sports editor: Karen J. Lum

I phone: 604.984.4949 I email: karen@reggiekillarchie@hotmail.com I online: capcourier.com

Capilano to host CCAA Volleyball Championships

By Karen J. Lum
SPORTS EDITOR

I

t seems that our beautiful city
is winning bids everywhere to
host prestigious events these
days. The 2007 CCAA National

Women's Volleyball Championships
will be held at Capilano College
next year from March 8 to 11. The
tournament should be a great arena
to display the Blues volleyball talent,
as well as the talent of hundreds of

other Canadian athletes. Not to
mention the understated elements
of the Sportsplex, with its showcase
gymnasium that holds two full size
volleyball courts, eight badminton
courts, two indoor soccer courts,
and 10 glass basketball backboards.
"Our women's volleyball team
has been ranked in the top 10
in Canada for the last four years
and hosting this tournament will
showcase it with the very best
the country has to offer:' states
Joe Iacobellis, Capilano College
athletics and recreation manager.
Indeed, the Blues men and women
finished the BCCAA regular season
in third place. Next year should
prove to be even more positive than
the 2005/2006 season, as most of the
women's team is coming back for a
second or third year with another
notch on their volleyball belts.
The last time Capilano College
hosted the national tournament
was in 1986. The women took fifth
place that year but the competition
was held at Simon Fraser University
because the Sportsplex wasn't
completed until 1991.
"Hosting this type of tournament
is a source of pride for our team, our
institution, our community, and the
Canadian sport delivery system:'
says Iacobellis. He expects that
the nationals will open the world's
view .of the standard of women's

Crazy about NCAA March Madness
By Karen J. Lum

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22

in the sportsmanship and teamwork
that is nurtured in the early years
of these amazing athlete's careers.
Down by the Schoolyard," Every single player on the team has
the roar of the crowd in Madison a lot more riding on the final score
Square Garden is enough to make than just their next million-dollar
anyone wish they played more contract. These four weeks of spring
basketball as a kid, even you. Maybe mark the culmination of four hard
then you would be able to be on the years of studying and training.
hardwood floor, trying to catch your They've spent this time with their
breath as the opposing team sets up teammates - in some situations
for a free throw. As the ball glides living together - training to be
through the virginal white lace of successful adults as well as world­
the basket you're already charging class athletes.
OnSaturday,March 11 the world
towards the other end, searching
for your man and hustling until was witness to a true Cinderella
the last second. As the buzzer story. Syracuse, a team that had
rings, you either fall to the floor become accustomed to huge losses
thinking, where did I go wrong? or and upsets, won the Big East
you're above the shoulders of your tournament against one of the top
teammates shouting, "We did it teams, Pittsburgh University. The
three days prior to the final game
baby, we did it!"
The first week of the NCAA were just as miraculous because
March Madness tournament was Syracuse (a.k.a. The Orange) had
one for the books. A record was won all three of the games in all three
set and many rivalries were fought days. Pittsburgh wasn't without
throughout the league. The flurry their drama and glory either, as
of college basketball makes for one they had also gone three for three
of the most intense championships with starting forward, Vancouver's
in the world of sports. The magic of own, Levon Kendall out for some of
college basketball stands apart from the game due to back spasms.
When both teams met on
professional play for many reasons.
One of the most obvious reasons Saturday night to claim the Big East
is the fact that the athletes do not record of four wins in four days, the
get paid. Another is the difference tension couldn't have been cut with
SPORTS EDITOR

s a marching band plays
Paul Simon's "Me and Julio

a chainsaw. From the tip off to half
time, Syracuse led the Pittsburgh
Panthers who could not gain any
lead. It wasn't until the last nine
minutes of the game that Pitt took
the lead and created a deficit for the
Orange to try and fill.
Carl Krauser of the Panthers
shot free throws like a magician
while teammate Aaron Gray did
what a big man does best: getting
those loose balls in the basket.
Kendall entered the game from
time to time and displayed his raw
talent for getting the ball to where it
needs to be.
Cinderella found her slipper
though, as Gerry McNamara
(remember that name) and the
rest of the Orange kept burning
down the court. To say it was
edge-of-your-seat action would be
an understatement. Josh Wright
somehow kept answering Pitt's
fouls with fluid free throws. Back
and forth it went as the seconds ran
down. The ringing of the clock in
Madison Square Garden marked
the crowning of a legend in the
Big East as Syracuse won the final
game, 65 - 61.
Syracuse now enters the next
weeks of NCAA match-ups as the #5
seed and, ultimately, the underdogs
to beat.

collegiate athleticism and has
stated, "Canadians tend to regard
American college sport as being
the elite standard by which to gauge
athletes; but I think our community
will be pleasantly surprised with
the high standard of college sport
that will be shown at this national
event:'
Aside from the College, the
North Shore will also receive a
boost in its local economy from a
national tournament of this caliber.
The championship is expected

to bring in $150,000 to services
like accommodation, catering,
transportation, and shopping.
Hopefully this tournament will
also raise awareness around the
campus for collegiate sport and
hype up Capilano a bit. The Blues
need you to come out and support
the teams, especially when facing
the rest of the country. Put on some
blue, listen to "Eye of the Tiger;' and
cheer your ass off from March 8
11, 2007. Go Blues!

�V'10' single player on the team has a lot more riding_ on
the final score than just their next million-dollar contract,