November 26, 2005 - The long
awaited OVA 18U Girls McGregor Cup - Tier 1 finally came to
Ottawa last weekend. With some great weeks of hard training and
awesome coaching, the 18U CAPS were up for the challenge of earning
the title of the number 1 team in the province. But the
only way to prove that would be to win the first Tier 1
tournament.
The day was prefaced by a lot of
preparation from many members of the club but, as is sometimes the
case, last minute scheduling changes came about due to one of the
basketball nets malfunctioning, leaving the organizers with only 2
courts upon which to run the tournament.
The CAPS' day started off against
Waterloo Tigers. It was a great start for our girls as they
took the match in straight sets (25-20, 25-11), with every team member
contributing to the victory.
After a long break, the CAPS came up
against Scarborough Falcons, a very athletic team from Toronto.
The CAPS did not take this team lightly, coming out focused and ready
for a tough match. In the end the CAPS prevailed again, winning
in two straight (25-15, 25-19).
The last game of pool play was against
Georgian Bay Vista from Midland. This proved to be a
relatively easy 25-21, 25-8 win for the CAPS, with Vista having 3
starters out of their lineup. With this victory, the CAPS came
out on top in pool play.
On next to the quarter-finals, which faced
the CAPS off against Forest City from London. The girls
got a little wake-up call from the team in green which handed them
their first set loss of the day. But that didn't dampen their
spirits. Although it was a tough match, the CAPS won the next
two games, squeaking out a 3 set thriller. This ultimately
forced the CAPS to find what they had inside them when the competition
got a little tougher.
On next to the semi-finals, where the CAPS
were pitted against Peel Selects 88. The Capitals had
beaten Selects in last year's 18U Provincial Championships, which
ensured that this would be an awesome match. It was a real
battle, with both teams firing on all cylinders. The outcome
would come down to which team would made the fewest mistakes.
This time around it was the CAPS who came out victorious in 2 sets,
25-19, 25-22.
The day's delays pushed the final back to
somewhere near 10 pm! The team to beat was Attack Black.
The CAPS came out sluggish and tired with Attack taking advantage and
the first set 25-20. It took all the way until the CAPS were
down 17-21 in game 2 before the CAPS dug down deep and pulled out a
victory, 25-21. In the third, the CAPS weren't taking any
chances and came out on fire, winning the game and the gold,
15-6.
It was a great finish to a long
tournament. The CAPS 18U girls showed what they knew they could
accomplish and brought home the GOLD. Congratulations girls on a
job well done!
Special thanks go out to the organizing
committee, headed up by the Luecke family, and to everyone else who
contributed their time and efforts this weekend. Thanks also to
the teams and fans from out-of-town for hanging tough through all the
unforeseen delays.
The CAPS will continue to train hard with
some exhibition games against the University of Ottawa and Algonquin
College in preparation for their next tournament in Philadelphia,
the Martin Luther King Kickoff Classic, against some of the
best teams in the eastern United States.
Results/OVA 18U Girls
McGregor Cup - Tier 1
Gold: National Capitals
Silver: Durham Attack Black
(Oshawa)
Bronze: Peel Selects 88
(Brampton)
4. Scarborough Falcons
5. DRVC (Ashburn)
5. Forest City (London)
7. Georgian Bay Vista
(Midland)
7. Waterloo Tigers Black
Quarter-finals
Attack Black def. Tigers Black (25-10,
25-16)
Falcons def. DRVC (25-22,
25-20)
Capitals def. Forest City (22-25, 25-23,
15-6)
Selects 88 def. Vista (25-22, 22-25,
15-4)
Semi-finals
Attack Black def. Falcons (24-26, 25-19,
17-15)
Capitals def. Selects 88 (25-19,
25-22)
Bronze
Selects 88 def. Falcons (25-18, 23-25,
15-7)
Gold
Capitals def. Attack Black (20-25, 25-21,
15-6)
