Statistically speaking
Axewomen, Axemen experience unmatched season for Acadia’s 2017 fall term
“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.” Mahatma Gandhi
This profound quote of Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian activist who was the leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule, captures the effort put forth by the Acadia Axemen and Axewomen in the fall of 2017.
While only one championship was won by Acadia in the AUS fall sport championship season, an effort unmatched over the last decade was noted from the outstanding results of all five Acadia fall teams.
It’s not all about how you finish. It was incredible to have the success that the five fall term sports had, combined with eight teams overall being ranked at some point in the national Top 10.
“We have an AUS power-ranking formula that compares all athletic programs statistically and analytically, and Acadia was number one by quite a margin for overall performance in the fall term so we’re certainly pleased with the start we’ve had,” said Executive Director of Athletics Kevin Dickie.
All of Acadia’s fall sports attended AUS championships. Four of five Acadia teams were at one point or another included in their respective U SPORTS Top Ten rankings.
The Football Axemen captured an AUS championship in an exciting contest against rival Saint Mary’s, while the Soccer Axewomen fell short in winning an AUS title in a 2-1 loss to the eventual U SPORTS silver medalist Cape Breton.
Football
The Axemen finished the regular season with a four-game winning streak and a 6-2 record.
Completing the season with an AUS championship after defeating the Saint Mary’s Huskies 45-38 in overtime, the Axemen hosted the U SPORTS Uteck Bowl less than five days later. Fatigue and the loss of several players to injury affected the national semi-finals outcome against a very strong Western Mustangs squad who concluded the season undefeated and National Champions.
Eight Axemen received AUS All- Star recognition that included four major award winners. Dale Wright, who finished the season with 1030 yards as the top rusher this season, was named the AUS Most Valuable Player. Bailey Feltmate was honoured as the Defensive Player of the Year, while teammate Brandon Jennings was named the AUS Community Service Award winner. Head coach Jeff Cummins was honoured as the AUS and U SPORTS Coach of the Year. All- Stars included Wright, Feltmate, Keiler Cherry, Nathan Heide, Cordell Hastings, Jadin White- Frayne and Adam Melanson. Only Melanson was named as aU SPORTS All- Canadian.
Women’s Rugby
The Axewomen rugby team finished the season with a 4-2 record and defeated the UPEI Panthers in semi-final play to move onward to the AUS championship against host St. FX. Acadia fell short in winning their second AUS championship, but advanced to the U SPORTS championship as the second berth from the AUS to the national championship in Lethbridge, AB. The Axewomen were defeated by Ottawa and Queen’s.
“The National championship was a disappointment. We played below ourselves. We are no longer just being a Top-10 team or an AUS champion. We want the big one, a U SPORTS title,” noted Axewomen head coach Matthew Durant.
Four Axewomen were named AUS All-Stars including Lauren Melanson, Harley Tucker, Danielle Wisen and Natasha Johnson. Melanson, Tucker and Wisen were named U SPORTS All-Canadians.
Women’s Soccer
The Axewomen finished the regular season with a third place 7-3-2 record and fell short in winning an AUS championship for the third year in a row as finalist. Acadia lost to the eventual U SPORTS silver medalist CBU Capers.
Emily Nickerson, Katie Ross and Nicole Wambolt were named to the AUS All-Star team and Nickerson was honoured as a second team U SPORTS All-Canadian defender for the third year in a row.
“We had a well-balanced team with a lot of great talent, leadership and experience. The level of dedication to the team overall allowed us to push boundaries in terms of soccer tactics and energy for each game and the players responded with another great playoff run. We’ve proved now for two years that we are able to compete with the best in Canada and I couldn’t be prouder of how we finished,” said Axewomen soccer head coach Amit Batra.
Men’s Soccer
Finishing the regular season with a 5-4-3 fourth place record, the Axemen advanced to semifinal play after a 3-1 quarterfinal win over UPEI. The Axemen met top seeded Cape Breton and fell short to the eventual AUS and U SPORT champions.
Zach Visser was named the AUS and U SPORTS Community Service Award winner. Only one Axeman was named as AUS Star — Ryan Parris, who was also recognized as a U SPORTS second team All-Canadian.
Women’s Cross Country
The cross country team finished the regular season with no team-finish less than second place. The Axewomen finished first in the second race of the season hosted by Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s.
For the first time, Acadia hosted the AUS championship race at Hennigar’s Farm Orchards and the Axewomen finished third overall. Katie Robinson raced to a sixth- place finish and was named to the AUS All- Star squad. Robinson and teammates Madalyn Higgins, Ellen Taggart, Chrissy Smith and Mackenzie Seagram raced at the U SPORTS championship hosted by the University of Victoria.
2018 U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship
Acadia University will host of the 2018 U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship. The announcement came a week prior to the national championship weekend hosted by the University of Lethbridge. The national championship has only been hosted in Atlantic Canada twice — once by St. FX in 2012 and once by the AUS Office in 2008.
The 2018 season will mark the 16th year that the Acadia Axewomen rugby program has been a varsity sport and the 21st anniversary of the U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship.