SMUS Squash team member Anderson Brown recently turned in an impressive second-place finish in the Boys U17 Division at the 2024 Canadian Junior Nationals in Calgary.
Brown, a Grade 10 student, beat the tournament’s top seed in the semifinals 11-3, 11-5, 5-11, 8-11, 11-4. He lost in the final 11-7, 6-11, 11-13, 7-11.
“This is a huge accomplishment,” said SMUS Squash Head Coach Grace Thomas.
SMUS teammate Lucas Quon finished fifth in U19 Boys at the same event, far surpassing his ninth seed heading into the tournament. Quon’s only loss came against the second seed in the quarter-final round.
Another SMUS team member, Roshan Pathak, finished 10th in the U17 Boys Division.
Senior Girls Rugby
The SMUS Senior Girls Rugby team, the No. 1-ranked squad among all BC schools, recorded a pair of impressive wins this past week, including a Robinson Cup shutout victory that was part of Alumni Weekend at the school.
The Blue Jags beat Reynolds 22-12 on Friday in their final Lower Island league game of the season. There were a few tense moments just after half time with the score tied 12-12 against Reynolds, a tough side with some great runners. But thanks to a dominant second half, SMUS won the battle.
The Blue Jags started strong, with Alex Motherwell retaining possession at the kick-off, facilitating early possession, and a visit to the opposing 22. A steal and offload in the second half would seal the deal for SMUS. Try scorers for the game were Taylor MacDonald with two, Ruki Madzimure and Chioma Duru, with Harper May adding a conversion.
SMUS met arch-rival and BC No. 2-ranked Oak Bay for the storied Robinson Cup on Saturday.
“We were anxious to make a statement to reinforce that [No. 1] position,” said Coach Ian Farish.
True to form, the SMUS girls did not disappoint, with a convincing 36-0 victory. SMUS started a strong side with MacDonald making her debut at hooker and scoring two tries, including the opener. SMUS dominated possession, solid on attack and unwavering on defence despite good leadership by the Oak Bay captain and some quick runners on the Oak Bay wing.
Other SMUS scorers included Duru, with two tries, and singles from speedster Madzimure and Sienna Sheehan. Captain May added a trio of conversions. Powerful forward work by Sam Robinson and strong defence and nimble footwork by Moe Ohara augmented the Blue Jags’ performance.
Junior Girls Rugby
The SMUS Junior Girls had a fantastic outing last Monday, playing Esquimalt and Stelly's. They exhibited some aggressive running and physical play and showed tremendous progress on attack, in particular.
Having lost to both teams previously, the girls were eager to settle the score, and all SMUS players showed tenacity and grit in these contests. The first game was a narrow 15-10 loss to Esquimalt. Abby Farish scored two tries for SMUS and the Blue Jags turned in a solid team effort in a back-and-forth game that could have gone either way.
In the Blue Jags’ second game against Stelly’s, Sonia Naima scored a hat trick to tie it up 15-15 at the final whistle. Nicole Li, Isabel Thomson and Sadie Arnold all had standout performances. Honorable mention also goes to Talia Klenz and others who played an extra game as subs for Claremont, with Klenz scoring her first career try for the Claremont side.
Senior Boys Rugby
The SMUS Senior Boys turned in an impressive performance in an Alumni Weekend match against Sir Charles Tupper of Vancouver on Saturday, beating the visitors 53-5 before a large crowd.
The Blue Jags, fourth-ranked among BC AA teams, got tries from Marcus Lam, Sam Bruninx, Seb Bixby and Nick Gordon against provincially fifth-ranked Tupper.
On Tuesday, SMUS hosted a developing Alberni District Secondary side, winning handily. Standouts for SMUS were Aidan MacKay, Sky Tanphiphat and Bruninx.
Junior Boys Rugby
The SMUS Junior Boys Rugby team also won its Alumni Weekend game, beating Oak Bay 45-22 as the Blue Jags led from start to finish.
The Juniors opened the week with a lopsided win over Alberni, downing the visitors 55-20. Rory Davidson was MVP of that match for the Junior Jags.
Senior Girls Soccer
Following a taxing series of matches, with 10 games in 12 days, the SMUS Senior Girls Soccer team enjoyed a relatively tranquil week. The Blue Jags’ focus was concentrated solely on Thursday’s quarter-finals of the Ryan Cup, when they faced off against the Spectrum Thunder.
The rematch proved to be an intense, physical encounter, with the Jags heading into halftime deadlocked despite numerous scoring opportunities.
In the second half, with extra time looming, Hollyn Withers seized a pass at the edge of the 18-yard box, calmly slotting the ball past the Thunder goalkeeper.
Just two minutes later, Joss Olcen delivered a clever slip pass to Maddy Albert, who confidently netted the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory.
Once again, Monika Jurkovcova showcased her growing confidence with another standout performance in goal for the Jags.
SMUS eagerly anticipates a rematch with the Royal Bay Ravens in a Ryan Cup semifinal on Tuesday at Royal Bay.
Junior Girls Soccer
The SMUS Junior Girls soccer season ended this past week, with a fourth-place Lower Island finish.
The team fell 3-1 in overtime to No. 1-seeded Reynolds on Monday at Braefoot. Dealing with some injuries, the Junior Jags lost 4-1 at Royal Bay in Thursday’s third-place game.
“The team should be commended for their amazing team spirit!” said Coach Samantha Butler. “Captains Manon Denux and Mya Beare did an excellent job of creating a positive environment and bringing the best out in their team!”
Badminton
The SMUS Badminton team split its final two Lower Island league matches this past week to finish the season with a 5-1 record.
On Tuesday, SMUS travelled to Claremont where it beat the Spartans 7-4 after some close games. The Mixed Doubles team of Jerry Deng and Trinity Tsui and the Boys Doubles tandem of Daring Meng and Eric Feng helped lock up the win.
On Friday, SMUS dropped a 9-2 decision to visiting Mount Douglas.
This coming Friday, the team heads to Mount Douglas for the Island Zone Championships.
Last Monday, SMUS Badminton players took part in the Lower Island Grade 9 Tournament. In Girls Singles, Joanne Jiang and Sissi Zhao captured third place and fourth place, respectively, falling to St. Margaret’s and Spectrum. In Girls Doubles, Miae Naothaworn and Kate Boonsermmit took third, finishing behind PCS and Royal Bay.
Tennis
The SMUS Tennis team won its first and only league match of the season on Wednesday with a tight 6-5 decision over Glenlyon-Norfolk School.
Doubles was a key factor in the win with Robert Huttegger and Jason Fan leading the men's side and Kotobuki Okada and Madeline Wilson leading the women’s side with two set wins each.
With a first seed for Monday’s Island Championship, the SMUS team is aiming for a strong finish for the regular season to secure a good provincial seed.
