After last stepping on the court as a UBC Thunderbird more than 20 years ago, ‘Birds basketball alumni Julie Smulders continues to make an impact on the program. Establishing her non-profit “She’s Got Next” nearly two years ago, she’s driven to promote and support women’s sport — both at UBC and beyond.
After another round of terrible seeding luck — having to face the best team in the country, Saskatchewan, in the quarterfinal — UBC was faced with the No. 1 seed in the tournament in the consolation semifinal. They put up a good fight, but couldn’t fight their way back in the fourth, ending their time at Final 8.
One of the best rivalries in Canada West this year has been the battle between UBC and Trinity Western in women’s volleyball. Their most recent regular season matchup went a full five sets, with UBC winning by two points, 15–13. In the playoffs, the Spartans flipped the script, beating the ‘Birds 15–13 in a decisive fifth semifinal set.
UBC had to feel comfortable at half — they were leading by 18 in a game they had dominated throughout. It was just a matter of keeping it up and closing out a quarterfinal victory. Then, TMU’s Kevin Toth — who hadn’t scored all game — had a fourth quarter to remember, scoring 21 points in just ten minutes to eliminate the ‘Birds.
After the Calgary Dinos upset the previously undefeated Saskatchewan Huskies in the Canada West semifinal, the T-Birds thought they had caught a break. Instead, they got the worst of both worlds, losing to the Dinos in the final before being eliminated from medal contention by the Huskies — a game in which they never led.
In Game 1 of the Canada West finals, the T-Birds were up against a classic underdog tale. The Manitoba Bisons, who had barely qualified for the playoffs, knocked off two higher-seeded teams on the road to UBC. The ‘Birds put a serious dent in their Cinderella story on Friday, waxing them 5–1.
With the extra attacker, UBC has been deadly this season — having the fifth-best power play in the country. In Game 2 of the Canada West semifinals, the Trinity Western Spartans learned that the hard way, giving up two power play tallies in the second to give UBC the 2–0 series sweep.
Heading into the conference final, having won two of their three regular season games against the defending national champion Victoria Vikes, UBC had a shot to take down one of Canada’s best teams. At least, for the first six minutes.
When UBC’s all-star forward, Mona Berlitz, tore her ACL in a preseason exhibition contest in her home country, Germany, her fourth season was cut short before it had even begun. But now, even while recovering, she’s discovered how to be there for her team, even if it’s not on the court.
This postseason, UBC has performed exceptionally well in the clutch. They’ve pulled through late against Alberta and Regina. Heading into the fourth quarter against Calgary tied, they should have been comfortable. They were not.
While UBC’s Game 1 win against the UFV Cascades was convincing, taking out their crosstown rival in four sets, there was room for improvement. In Game 2, they were much more complete, settling into the game and eliminating those playoff jitters, setting themselves up well for the next round.
With a 20-day hiatus since their last test on the ice, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Women’s Hockey needed a period or two to gel. Instead, they scored early and often, with four different players getting a tally — a showcase of depth that bodes well for a long playoff run.
After a slow start doomed them in Friday’s series opener, things were looking better for the T-Birds after scoring two minutes in against Saskatchewan in Game 2. Then, they collapsed.
Through two sets, some level of panic had to be setting in for the T-Birds. Coming in heavily favoured, they had split their first two sets against the UFV Cascades, and had been outplayed. But then, in the remaining sets, while UFV succumbed to unforced errors, UBC diversified their attack and grew stronger as the game went on.
In their first game back in action after 20 days off, the T-Birds, perhaps understandably, took a while to get going in Game 1 of their semifinal series against Saskatchewan. After going down 3–0, the ‘Birds stormed back in the final 10 minutes to get within a goal, but were stymied by an excellent save in the last minute.