Monday, September 14, 2015

Women's Basketball - Update

Hi Folks,

It has been a very busy end to our summer, hence this update is long overdue.

We assembled our team in mid-August for 4 days of training before hopping on a plane to Barcelona, Spain.  We had an outstanding trip, practicing most days and playing a couple of games against two different professional teams from the Spanish league.  We split the two games, finding both games tough and competitive.  Our hotel was in the heart of Barcelona, so we could walk everywhere.  We also added in some guided tours that were spectacular.  Robyn Pearson captured much of the trip in a short video she put together.  It can be viewed on our facebook page and at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPiILSErZLA&feature=youtu.be

We have added another exhibition game to our schedule.  Tuesday, October 13 at 6pm, Windsor will drop by for a game.  It should be a good one.  Our last encounter in Windsor ended up with an 81-89 loss. (Check our website:  www.queensbasketball.net for our schedule)

We have a very exciting press conference scheduled for this Thursday (Sept. 17) at 11:00am in the Alumni Lounge.  We will be introducing the newest extremely high level recruit for the 2016-17 season.  More details to follow.

Our Alumni Weekend, held in conjunction with the Tindall Tournament is all set for the October 16-18 weekend.  A reception and silent auction will be held in the Alumni Lounge following our 6:00pm game on Saturday (vs. Memorial)  where we will be honouring team members from the 1995-96 to 1999-2000 teams.  Wendy Moon and Jacqueline Butler (nee Beaudoin) will be on hand to speak on behalf of those teams.  All friends of Queen’s basketball can register for the event (and receive a discount on game tickets) at:  http://gogaelsgo.com/sports/2011/8/19/WBB_0819114220.aspx?path=wbball
Our annual Alumni vs. Alumni game will take place on Saturday at 1pm featuring players from all years.


I am very pleased to announce, Jenny Wright (5th year nursing student) becomes the first two-time recipient of the prestigious Catherine Gertrude (Milliken) Smith Memorial Award.

Established in March 2007 by Sherwood H. Smith, Jr. of Raleigh, North Carolina, in memory of his mother Catherine Gertrude (Milliken) Smith, B.A. 1924, who, while attending Queen's, played for and managed the varsity women's basketball team.  It is awarded to recognize academic achievement and athletic excellence to student-athletes on the competition roster of the Gaels interuniversity women's basketball team.

Lastly, our Athletic Department welcomed our newest addition, Sean Scott in mid-summer.  Sean fills the newly created position of Director of High Performance Sport, where he will focus on making our varsity teams compete for Provincial and National titles.  He comes to Queen’s from the Canadian “Own the Podium” government group, where he worked with Canadian athletes and teams to secure medals at the Olympics and World Championships.  This is just the latest in our push to become the best Athletics Program in Canada.

That’s it for now, but more to come shortly.

Dave.