Guelph, Ont. - Thanks to three straight tries in the second half, the host Guelph Gryphons defeated the Alberta Pandas 25-8 on Saturday morning in the CIS women's rugby championship fifth place match.  In a re-match of last year's CIS final, the Gryphons were able to jump out to an early lead.  All-Canadian Brittany Priddle (Badjeros, Ont.) would open the scoring with a try in the 5thminute.  In a hard-fought, tightly contested opening half, the Gryphons would take a 5-3 lead into the break.
 
In the 42nd  minute Alexandra King (Ottawa), a former OUA All-Star goalie in soccer, would show off her strong boot by splitting the uprights from 35-metres out to give Guelph an 8-3 lead.  Later in the half, Laura Van Bommel (Springfield, Ont.) would break through the Alberta line for a big run deep into Pandas territory.  Jennifer Dunn (West Vancouver, BC), another former soccer player on the Guelph roster, would score a try to put the Gryphons up 13-3.
 
Dunn's second try of the match in the 67th minute extended Guelph's lead to 18-3 and Bronwyn McCrone (Mississauga, Ont.) would provide the exclamation mark on the victory with a punishing try in the 77th minute as she bulldozed over several Alberta players to put the Gryphons up 25-3.  Alberta would add a try late to make the final score 25-8.
 
After the match, fifth year captain Shannon Spurrell (Haley Station, Ont.) said "We had a lot of ups and downs to our season.  Our goal coming into this week was to come away with a gold medal.  We weren't able to do that, but for our girls who are playing in their final match, it is great to finish with a win."
 
Guelph head coach Colette McAuley added, "our execution was much better today and the scoreboard finally reflected the quality of rugby that we are capable of playing."

Following the championship game, the championship awards and all-stars were given out. A pair of Gryphons were honoured as Devon Stober and Shannon Spurrell were named tournament all-stars. 
  CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS
 
MVP: Emma Taylor (Scotsburn, N.S.), StFX
R.W. Pugh Fair Play award: Western Mustangs

Tournament All-Stars:

Devon Stober, tourn all-star
Emma Taylor – StFX
CathArine MacKeigan – StFX
Brooke Newsome – StFX
Colleen Irowa – McMaster
Sara Svoboda – McMaster
Stephanie Black – McMaster
Saffara Whiteley-Hoffelner – McMaster
Lori Josephson – Western
Nikki Case – Western
Breanne Nicholas – Western
Allison MacCormack – Ottawa
Devon Stober – Guelph
Shannon Spurrell – Guelph
Stacie Becker – Alberta
Julia Goss – Alberta

POOL STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Pool A preliminary round (FINAL)

                        GP       W        L          T          PF        PA       PTS
1. StFX                        2          2          0          0          68        41        10
2. Western       2          1          1          0          46        46        6
3. Alberta         2          0          2          0          36        63        1

Pool B preliminary round (FINAL)

                        GP       W        L          T          PF        PA       PTS
1. McMaster     2          2          0          0          32        25        8         
2. Ottawa         2          1          1          0          33        32        5
3. Guelph         2          0          2          0          28        36        2

NOTE 1: A win is worth 4 points and a tie 2 points.
NOTE 2: 1 bonus point is awarded for scoring 4 tries or more in a game.
NOTE 3: 1 bonus point is awarded for a loss by 7 points or less.

Thursday, Oct. 30
10:30 Pool A: Western 22, Alberta 19
13:30 Pool B: McMaster 15, Guelph 13

Friday, Oct. 31
10:30 Pool A: StFX 41, Alberta 17
13:30 Pool B: Ottawa 21, Guelph 15

Saturday, Nov. 1
10:30 Pool A: StFX 27, Western 24
13:30 Pool B: McMaster 17, Ottawa 12

Sunday, Nov. 2
10:00 Fifth place: Guelph 25, Alberta 8
12:00 Bronze medal: Western 17, Ottawa 5
14:00 Championship final: StFX 43, McMaster 34