Western Ontario Athletics

OTTAWA (CIS) – The University of Guelph women’s and men’s cross country running teams, both crowned national champions a year ago, lead the inaugural CIS rankings of the 2011 season.

Meanwhile, there are no changes at the top in CIS women’s soccer, men’s soccer and women’s rugby as Wilfrid Laurier, York and St. Francis Xavier once again occupy the No. 1 positions.

In cross country, Guelph opens with a comfortable 8.4-point lead over McMaster in the women’s rankings (98.9 to 90.5) but holds a slim 1.2-point cushion over Windsor on the men’s side (95.6 to 94.4).

The Gryphons will try to add to their remarkable streak of success later this fall when the CIS championships are held in Quebec City on Nov. 12. Guelph has claimed the last six women’s team titles and five straight men’s banners, both CIS records.

In women’s soccer, top-ranked Laurier easily improved to 7-0 in OUA conference play this past weekend with a 4-1 win over cross-town rival Waterloo. The Golden Hawks hit the road this week to face Brock (2-3-2) on Wednesday and Guelph (2-4-1) on Sunday.

Montreal (5-0-1), reigning CIS champion Queen’s (6-0-1), Alberta (5-1-0) and Trinity Western (4-1-0) round out the top five.

In men’s soccer, defending national champion York (5-0-3) holds on to the top spot despite settling for a pair of 1-1 draws last weekend, at No. 6 Western and at Windsor. The Lions host Waterloo (2-6-0) on Saturday before visiting UOIT (1-6-1) on Sunday.

UBC (2-0-3), St. Francis Xavier (4-0-1), Cape Breton (4-0-1) and McGill (4-1-0) are ranked two to five.

In women’s rugby, reigning CIS champion StFX moved to 3-0 in AUS action thanks to a 36-0 shutout of UPEI (2-1). The X-Women host the Panthers for a rematch on Saturday.

Guelph (3-0), Laval (3-0) and Lethbridge (2-0) follow in order in the new Top 10, while McMaster (3-0) and Alberta (2-0) are tied for fifth place.

WOMEN’S SOCCER
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. Wilfrid Laurier (7-0-0) / 50 points / (1)
2. Montreal (5-0-1) / 42 / (2)
3. Queen’s (6-0-1) / 40 / (4)
4. Alberta (5-1-0) / 37 / (3)
5. Trinity Western (4-1-0) / 29 / (8)
6. UPEI (5-0-0) / 25 / (7)
7. UBC (3-1-1) / 20 / (5)
8. McGill (4-1-1) / 14 / (6)
9. Ottawa (6-2-1) / 11 / (NR)
10. Dalhousie (4-1-0) / 3 / (NR)
Other teams receiving votes: Sherbrooke (2), Windsor (1), Victoria (1).

 
MEN’S SOCCER
(regular season record) / (previous rankings)
1. York (5-0-3) / 58 points / (1)
2. UBC (2-0-3) / 51 / (2)
3. StFX (4-0-1) / 45 / (3)
4. Cape Breton (4-0-1) / 42 / (6)
5. McGill (4-1-0) / 39 / (4)
6. Western (4-1-3) / 24 / (5)
7. Carleton (6-2-0) / 16 / (NR)
8. Montreal (4-1-0) / 15 / (8)
9. Toronto (4-1-1) / 12 / (NR)
10. Calgary (4-2-0) / 9 / (10)

 
WOMEN’S RUGBY
(regular season record) / (votes) / (previous rankings)
1. StFX (3-0) / 100 points / (1)
2. Guelph (3-0) / 99 / (2)
3. Laval (3-0) / 73 / (3)
4. Lethbridge (2-0) / 69 / (4)
T5. McMaster (3-0) / 54 / (6)
T5. Alberta (2-0) / 54 / (7)
7. Concordia (2-1) / 50 / (5)
8. McGill (2-1) / 23 / (8)
9. Waterloo (2-1) / 16 / (9)
10. Queen’s (3-0) / 14 / (10)
Other teams receiving votes: UPEI (7), Brock (1), Acadia (1).

 
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
(points) / (previous rankings)
1. Guelph 98.9 points / (-)
2. McMaster 90.5 / (-)
3. Western Ontario 64.2 / (-)
4. Victoria 58.4 / (-)
5. McGill 57.4 / (-)
6. Dalhousie 45.8 / (-)
7. Calgary 45.3 / (-)
8. Queen’s 23.7 / (-)
9. StFX 13.2 / (-)
10. Windsor 9.5 / (-)
 

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
(points) / (previous rankings)
1. Guelph 95.6 points / (-)
2. Windsor 94.4 / (-)
3. Western Ontario 71.1 / (-)
4. Queen’s 59.4 / (-)
5. Victoria 58.3 / (-)
6. Regina 41.7 / (-)
7. Laval 32.8 / (-)
8. Toronto 27.2 / (-)
9. Calgary 21.1 / (-)
10. McMaster 18.9 / (-)