Field Hockey Canada is proud to partner with the CIS to present the 2011 Women’s Field Hockey Championship.
The reigning national champion University of Toronto Varsity Blues have been established tournament favourites for the 2011 Field Hockey Canada – CIS women’s field hockey championship.
The seeding and schedule were announced on Monday for the five-team competition hosted for the third time in history – and for the first time since 1994 – by the University of Calgary. The round-robin portion of the tourney runs from Thursday to Saturday at Hawkings Field, with the event culminating Sunday at 1 p.m. Mountain Time with the gold-medal final.
Joining the Varsity Blues in the quest for the McCrae Cup are the No. 2-seeded UBC Thunderbirds, No. 3 Calgary Dinos, No. 4 Guelph Gryphons and No. 5 Alberta Pandas.
Every team will face each of its rivals once in the round-robin action. The top two squads at the end of the preliminary stage will square off in the final.
The championship kicks off with a bang Thursday at 9:30 a.m. MT when Toronto opens its title defence against UBC. Opening day will also see Calgary battle Guelph at 11:50 a.m., UBC take on Alberta at 3:30 p.m., and Toronto face Guelph at 5:50 p.m.
A year ago, Toronto edged UBC 2-1 in the gold-medal match to claim its 11th CIS title, which is good for second place all-time, tied with Victoria and one behind UBC.
The top-ranked Varsity Blues are red-hot going into the 2011 tourney, having dominated Western 7-1 in the OUA semifinals and Guelph 6-0 in the conference final.
The No. 2 T-Birds captured a ninth straight Canada West banner thanks to an 8-2-2 regular season record (Note: there are no playoffs in CWUAA field hockey).
Calgary finished second out West with a 5-3-4 mark, Guelph tied Toronto for the best record in OUA in conference play at 11-1, while Alberta (4-6-2) took third place in the Canada West.
The Pandas won their lone CIS championship in 2005, while the Dinos and Gryphons are both looking for a first McCrae Cup title.
The CIS individual award winners and the all-Canadian teams will be announced prior to the tournament, on Wednesday evening.
Official championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/fh/index
1. Toronto Varsity Blues (OUA champions: 11-1-0 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
2. UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West champions: 8-2-2 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
3. Calgary Dinos (Canada West second place: 5-3-4 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
4. Guelph Gryphons (OUA finalists: 11-1-0 regular season / 1-1 playoffs)
5. Alberta Pandas (Canada West third place: 4-6-2 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
19:00 All-Canadian Awards Banquet (Four Points Sheraton)
9:30 Round-Robin Game 1: Toronto vs. UBC
11:50 Round-Robin Game 2: Calgary vs. Guelph
15:30 Round-Robin Game 3: UBC vs. Alberta
17:50 Round-Robin Game 4: Toronto vs. Guelph
10:00 Round-Robin Game 5: Calgary vs. UBC
12:20 Round-Robin Game 6: Guelph vs. Alberta
16:00 Round-Robin Game 7: Toronto vs. Calgary
10:00 Round-Robin Game 8: Calgary vs. Alberta
12:20 Round-Robin Game 9: UBC vs. Guelph
16:00 Round-Robin Game 10: Toronto vs. Alberta
17:30 Tie-Breaking Strokes (if necessary)
10:00 Bronze medal
13:00 Championship final