at the AUS championship, including eight individual and three relay teams.

The X-Women rugby team won their 15th consecutive Atlantic University Sport title with a convincing 72-0 shutout over Acadia at home at Oland Stadium in the AUS final. StFX is the only team to be crowned conference champions since the inception of the AUS women’s rugby league. One week later the X-Women hosted the CIS national championship and after earning round robin victories over Queen’s and Concordia, went on to defeat Guelph 37-0 in the championship game in front of over 5000 fans. The title marked the first national banner won by a StFX team at home and was the third overall in X-Women rugby history, having previously won in 2010 and 2006. They have appeared in six of the last seven CIS gold medal games and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for the entire 2012 season.

The X-Men cross country team enjoyed a successful 2012 campaign, placing first in three AUS-hosted meets this year and taking home a second place finish at the interlock meet.  They won their second consecutive and fifth overall AUS championship in Halifax as hosted by Dalhousie. Fourth year runner Connor McGuire was the individual AUS champion for the second consecutive year, while five more X-Men placed amongst the top ten. At the CIS championship at Western the X-Men placed 11th overall.

The X-Women cross country team also claimed AUS championship honors this past fall, winning their first conference banner since 2009 and sixth overall. The top finisher for StFX was Melissa Hardy in fourth place as the X-Women placed four runners in the top ten. In regular season competition, StFX won all three AUS-hosted meets and placed third at the interlock meet. At the CIS championship at Western, the X-Women ran to a 12th place finish.

On the soccer pitch, both the X-Women and X-Men teams battled all season long in AUS regular competition, playing many close games, but failed to qualify for their respective AUS playoffs. The X-Women finished in ninth place with a 1-6-6 record, while the X-Men were eighth overall at 5-6-2, one point out of playoff contention. X-Men head coach Graham Kennedy took over in January as full-time head coach of both soccer programs.

The X-Men football team had many solid individual performances during the 2012 season, but failed to qualify for the third and final AUS playoff spot, finishing with a 2-6 record in fourth place. The X-Men will be returning a core group of players on both offense and defense next season.

On the ice, the X-Women and X-Men hockey teams both enjoyed successful AUS regular seasons. The X-Women finished in first place with a 23-1-0 record and went on to defeat Saint Mary’s in the AUS final to claim their ninth conference championship in team history. At the CIS championship in Toronto, the X-Women were 1-1 in pool play and took home the bronze medal after a 3-2 overtime victory over the host Varsity Blues. The X-Women were ranked in the CIS top ten throughout the entire season.

The X-Men hockey placed a respectable fourth in a close AUS conference with a 16-10-2 regular season record. They played two close games with UPEI in the AUS quarter-finals but were on the 2-0 losing end of the best two-of-three game playoff series.

The X-Women volleyball team posted a 7-10 record in AUS competition, good enough for fifth place overall. After defeating UNB in the AUS quarter-final match, they fell to eventual champion Dalhousie in the semifinals.

On the basketball court, the X-Men had a bit of an up and down season, finishing with a 9-11 record in fifth place overall. Always a perennial contender for the AUS title, the blue and white defeated Dalhousie in the quarter-final playoff game, but fell to Cape Breton 80-70 in the AUS semifinal as the Capers went on to claim the conference championship.

The X-Women basketball team, under the guidance of first year head coach Augy Jones, enjoyed a very successful year. With a 13-7 regular season record, they finished in second place and solidified a first round bye in the AUS playoffs. StFX defeated UNB in the AUS semi-final game but faced a tough Saint Mary’s squad in the final and fell 90-57.

The StFX track and field team posted an impressive performance at the AUS championship in Moncton, taking home a record number 11 gold medals, including eight individual titles and three relay team victories. The X-Men squad had a total of seven gold and one silver medal, while the X-Women won four gold, four silver and three bronze. Both teams were runners-up to Dalhousie for the AUS titles.

The 2012-13 season of varsity season also saw StFX athletes and coaches honored with numerous AUS and CIS accolades. Forty X-Women and X-Men received recognition as AUS all-stars, four earned AUS all-rookie status, while 11 StFX athletes and coaches received AUS major awards.  Looking at CIS recognition, five StFX athletes received CIS All-Canadian distinction, three were honored with national CIS awards and eight athletes were named to a CIS tournament all-star team.
 
Off the playing surface, StFX became the first university in Canada to launch a comprehensive sports leadership academy, under the guidance of Director of Athletics & Recreation and CIS President Leo MacPherson. X-Women and X-Men student-athletes successfully completed both the Emerging Leaders and Veteran Leaders programs this past spring.