It was another busy week for Blue Jags Athletics, with teams competing in tournaments and league play across Vancouver Island and beyond. The Senior Girls Volleyball team claimed first place in the Tier 2 Division at the Vancouver Island University Tournament, while the Senior Boys closed out their home Georgia Strait Challenge with a pair of wins. Junior volleyball teams also turned in strong tournament performances, while SMUS athletes competed in field hockey, soccer, cross country, squash, and a CAIS national tournament in Nova Scotia.
Senior Boys Volleyball
The Senior Boys Volleyball team came through with two impressive match wins on Saturday to wrap up the Georgia Strait Challenge Tournament on homecourt.
The Blue Jags opened the day with a 3-0 victory over Mark Isfeld (25-9, 25-10, 25-23) and then rallied back from an first-game loss to beat Stelly’s 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-8).
The host Jags finished 2-2 overall in the tournament, which included 28 teams playing at SMUS, Oak Bay, Claremont, and Royal Bay.
SMUS dropped a couple of close matches to Lower Island rivals to open the tournament on Friday. The Blue Jags began with a 4-1 loss to Vic High (11-25, 25-18,19-25,12-25) before falling 3-2 to Lambrick Park (25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 23-25,12-15).
The Senior Boys won four of their six games in Lower Island league action last Monday at Royal Bay. The Blue Jags split with Vic High (18-25, 25-16), swept Belmont (25-15, 25-14), and split with the host Ravens (25-22, 20-25).
SMUS will host league action this Wednesday with teams from Claremont, Mount Douglas, Oak Bay, and GNS. Play begins at 6 pm.
Senior Girls Volleyball
The SMUS Senior Girls Volleyball team went undefeated on Saturday to take first-place honours in the Tier 2 Division of the Vancouver Island University Volleyball Tournament in Nanaimo.
The Blue Jags won all three of their matches on the final day of the tournament, beating Chemainus (21-25, 25-21,15-10), Port Hardy (25-21, 25-16), and Chilliwack (25-20, 25-11).
On Friday’s opening day, SMUS went 1-3 in pool play. The Blue Jags beat Gulf Islands Secondary (26-25, 25-18), and fell to Carihi (8-25, 13-25), Sardis (15-25, 13-25), and Grandview Heights (9-25, 17-25).
The SMUS Seniors also hosted Lower Island league action last Tuesday, splitting with Edward Milne (25-23, 19-25) and falling two straight to Oak Bay (9-25, 17-25).
The Blue Jags will again host Lower Island league action this Tuesday, beginning at 6 pm and including teams from Reynolds, Victor Brodeur, and Glenlyon Norfolk School.
Junior Girls Volleyball
Both Junior Girls Volleyball teams were in action over the weekend in the Camosun Chargers Tournament.
The SMUS Competitive team won eight of 14 games to place second in its tournament bracket. A three-set win over Pacific Christian was the Junior Jags’ best game of the weekend.
Tournament highlights included serving runs from Taran Wirk and Ava Allard. Iben Hamilton, Elizabeth Walker, Cassie Jang, and Lillia White showcased their versatility as the team played with only eight players.
The Competitive team will travel to Esquimalt this Thursday for Lower Island Division 1 action featuring PCS, Stelly’s, and the host school, beginning at 4 pm.
The SMUS Junior ‘B’ Girls, meanwhile, rallied to win their final game of the Camosun tournament on Saturday against Parkland.
“There were a lot of talented teams [in the tournament], but the girls set small goals and worked together to achieve them,” said Coach Samantha Butler.
The Junior ‘B’ team went undefeated as it hosted three other teams in Lower Island Division 2 action last Monday. The Junior Jags beat Oak Bay (25-13, 25-20), GNS (25-11, 25-21), and Vic High (25-23, 25-12).
The Jags will see Division 2 action this Monday at Parkland, featuring Edward Milne and the host school, beginning at 4 pm. The Junior ‘B’ team will also take part in a tournament at Spectrum this coming weekend.
Competitive Field Hockey
The SMUS Competitive Field Hockey team finally had a full roster this past weekend for the Independent Schools Athletic Association Tournament at Crofton House.
“Despite coming away from the ISAA Tournament with three losses, the team showed great growth and had lots of positive takeaways heading into this coming week’s prestigious Bridgman Cup tournament,” said SMUS Head Coach Ali Baggott.
The Blue Jags opened the event on Friday with a 6-0 loss to Collingwood and a 4-0 defeat to Shawnigan Lake School. SMUS then fell 4-0 to the host school in a tournament quarterfinal on Saturday morning.
Grade 10 out trips left the Blue Jags’ roster a little sparse earlier in the week as the team fell 2-0 to GNS in league play at UVic on Monday.
The Blue Jags will meet St. Andrew’s at UVic this Wednesday, beginning at 3:30 pm. The Competitive team will also compete in the annual Bridgman Cup tournament beginning Friday at UVic. In opening-day play, SMUS will take on Handsworth at 9 am and Sentinel at 11:30 am.
Development Field Hockey
The SMUS Development Field Hockey team was also short players due to illness and out trips for its only Lower Island game last week. As a result, the Jags forfeited 5-0 to Reynolds. Reynolds then lent SMUS some players so the teams could still have a game.
The Development team will face Oak Bay at 4:30 pm Monday and Lambrick Park at 3:30 pm Wednesday in Lower Island league action this week. Both games will be played at UVic.
Senior Boys Soccer
The SMUS Senior Boys Soccer team played a couple of exhibition games against higher-level Lower Island teams this past week.
The Blue Jags dropped a 4-2 decision to the Bays on Thursday afternoon at Oak Bay. Hendrik Dietrich and Manu Achuthan scored the goals for SMUS. Last Tuesday, the Blue Jags were outscored 7-5 by visiting Reynolds.
SMUS heads into Lower Island regular season action this week. The Blue Jags will play St. Andrew’s on Tuesday at Reynolds Park, beginning at 3:30 pm. They will also host Edward Milne at 3:45 pm on Thursday.
Junior Boys Soccer
The SMUS Junior ‘A’ Boys Soccer team will kick off its Lower Island Tier 1 league season with a pair of games this week. The Junior Jags travel to Tyndall Park to meet Lambrick on Monday at 3:15 pm. They will also host Claremont on Wednesday at 3:45 pm.
The Junior ‘B’ Blue Jags will continue their Tier 2 season with road games at Vic High on Monday at 3:30 pm and at GNS on Wednesday at 3:45 pm.
Cross Country
SMUS Grade 10 Reese Trumpy ran in the Senior Girls division and earned an impressive ninth-place finish in the second race of the Lower Island Cross Country season last Thursday at Cedar Hill.
Blue Jag runners will compete in the third race of the season this Wednesday at Beaver Lake beginning at 3:45 pm.
Squash
Seventeen members of the SMUS Competitive Elite, ‘A’, and ‘B’ Squash teams competed this past weekend in the Vancouver Island Open, hosted by Cedar Hill Squash Club.
“The team performed well and came away with some strong results at our first Open tournament of the season,” said SMUS Head Coach Grace Thomas. “Next, our ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams will host the SMUS Silver Oct. 23 and 24, then the Elite team is off to Edmonton to play in the Alberta Jesters Junior Open, Nov. 6-8.”
Top results for Blue Jags players this past weekend included:
- Men’s 4.0 Division: Vince Schachter 1st, Lucas Wei 4th, Charlie Chae 5th, Enzo Sartori 6th, Evan Margawang 7th, Ben Cusack 9th, and Owen Hofmann 10th.
- Men’s 4.5 Division: Elliot Judson 2nd, Liam Wilkinson 3rd, Omar Ghoneim 7th.
- Men’s 5.0 division: Rakshith Arun 9th-12th, Kieran MacKay 9th-12th.
- Men’s Open: Max Arndt 9th-12th.
Middle School Soccer
The SMUS U14 Girls Soccer team finished fifth out of 10 teams in the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS) national tournament held last week in Windsor, N.S.
The Blue Jags posted two wins, two losses, and a tie in their five games at the tournament, which also included teams from Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, and Bermuda. The tournament was well-hosted by King’s-Edgehill School and played under unusually hot conditions.
The SMUS U13 Boys will also take part in a CAIS tournament next week at Collingwood.
