Sports

<p>Fifth-year student and rugby player Brad Sears can’t get enough of St. Thomas University. After graduating last year with a major in anthropology and minor in sociology, he decided to return to explore another career path. Sears has always wanted to be a teacher, so he is currently completing his teachables to pursue the education [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas University women’s hockey team continued their pre-season this weekend with a pair of exhibition games against the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers and the Université de Moncton Eagles. Friday night the Panthers were in town, looking to beat the Tommies again after a thrilling 2-1 double overtime win on Sept. 24. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas might become the new school of witchcraft and wizardry with the start of a quidditch team by first year student Caelin Sullivan. “I&#8217;ve been a Harry Potter fan since I was a little kid. So I was looking for something I can maybe get involved in, in university,” said Sullivan. Quidditch is a [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas University men’s rugby team won a well-played game against the Mount Allison Mounties Saturday night. The game started off well with Johnathan Ginnish scoring within the first five minutes of the game. Cameron Gillis kicked it in to make the score 7-0. The men were all over the field as the Tommies [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Wednesday night was action-packed with the men’s and women’s soccer teams both, taking on the Crandall University Chargers. The women kicked off first, coming off a strong 1-0 shutout performance against the University of New Brunswick Saint John Seawolves. They won the game. The Tommies came out with fire as third-year winger Sarah Hickman netted [&hellip;]</p>

<p>This is Nikita McCartney&#8217;s first year at St. Thomas University, but it&#8217;s definitely not the first time the midfield from Berry Mills, N.B. has hit the field. She started playing soccer a decade ago at age seven. STU won McCartney over after a recruitment officer visited her high school, Harrison Trimble, in Moncton. “I liked [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Laura Whitty was at work on May 24, filling shipments for an online Etsy store on Prince Edward Island, when she got a text. It was a fellow team member of the throwing team at St. Thomas University, offering their condolences, saying they were sorry for what had just happened — but she had no [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas University cross-country team attended its first meet on Saturday afternoon at Odell Park. Greg Allan is the new head coach for the four-person team. He was brought in last season to fill the position after previous head coach Alex Coffin resigned part way through the season. When asked about how he thinks [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The men’s soccer team has gained a lot of new players this year, but Geoffrey Mullen is one who coaches and fans can&#8217;t seem to take their eyes off of. The first-year student from small-town Kentville, Nova Scotia is excited to be playing for the Tommies. “I’m hoping by playing here at STU I can [&hellip;]</p>

<p>If you haven&#8217;t played pickleball, the fastest-growing sport in North America, St. Thomas University officially has you covered. The Fredericton Pickleball Club held an exhibition at the J.B. O’Keefe Centre on Sept. 15 after getting its hands on a new set of gear for the game. Four senior players geared up with frying-pan-sized rackets and [&hellip;]</p>

<p>In the heat of this past summer, Danny Lawson, a former St. Thomas University student, decided to spread a bit of Tommie pride, and donated approximately 20 soccer and basketball jerseys to kids in Malawi, Africa. Lawson was able to do this with the help of someone closer to home, women&#8217;s basketball coach Fred Connors. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas University soccer teams were young, but hopeful on Saturday during their season home openers against Mount Saint Vincent University. Both teams took on MSVU in challenging games, and while the men came out with a tie, the women were able to take the win. The women’s team is young with returning players [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas&#8217; rugby squads are gearing up for a new season after tough final games last year. Both teams fell short to the University of New Brunswick Ironmen and women at the end of the season. Now, the men’s team has high spirits under the direction of new head coach, Curtis Lauzon, and are setting [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas University has decided to discontinue its track and field team’s throwing program for the upcoming year. Athletics director Mike Eagles said the decision was made following a discussion with coach Mark Sheehan about difficulties managing the combined STU and University of New Brunswick training teams. In an email to affected students on May [&hellip;]</p>

<p>For the second consecutive year, women&#8217;s hockey captain Kelty Apperson has been named the Tommies Coastal Graphics Female Athlete of the Year. &#8220;It&#8217;s awesome and humbling,&#8221; Apperson said after St. Thomas University&#8217;s annual athletics banquet on Wednesday night at the Forest Hill Conference Centre. &#8220;I&#8217;m really excited about it, but it&#8217;s a step forward for [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The National Hockey League season concludes on Sunday, April 9, and there are less than 10 games remaining for each Canadian NHL team. Tuesday, April 28 marks a rare occasion where six of the seven Canadian teams will play on the same night, with all six squads deep in playoff hunts. The Anaheim Ducks visit [&hellip;]</p>

<p>If you think you&#8217;re the biggest fan of St. Thomas University&#8217;s sports teams, Nora Valentino may have something to say about that. The native of Minto takes her self-appointed superfan title seriously. She has passionately cheered for the Tommies since she attended STU from 1983 to 1988. “I really like sports. It’s nice when you [&hellip;]</p>

<p>March Madness has been active for two weeks in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (also known as the NCAA), and there are only four teams remaining. Saturday, April 1 marks the start of the Final Four. On Monday night, the 2017 national champion will be crowned. The Villanova Wildcats, last year&#8217;s champion, was dethroned in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>For the third straight year, Team Forest Hill is the Washburn Cup champion. Forest Hill downed Team Upper Campus 6-2 Friday night at Lady Beaverbrook Rink in this year&#8217;s version of the intense, but friendly, long-running hockey tradition between the upper and lower campus residences. Forest Hill&#8217;s four goals in the second period helped put [&hellip;]</p>

<p>During her first week at St. Thomas University, Anisha Romany was upstairs in the kitchen at Vanier Hall when she met Emily Oleksuk and Paige Jackson, two players on the Tommies women&#8217;s hockey team. Oleksuk and Jackson were making Kraft Dinner, which was completely new to Romany. The hockey girls were shocked by this, but [&hellip;]</p>