They鈥檙e a month away from the start of the sa国际传媒 West season, but the University of Victoria Vikes basketball teams will kick things into high gear this weekend when they host the annual Guy Vetrie Memorial Tournament at the CARSA Performance Gym.
Coach Dani Sinclair鈥檚 women鈥檚 team will get things started today at 4 p.m. against the University of Ottawa Gee Gees. The Vikes go into the game led by seniors Nicole Karstein, Jenna Krug and Jenna Bugiardini.
鈥淭hose girls are definitely leaders and they are going to do what they do,鈥� Sinclair said in a statement. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 probably going to be more game-changing for us is how everybody else steps up.鈥�
The Gee Gees are coming off a season that saw them reach the CIS national championship tournament before being eliminated by eventual champion Saskatchewan.
After today鈥檚 game, the UVic women will get Saturday off before going up against familiar sa国际传媒 West foe, the UNBC Timberwolves, on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The UVic men will play three games starting with today鈥檚 matchup at 8 p.m. against the Regina Cougars. That will be followed by a Friday game, also at 8 p.m., against the McGill Redmen, and then a Saturday game against McMaster University at 7 p.m.
McGill and McMaster will get the men鈥檚 action started today at 6 p.m. Regina will play McMaster on Friday at 6 p.m., and Regina and McGill will tangle on Saturday at 5 p.m.
The annual tournament is played in honour of Vetrie, who is a prominent figure in Vikes basketball history. The longtime coach recorded 543 wins and was sa国际传媒 West coach of the year six times.
The UVic women begin the 2016-17 sa国际传媒 West regular season Oct. 27-28 when they host Alberta and Saskatchewan, while the men start their regular season Oct. 28-29 when they play host to the Mount Royal Cougars of Calgary.
