The Memorial Sea-Hawks travel to Ottawa next weekend, October 4th, 5th and 6th to take on a number of teams in the uOttawa Gee-Gees Pre-Season Classic. The Hawks face off against the uOttawa Gee-Gees, the Manitoba Bisons, the UQAM Citadins and the McMaster Marauders.
The Hawks will play each team in the Garnet division, while there will be 5 other teams in the Grey division. The weekend begins with the Hawks matching up with Ottawa at 12:30 and UQAM at 4:30 on Friday, then against Manitoba at 11:30 and McMaster at 3:30 on Saturday. The weekend is capped off by Memorial facing the team that finishes in the same place as them in the Grey division on Sunday.
All of the teams in the pre-season classic present challenges for the young Sea-Hawks, but head coach John Slauenwhite says that the emphasis of letting everyone play is a key focus for them this pre-season.
When asked about the losing outcome last weekend against Brandon, Slauenwhite said "We may have lost when it comes to the score, but we always learn from our mistakes and losses, which enables us to become better as individuals and ultimately as a team. The atmosphere Saturday night in the MUN Gymnasium was electrifying, which gave us opportunities to win the match. The team really enjoyed all of the support from the crowd."
Slauenwhite also added that the young Sea-Hawks are looking forward to facing off against some of the top programs in the country in Ottawa, and that the team will look to use last weekend's games against Brandon to help them prepare for the Gee-Gees pre-season classic.
"Our young team is very eager to learn and makes changes that are necessary to compete at the highest level in the AUS. The group competes and works hard on and off the court, which makes it a really fun group to work with on a daily basis. The group is very driven and determined to improve on last year's results and has a plan over the next few seasons to challenge for the AUS Championship."
The Sea-Hawks have a relatively young team this season with only 4 players in their 3rd season. Every other player on the team is in their 1st or 2nd year, which can present challenges, but also comes with benefits as well, as stated by Slauenwhite.
The Hawks will look for big contributions from the 2nd and 3rd years, while hoping to give the 1st years a chance to show what they are capable of as well this weekend. These pre-season tune-ups are all a part of Slauenwhite's plan to compete for an AUS Championship in the near future.
You can follow the live scores of the games on www.goseahawks.ca or follow the games on Twitter on October 4th, 5th and 6th.
Written by: Darnell Downs