The Guelph Gryphons women’s rugby team took the silver medal in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Championship gold-medal game on Nov. 3 against the Alberta Pandas, who won the game by a score of 29-10. This was Alberta’s sixth Monilex Trophy; the last time they won gold was a decade ago. The 2003 win was the last of a stunning run of five consecutive CIS titles, which started with a win against Guelph in 1999.
This was Guelph’s third consecutive trip to the CIS finals. In 2012, they won silver against the St. Francis Xavier X-women although in 2011, the tables were turned and the Gryphs won gold against the X-women. In this year’s bronze medal game, the Queen’s Gaels beat the McGill Martlets 32-24 to take their first CIS banner. The Gaels had previously bested Guelph 19-15 on Oct. 26 to win the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) title. The title, a first for the Gaels, broke the hearts of Guelph fans, hoping the team would win their sixth consecutive OUA title.
To make their way to the CIS final held at Laval University, the Gryphs had to get through two games in Pool A. They faced the X-women from St. Francis Xavier on Oct. 31, winning by a score of 37-12. Guelph had something to prove in the game against the X-women, the win was retribution for the 37-0 loss to St. Francis Xavier in last year’s gold-medal final. Centre Shannon Spurrell was named player of the match for Guelph.
The second game on Nov. 2 saw Guelph dominate play against the McGill Martlets and come out on top with a decisive score of 31-0. Spurrell contributed 16 points in the win and was again voted Guelph’s player of the match.
The gold medal game proved a challenge for the Gryphons against the Canada West champs, the Pandas of the University of Alberta. By the end of the first half, Alberta was up 24-0, and Guelph didn’t get on the board until Daria Keane scored 10 points on two tries in the second half. Alberta kept scoring and added another five points for a final score of 29-10. The Gryphons 2013 season was a successful one. Fullback Caitlin McNally was named to the All-Canadian women’s rugby team, and the team went 5-0 during the regular season play, 2-1 in playoffs and medaled at CIS for the ninth year in a row.