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Capers in cruise control

All three CBU winter sports teams sit atop the AUS standings

T.J. COLELLO
The Cape Breton Post
SYDNEY — With three varsity winter sports teams either on top or tied for first in the Atlantic University Sport conference, the athletic director at Cape Breton University says it helps bring added national attention to their program.

Hodgson

"One of the biggest priorities of the athletic department is to try and get exposure from not only Atlantic Canada, but coast to coast," said John Ryan. "When our three winter teams are currently either tied for first or in first in the tough AUS conference, that bodes well for the type of student athletes we can attract."

The CBU Capers basketball teams both lead the AUS conference heading into play this weekend.

The Capers women are the class of the conference with a sparkling 11-0 mark and are the No. 5-ranked team in the country. They boast Canada's top scorer in Kelsey Hodgson, who's averaging 22.8 points per game. The Capers men, No. 4 in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, are also atop the conference standings with an 8-1 record thanks to a high-powered offence. Their 93.9 points per game makes them the highest scoring team in the country.

The performances of both teams bode well with each set to host their respective AUS championship. The women's tournament will be played at Sullivan Field House, Feb. 26-28, followed by the men's event at Centre 200, March 12-14.

"We're hosting two of these championships into February and the first of March, so hopefully the people of Cape Breton realize it's a national calibre basketball product we're bringing to the city of Sydney," said Ryan, a former all-star during his playing days with the Capers in the 1990s. "The women will be defending on home court and the men, it's the first time in 22 years that it's outside of Halifax."

Capers women's volleyball (5-6) is tied for the lead in points with both Saint Mary's (5-5) and Acadia (5-7). They've made the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons and are gunning for their first AUS banner in the sport.

CBU has been led on offence this season by two veterans, Vanessa St. Georges and Hilary Cummings, second and third respectively in the AUS in kills average. Sam Sanders leads the conference in assists, while Kristen Ryan is third in digs.

Next season, it will be the Capers turn to host the AUS women's volleyball championship — a team that will boast plenty of veteran talent.

"Sometimes the women's volleyball team kind of flies underneath the radar because they talk so much about the soccer and basketball programs," said Ryan. "This late in the season, to have them tied for first, I think that's a great accomplishment for (head coach) Claude (Lapré)."

The winter clubs followed a successful fall soccer season at CBU. The men were first in the standings and captured their second AUS championship in three seasons, while the women finished a respectable third place in the conference and were eventually edged in the AUS semifinal.