Douglas College Athletics ww aos cS After a long anticipated wait, the highly tout- ed men’s basketball team travelled to Kelowna to take on the Okanagan Lakers in their first league game of the season. “The key to our success this season will be our depth,” said head coach Jamie Oei. “We had a gruelling pre-season schedule to prepare us for the tough scheduling that. Wwe may encounter further down the road at The Big Fish, a Side of Veale, and a Sturgeon ae Provincials and possibly Nationals.” The team opened their season with a series of tough pre-season games against several NCAA Division I teams such as New Mexico State, Mississippi State, and Dartmouth to name a few. In addition to the cross border competi- tion, the Royals hosted a pre-season tourna- ment which boasted some of the top teams Douglas College Athletics Douglas College Soccer picked up three top honour awards at the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) All-Canadian Awards Banquet hosted by the Langara College at the Hilton-Metrotown. Representing the Women’s soccer team, Karley Scrigner was awarded her first All- Canadian honour. The third year forward and graduate of Semiahoo Secondary School in Surrey, BC showed why she was considered one of top players in country as she finished second in scoring (10) during the regular sea- son behind All-Canadian, Kristen Zoller. In post season play Scrigner added four more goals to bring her season total to career high 14 goals. For the men’s soccer program, two Royals received top honours last night as Cameron Wilson was awarded the CCAA Player of the opsports@gmail.com Ormerod and Wilson Receive Top Honours Year, and Joe Ormerod was named the - CCAA Coach of the Year. Cameron Wilson is a second year forward and North Delta Secondary graduate led all BCCAA scorers with 14 goals in 11 games. In just two years, Wilson currently sits second on the BCCAA All-Time Careers Leaders with 31 goals, just ten goals shy of Langara’s David Griffith who played a total of four years. The 2006 season had several first for men’s soccer Head Coach Joe Ormerod. Ormerod’s team recorded their first undefeat- ed season, finished the regular season as the top seed in the league for the first time in his career at Douglas, and he received his first BCCAA Coach of the Year award. Last night Ormerod added another first when he was awarded the CCAA Coach of the Year; the highest award in Canadian college soccer. The Delta native has had a stellar career at the helm of the men’s program, leading them to three BCCAA Championships in five years. On the national stage, Ormerod coached three Douglas teams to silver and bronze medal finishes in 2002 and 2003 respectively. In 2005 Ormerod reached the promise land as Douglas College captured their first ever CCAA National Championship for men’s soccer in front of an appreciative home crowd. “Tt was a special night,” said Athletics Coordinator, Nicki Kerr who works closely with the men’s soccer team. “We [CSRW] are very proud of Joe, Cameron and Karley as well as the entire Men’s and Women’s soccer team. They had a great year.” from BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. After rolling through the first two games of the tournament with victories over Lakehead and a top ranked Mount Royals team, the Royals were tripped up by Calgary’s SAIT Trojans. “The loss to SAIT in our tournament was definitely a wake up call for us,” said Oei. “It showed us that we were not ready to play 4 series of back to back games at a high level, but I think we have players that will be able to respond positively.” One of the biggest reasons for the buzz surrounding the Royals is largely in due to the returning Royal, Chris Veale. Like a prodigal son, Veale has returned after several years away honing his talents. In the 2003-2004 season, Veale was the BCCAA leading scorer with the Okanagan Lakers; however his ability to drop big numbers didn’t translate into vic- tories as the Lakers managed just two wins in league play. Now, surrounded with an abun- dance of talented players, Veale remains com- posed at the task ahead. “The biggest challenge will be for us to maintain the same intensity level, night in and night out,” said Veale. “However, this year we have a bunch of guys who are experienced at winning and finishing games.” Despite the lost of All-Star forward, Cody Berg to UBC and forward, Jon Thompson to Brandon. The Royals rebuilt, replaced and upgraded to a pair of front courts players that could rival most CIS players. One of the guys that will provide a big lift to the Royals this year is senior, Andrew Sturgeon. The 65” forward from Port Alberni is probably one of the most athletic players in the country, ‘letting off’ an arsenal of aerial assaults on the domes of opponents on a nightly basis. Recently hampered by a sore knee, Sturgeon says he is ready to go. “My knee is about 85%, but I am ready to go,” said Andrew. “I’m looking to provide leadership, defence, and rebounding for the team.” Heading into this past weekend game at Okanagan, the Royals regain momentum as they were on a three game winning streak with victories over Kwantlen, UNBC, and Camosun. In Saturday’s game, they continued their roll as the Royals crushed the Lakers 94- 72. The Royals had a huge performance from another fish of sorts, Shane ‘Big Fish’ ' Heuring. The 6’5” forward from Maple Ridge provides a big body in middle and brings a soft touch around the hoop and from the perimeter. In Saturday’s game, Heuring dropped 25 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, compliment- ing Sturgeon’s 23 points and 10 rebounds effort. Chris Veale was named Player of the Game as he squashed 17 points and dropped 8 dimes in his old crib.