March 19, 2003 Sports Section Editor: Jordan Cripps the other press Jordan Cripps Sports Editor Now that the BCCAA athletic season has come to am end, | thought it would be a good time to reflect on the successes and challenges that Douglas College athletes have faced over the past year. Of course, Douglas athletics are still going on as the Premier and 2nd Division Women’s Rugby Teams continue their quests for WCWRA championships. As well, the Douglas College Baseball Team has just begun its exhibition season with home games being played at Mundy Park in Coquitlam. League play begins at the end of this month. [A] Soccer This was definitely the highlight of Douglas College sports this year. Douglas College came within a single goal (during penalty kicks, no less) of earning its first National Championship. This was also the first time that a Douglas College soc- cer team earned the right to play for the championship. The team did this despite great adversity. One of the top players on the Royals, Matthew Ormerod, missed most of the Provincial Championships with an injury and another Royal, Walter Oyuela, was forced to sit out both the Provincials and Nationals after an inci- dent against Malaspina. Overcoming these challenges, the team earned the right to compete for the National Championship in Quebec and, as I said, came within a penalty kick goal of bring- ing home the Gold. Stepping up his play when his team needed him the most, Adam “Flash” Gordon OP Contributor It was a dismal, forgettable season. Beginning last fall, Douglas women’s bas- ketball was struck a blow when a few expected players decided against attending Douglas in favour of other programs. Academia claimed at least one victim on the roster to scrape the bench to its bare bones. If you check the final stats of the season for the Douglas Royals, it might look like a mistake. How could a college level bas- ketball program go 0-18 with a 400+ point deficit in points for and against? Surely a mistake? I saw the games—they really were that bad. Entertaining, at least if you cheer for the other team, pretend- © page 20 dcsportseditor@yahoo.ca BCCAA Athletic Season Comes to an End—fAl Look Back Stedman Espinoza took MVP honours at the Provincial Championships and was also named to the National Championships All-Star Team. Congratulations go to all of the players on the team and coaches Joe Ormerod and Shane Ramsey for their successful and exciting season. Unfortunately, the Women’s soccer team was a victim of the “out of town scoreboard” and wasn't able to qualify for the Provincial Championships despite some strong play from a number of play- ers. Most notably, midfielder Avril Gerow was named a CCAA All-Canadian and also received a multitude of other awards for her strong play. Throughout the year, her offensive play guided the team to many victories. Allie Hamilton and Hilda Simon were named to the BCCAA 2nd All-Star Team. 2 a Basketball Another highlight for Douglas College was the Men’s Basketball Team qualifying for the Provincial Championships on its home court after missing out on the tour- nament the previous year. The season was an up-and-down one for the team as they were ranked as high as sixth in the coun- try at one point, but watched their rank- ing fall as a result of a four game losing streak. Against a hot-shooting UNBC team at the Provincials, the Royals saw their season come to an abrupt end, falling 84-69. There were a number of positives that came out of the season, ing they are Douglas. On one side of things the argument for such a struggle could be based on the inexperience and youth of the team. All of the top teams in the league have a core of veterans. However, rookies like Jordana Miltimore (Capilano Blues) led their teams into the playoffs. A number of teams had capable rookies in the lineup. Let’s face it, no one expects a Lauren Alonzo (UCFV Cascades, league MVP) calibre player to show up out of nowhere and play for Douglas. That is wishing upon a star that just isn’t there. I spoke to a few of the players after the season came to a merciful close. There was however. The first positive was the team’s return to the playoffs. Second, there were strong individual performances that lifted the Royals to a number of victories. In particular, guard Taylor Cherris-Wilding was a dominating force for the Royals and earned CCAA All-Canadian Honours for his play. One of the lower points in Douglas College sports this year has to be the sea- son of the Women’s basketball team (see “Lunn’s longshots,” below). They finished the season without recording a win and, obviously, found it difficult to compete against the tough BCCAA opposition. There is a plan in place that will hopeful- ly see the team rebuild over the next two or three years and regain its form. oe CIA Volleyball Neither the Men’s or Women’s Volleyball teams were able to qualify for the Provincial Championships this season, each team falling just two points short of the sixth playoff berth. However, both teams were involved in some very exciting basketball and showed some promise for the next season if all of their regulars decide to return to the college. Because of the level of volleyball being played, there were some very late nights as neither the Royals or their opposition would allow their opposition to walk away with the victory. Darryl Wind, Jeff Payne and Ryan Steele were all excellent performers for the men’s team while Wanda Jemmott, Sandra-Joy Unaegbu, and Colleen Ma a mixture of cautious optimism and out- right frustration. When I hear only five players have commited to playing next season, it does not surprise me and I won- der how it sits with the coaching staff. On the outside, the coach has a very Clark Kent demeanor. Even the quiet ones are capable of personality clashes with players. From my vantage, Coach Lunn is a very pleasant, capable man with a good resume assisting on some UVic Women’s champi- onships before arriving on the scene at Douglas. Don’t count him out. While September looks like a long time away, steps to rebuilding dignity for the Royals have already begun. During the COLLEGE were notable on the women’s side. re FJ Badminton Douglas College continued its badminton dominance once again this year but had to settle for the Silver medal in the team competition at the Provincial Championships. However, Tiffany Cheong and Brendan Coutinho were named to the Badminton All-Star team after capturing the Gold Medal in the Mixed Doubles competition at the tour- nament. Helena Cheung took home the Silver in the Women’s draw while Oktavianus Theodureus captured the Bronze in the Men’s event. Tabatha Swadron and Georgia Skopelitus were able to take home the Bronze for the Women’s Doubles competition. RR | Wrestling Over the past two weeks, the Douglas College Wrestling team has been journey- ing outside of the province for competi- tion to Pennsylvania and Fredricton, New Brunswick, but results from these tourna- ments weren't available at press time. One of the more exciting things to happen to a Douglas College Athlete this year is wrestler Travis Cross’ nomination for the Sport BC College Athlete of the Year Award. Cross is the defending NCWA National Champion. The result of that nomination will appear in next week’s The Other Press. season, Lunn and his staff began scouting the high schools for potential athletes. A spring basketball league or summer camp could hold the next Lauren Alonzo or at the very least, a credible post player. An influx of talent would help big time. However, after only his second year as coach of the Royals, Ed Lunn has to decide if his philosophy is a winning one. In such a competitive league, one cannot sit back hoping for mediocrity. If it were me, I would shoot for the stars and hope for a burnout—but that makes little sense and it is all I have.