Sports

Now 3-0-1 this season, the ’Birds will return home to UBC to play their final two weekend doubleheaders against both the Dinos and the Vikes before embarking on what’s sure to be another long playoff run.

The cloudy sky that afternoon would soon reflect the blood, sweat and tears left on the softball diamond.

Despite the win, the ’Birds found themselves with a mountain to climb early. Two minutes into the game, Ed Ilnicki ran for the Bears’ first touchdown to put Alberta ahead.

UBC’s collaboration on the court successfully suppressed the opponent’s attack, widening the gap set by set before finally taking down the WolfPack 25-15 to seal their fate.

The centre, funded primarily by the provincial government and the Whitecaps, boasts a 38,000-square-foot fieldhouse and five fields.

It’s that time of year again, when UBC Recreation offers a wide array of free classes that cause even the most unathletic students to consider getting their 60 minutes worth of daily physical exercise.

The last time the ’Birds lost a game was on November 5, 2015 during the CIS Championships when they fell 2-1 to the University of Guelph Gryphons.

On Friday, September 15, the Thunderbirds dismantled the University of Winnipeg Wesmen with a 5-0 final score. They then battled the University of Manitoba Bisons on Saturday to a 4-1 victory.

Prior to Friday’s game, the ’Birds had faced the Pandas 19 times in U Sports competition, dating back to their first encounter on Halloween weekend in 1999.

On September 15, UBC men’s hockey faced the SFU Clan in the first game of the inaugural Captains Cup. They defeated their Lower Mainland rivals 8-3.

“It was an awesome experience. It’s the most [fans] I’ve ever been around here at UBC, so if we could get that every game then that’d be awesome,” said T-Bird defensive back Stavros Katsantonis after the game.

What can you expect? A huge all-campus party, that just so happens to centre around a football game between the 'Birds and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies — but it doesn’t just start at kick off. In fact, the celebration started earlier this week.

The biggest problem a multi-championship team like the ’Birds would normally face is the loss of veteran players. Yet, only forwards Gabby Jayme, Hannah Haughn and midfielder Caitlin Gordon were playing in their fifth and final year of U Sports eligibility last season.

Everything went well for the first 50 minutes — we outran everyone on the gradual uphill climb through the greenery and up the muddy hiking trail. That is, everything went well until I reached the trail sign of 4 km and turned back to check on the group.

As explained by women’s division captain Sukhman Chahal, though UBC itself has many martial arts clubs at UBC, the publicity in 2015 around sexual assault on campus showcased a gap in the combative clubs available to students: self-defence.