It was a wild and exciting weekend for the Redeemer Royals with teams traveling everywhere and competing all over the province. A 2nd place finish by the Men's Volleyball team at the Seneca Invitational along with a 3-0 record for the Redeemer Basketball teams highlighted a great weekend for the Royals. 

Men's Volleyball @ Seneca Sting Invitational
Friday October 12th and Saturday October 13th

The men's volleyball team came out to a flying start in there first game action of the 2012-2013 season. Any questions about where the Royals would rank in the very tough OCAA West Division were answered as Redeemer came out swinging on there way to a 2nd place finish at one of the toughest invitational tournaments of the year.

The Royals beat Limoilou on Friday to open the tournament with a 3-1 victory and remained undefeated on day 1 with a 3-1 win over CMU in the evening game. Day 2 opened with a straight sets 3-0 win over the host Seneca College followed by a very tight 3-2 loss to West Division rivals Sheridan. A 3-1 record was good enough for the Royals to advance them to the Championship game against the Humber Hawks who had a record of 4-0 in Pool B.

In the final, Humber, the reigning National Championships looked poised for the win, but the Royals didn’t go quietly. After dropping the first two games (25-19, 25-12), Redeemer took the 3rd game 26-24. However, Humber rebounded for a 3-1 win taking the fourth set 25-16.

David Klomps and Eric Heidbuurt were named tournament all-stars.

NEXT UP: The men's volleyball team is off to the Humber Cup Volleyball Tournament on October 26-27.

Women's Volleyball @ Sheridan Bruins Invitational
Friday October 12th and Saturday October 13th

The women's volleyball team proved they are a different looking team this season as they played a very competitive tournament on Friday and Saturday at the Sheridan Invitational. After missing the playoffs in 2011-2012, the team looks poised to get back on track and push for a playoff spot this season. The Royals proved this by beating out some great competition this past weekend.

Like the men's team, the Lady Royals went undefeated on day 1 with a 2-1 (23-25, 25-17, 15-11) victory over the host Bruins and a 2-1 (25-23, 18, 25, 15-11) win over Cambrian College. Saturday morning, Redeemer went up against a tough Trent University team and received their first loss of the tournament 2-0 (25-13, 25-20). However, the Royals would rebound by beating their Hamilton rival Mohawk 2-1 (25-17, 19-25, 15-6).

A 3-1 record, matched the Royals up against Durham College in the semi-finals. Despite a very close match, the women fell 2-0 and were eliminated from the tournament. Game scores were 25-23 and 25-22.

NEXT UP: The women's volleyball team is off to the Humber Cup Volleyball Tournament on October 26-27.

Cross Country @ University of Guelph
Saturday October 13th

The Cross Country team participated in the Vic Matthews Cross Country Open hosted by the University of Guelph. The event is one of the biggest cross country races in the country. The Royals used the event to take a week off from facing OCAA competition and enjoyed running against some of the top runners in the country from the biggest University's in Ontario.

In a field of over 150 runners, the women's team kept up their consistent pace and ran well despite the very difficult competition. Julie Koopmans cross the line first for the Royals with a great time of 20:40. Jillian Marquardt was right behind Koopmans with a time of 20:41. Adrianna So was 3rd for Redeemer with a time of 22:03 and Annie Stollery rounded out the Royals top 4 with a time of 22:14. Redeemer's Danica Thomsen finished in 5th for the women with a time of 24:34.

On the men's side, almost 200 runners competed. Taylor Kraayenbrink finished 1st for Redeemer with a time of 27:33. Nathan Verbaan was across the line 2nd for Redeemer with a time of 30:30. Alexandre Drouin ended up with a time of 31:25 while Zachary Duguay wasn't far behind in a time of 32:34. David Prins (33:17) and Colten Gowan (33:56) rounded out the runners for the Royals.

NEXT UP: OCAA Cross Country Championships on October 19-20 at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie

Women's Basketball vs University of Toronto (M)
Friday October 12th at 6pm

The women's basketball team took the court this weekend against the University of Toronto Mississauga Eagles. The Lady Royals continued to prove that they are a new team with a new competitive edge. Redeemer will be looking to be right in the middle of the mix for a playoff spot in 2012-2013.

The Royals defeated the U of T Eagles 73-48.

Rookie Jessica Brown demonstrated her abilities with an amazing 29 points as she led all scorers in the game. Arica Price had 15 points for Redeemer while Victoria Pickering chipped in with 9. Navi Shal had a team high 15 points for the visiting Eagles.

NEXT UP: Exhibition tournament at Lambton College on October 20.

Men's Basketball vs University of Toronto (M)
Friday October 12th at 8pm

The Men's Basketball team also took on U of T Mississauga on Friday night and made it 2-0 for Redeemer with a 82-57 victory.

Redeemer showed they can score from all over the court as 4 different players had double-digit points. Paul Hart led Redeemer with a game high 21 points. Chris McFadden-Martin had 12 while Josh DeSchiffert and Benn Inbrahim each added 10 points.

The basketball teams remained undefeated on the weekend when the Men's team hosted Wilfred Laurier Brantford on Saturday night and won handely 93-32.

In the game, the Royals continued to spread out the scoring as 6 players hit double figures. Calvin Turnbull had a game high 19 points. Benn Ibrahim and Josh DeSchiffert hit double-digit points two nights in a row as Ibrahim had 15 DeSchiffert had 12 points. Almar Knowles, David Luth, and Ryan Maynard had 11, 11, and 10 respectively.

Daniel Kandilas had 14 points for the visiting team in the loss.

NEXT UP: Exhibition tournament at Lambton College on October 19-20.


Badminton @ Humber Cup
Friday October 12th and Saturday October 13th

It was a good start to the tournament season for the Redeemer badminton team.  The team played hard, there were no injuries, and each member gained valuable experience.  Overall, the team finished with 27 match wins and 35 losses over the two days of play. 

Notable accomplishments:

• Blair Hogan won three singles matches, bowing out in the B event semi-final.
• Newcomers Nathan Tucker and Kaleb Antonides played well and won a couple doubles matches together.
• Carla Hogan and Janelle Koopmans lost their first ladies doubles match but then rattled off 4 straight wins to capture the C event.
• Lindsay Barden and Bryan Couperus won three mixed doubles matches, losing out in the B event semi-final.
• Janelle Koopmans and Dan Vandeboogaard showed some definite promise in mixed doubles by winning their first three matches and making it to the A event quarter finals.

NEXT UP: Fanshawe Invitational November 16-17