RUG/FH: Players of the Week shine at national championships

VANCOUVER - Fourth-year Victoria field hockey goalkeeper Robin Fleming and first-year UBC rugby wing Piper Logan were honoured by the conference Wednesday for their play at their respective U SPORTS National Championships on the weekend.

Down a game in the championship best-of-three series with the Toronto Varsity Blues, Robin Fleming shut the door in back-to-back penalty shootout situations in Games 2 and 3 to earn the Vikes their third straight national title in Toronto.

The Duncan, B.C. native was awarded with the national championship MVP award following the series, and is the Canada West Field Hockey Player of the Week.

Fleming shut the door in Saturday's shootout allowing the Vikes to force a third and deciding game with the 2-1 (3-0 SO) win.

In the winner-take-all final match, the teams needed penalty shots again after finishing the match all square at two. Toronto would beat Fleming once, and the Vikes would go on to take the shootout 3-1.

Game 1 also came down to a shootout, with the Varsity Blues taking the opener 3-2.

Fleming moves forward as the conference's nominee for national Player of the Week honours.

Piper Logan helped the UBC Thunderbirds to a fifth-place finish at the U SPORTS Rugby National Championship in Kingston, Ont.

The Thunderbirds lost a heartbreaking match to the eventual champions, and hosts, the Queen's Gaels in the quarter-final round before finishing with a pair of convincing wins to take the consolation side of the bracket.

With UBC down 12 at halftime in the quarter-final, Logan punched through for a try to bring the T-Birds within a score. UBC would eventually tie the match before a late Queen's try secured the win.

In the consolation semifinal, Logan scored a pair of tires in the first half. The first-year from Calgary, Alta. scored in the 18th and 25th minutes to help UBC build a 45-0 lead in the T-Birds' 64-10 win over Acadia.

Logan would add a fourth try of the championship in the 52nd minute of UBC's 57-19 win over Guelph in the consolation final.