Sports

<p>Jon Gionet grabs the chalk and scrubs it on his hands. His vision narrows and he tunes everything else out. All of his training has come down to this one throw. He grabs the 16 pound shot put, turning it over in his hands. His rival just had a big throw before him, but he’s [&hellip;]</p>

<p>It was a week of redemption for the St. Thomas women’s basketball team, and they got it. Before last week, the Tommies had lost three of their last four games. They lost to the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics, Crandall Chargers and the Holland College Hurricanes. Tuesday, the Tommies started the week off right, beating the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Declining enrolment at St. Thomas University hasn’t affected the athletics department, said athletics director Michael Eagles. Enrolment at STU has dropped by 6.5 per cent, resulting in 144 fewer students than 2013. Eagles says recruiting for the athletics department hasn’t changed. “The goal of our teams is to recruit students to the institution,” says Eagles. “We’re looking [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The quarter-final series of the Subway AUS Championships between Dalhousie and St. Thomas needed to be decided by a third and final game. The first game, the Tommies dominated at home with a 7-3 victory. The second game in Halifax was a close affair of 3 &#8211; 2. The third game, Tommies had home-ice advantage [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas women’s hockey team dropped the second game of the three game series against the Dalhousie Tigers Thursday night. They lost 3-2. “Dal came to play,” said team captain Kelty Apperson. “Their goaltending was strong.” Going into the game the Tommies had the advantage, with a 1-0 series lead. The Tommies won game [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas University women’s hockey team couldn’t have started off the playoffs much better than the way they did at home on Tuesday night. Before the game, Tommies head coach Peter Murphy talked to his team about how important it is to come out strong. “A three game series is short. You don’t want [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas women’s hockey team played the Dalhousie Tigers in the first round of Atlantic University Sports playoffs Monday. The Tommies played the Tigers four times in the regular season. The Tommies won the first two games of the season, while Dalhousie came away with the last two. “There always seems to be some kind [&hellip;]</p>

<p>St. Thomas basketball had one of its toughest days of the season, as the Holland College Hurricanes came to town. First, the women’s team faced off against the Hurricanes. The Tommies had won the previous game in Prince Edward Island 87-79, but that game the Hurricanes were missing three starters. The Hurricanes started out on [&hellip;]</p>

<p>After 43 years of coaching, and 22 with the St. Thomas men’s basketball team, Dwight Dickinson is retiring. For Dickinson, coaching goes beyond making people better basketball players. He wants basketball and other sports to make players better people. “I think we just use the sport as a tool to grow the minds of young [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The Holland College Hurricanes blew into town to take on St. Thomas for a double-header weekend. This was the first time these two teams met in the season. Holland took it to the Tommies early going on a five-point service run from the opening serve. Right out of the gate, the Hurricanes brought an offensive [&hellip;]</p>

<p>On a Monday, two days before a game, and a couple hours before a practice, Ben Cripps is working on his shot. Together with teammates Michael Chan and William Barber, Cripps does dribbling drills and shooting off the dribble. On Wednesday, when the St. Thomas men’s basketball took on the University of New Brunswick Seawolves, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The Tommies had their resolve tested, as they played their third game in a row without their star guard Kelly Vass. The Tommies traveled to Moncton to take on the Crandall Charges, and what resulted was one of the worst games for STU in years. Crandall opened up a 14-9 lead in a low scoring [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Matt Grimshaw is a fourth year St. Thomas player on the men’s volleyball team. His 6’6&#8243; stature provides unique playing ability and can be seen all over campus — if you look up, that is. He is ranked nationally with the best blocking percentage and has the best hitting percentage in the ACAA. Grimshaw has [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Ali Ponte yells at his players sometimes. As coach of the St. Thomas University tennis club, Ponte says that his job is half coach and half motivator. “We do exercise, we play and we have fun,” said Ponte. The second-year student started the club in November and has developed a group of around 20 players. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>When Andrea Fischer broke her arm just before tryouts for the Switzerland Olympic hockey team, she thought about hanging up the skates. But that didn’t last very long. She couldn’t stay away from the rink. The injury was bad luck, but Fischer wasn’t letting it get her down. “Everything happens for a reason,” she Fischer. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Rene Comeau’s easy-going, talkative demeanor explains why he’s the skip of the New Brunswick men’s junior curling team and why he left St. Thomas University for the sport. Comeau was skip of the New Brunswick curling team that went to junior nationals last year in Liverpool, N.S. Despite a crushing defeat, losing to Manitoba in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Lack of fan support could be one of the reasons why the St. Thomas University’s men’s hockey team has lost most of their games this season, said Santiago Chavez. The Tommies are in last place in the Atlantic University Sports standings after losing 19 out of 21 games. Santiago Chavez, a supporter of the team and [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The STU men’s volleyball team squared off against the UNBSJ Seawolves last Friday. STU came away with another victory brining their record to nine wins and zero losses. But team captain Jason Cannon wasn&#8217;t entirely happy with the team’s performance. “Despite the outcome, it was a pretty sloppy game,” said Cannon. “We have more experience [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The St. Thomas University men’s hockey team’s newest acquisition, goalie Philippe Trudeau, earned STU their second win of the season last Saturday night against Dalhousie after a rough first couple of starts. “It felt great to get the win against Dal last weekend,” said Trudeau about the Tommies 6-2 win against the Dalhousie Tigers. “It [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The snow crunches beneath his skis as he shuffles his feet. It’s cold. His breath rises in the morning air. He tightens his grip on his ski poles. Around him, dozens of athletes prepare themselves for the 16-kilometre race that will determine who qualifies for the next level — and who doesn’t. He takes a [&hellip;]</p>