SFU volleyball suffered heartbreak in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Peak may have been on a break, but SFU athletics certainly were not. Here’s what happened in the month and a bit since we’ve last published.
Men’s Basketball
It’s been a tough stretch for the men’s basketball team. The team has gone 0–4 over the break, losing its first two games against fellow Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) members, Seattle Pacific and Saint Martins, before dropping both games in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic against Tarleton State and Angelo State. They now have an overall record of 2–8, with both wins coming against the same team, Lindenwood University, back-to-back in November.
Perhaps the silver lining is that they are only 0–2 against conference opponents this season, the main record looked at when determining who makes the playoffs at the end of the season. With SFU playing only fellow GNAC members the rest of the season, it makes for a good opportunity to improve on this record, and SFU just maybe be in contention for a playoff spot down the stretch – something that was not the case last year.
To do that, they will have to hope that Kedar Wright stays healthy throughout and that Michael Provenzano remains consistent. Also, avoiding the Clan’s traditional January slump is key, as SFU lost all eight games in January in the 2015–16 season and went 2–8 in the 2014–15 season.
Volleyball
It was undoubtedly a tough way for the season to end. After making the playoffs for the first time in program history, SFU lost in the opening round against the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders 3–1. Emma Jennings and Tessa May both led SFU with 14 kills on the night, while Alison McKay had 24 digs to lead the Clan.
“Obviously, I’m proud of our team and what they’ve accomplished this year,” head coach Gina Schmidt told SFU Athletics afterwards. “It’s a lot of firsts for our program and I thought they represented SFU well tonight — we fought hard. NNU played a great game, and when it came down to it, they executed a few things just a little bit better than us.”
On December 11, SFU volleyball announced its 2017 recruiting class, with Farnaaz Johal, Mia Ricci, Bianca Te, and Julia Tays all committing to the Clan for next season. With the departure of seniors Alison McKay, Devon May, Emma Jennings and Tamara Nipp — all of whom were part of the starting lineup against Northwest Nazarene — these four players, along with returning ones, will be expected to pick up where this historic team left off.
Women’s Basketball
It’s a different story for the women’s basketball team than for their male counterparts. The Clan went 2–1 over the break, with the lone loss coming against powerhouse Alaska Anchorage, who knocked them out of the playoffs last year. After that, they narrowly defeated Alaska Fairbanks and then Nova Southeastern. SFU now has a 10–2 overall record, good enough for the third-best overall record in the conference.
However, playoff spots are given to the best conference records, and the Clan are 1–1 in that regard. Like the men’s team, all of their remaining games are against conference opponents, meaning that now are the games that truly matter.
How this team fares going forward is an interesting question. They’re very likely going to make the playoffs once again, but what spot they will be in come playoff time is anybody’s guess. Right now, SFU sits sixth in the conference in scoring offence and fifth in scoring defence — right in the middle for both categories. While having Elisa Homer back will certainly help, this year’s team identity is yet to be determined.
Swimming
SFU swimming had an impressive showing at the Husky Invitational on December 4, as the men finished first and women finished third. Individual wins from star swimmers Mackenzie Hamill and Adrian Vanderhelm helped propel the men to a first place finish. On the women’s side, Jessica Gibson set a SFU record with a time of 1:59.92 in the 200 yard backstroke, en route to a first place individual finish. Both Vanderhelm and Gibson were named MVPs of the tournament.
Men’s Hockey
The Clan continued to roll over the break with back-to-back wins against the University of Victoria on December 2 and 3. SFU came out on top 4–3 on the second and 9–3 on the third.
The games were marked by SFU’s goal scorers coming up and producing. Tyler Basham had three goals and two assists over the two games, including the game winner on December 2 with just over a minute left. Daniell Lange had three goals over two games as well, and Mitch Crisanti had a five-point night on December 3. SFU is first in the standings heading into the restart of the season, which begins the weekend of January 13.
Don’t give away your shot. The Peak is hiring for the spring semester. Send in your resume and cover letter by November 18 . Details in the link below http://159.203.128.194/2016/11/the-pe…
Created by Adam Madojemu and Alex Bloom
Special Thanks to Sidney Adache, and Edna Batengas
The Simon Fraser Student Society currently collects over $500 each semester on its behalf and on behalf of other affiliate organizations by Simon Fraser University from each full time student, and they’ll take even more starting in 2017. They’re about to have a by-election for their president, who will lead the discussions on how your money is spent. Have we got your attention yet?
SFU’s exam season is still facing hurdles as the Burnaby campus has closed from 5 p.m. on for December 10. Vancouver and Surrey remain open, although students who have exams at those campuses who live on Burnaby Mountain are encouraged to contact their professors and reschedule.
Currently, there is a shuttle service for to get students to the 135 bus route as well as Production station.
The status for exams on December 11 are still up in the air. SFU has said they’ll make an announcement at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow morning alerting students if their exams will take place as scheduled.
This comes a day after hundreds of students were stranded at SFU due to the extreme weather during exam season. Social media has been full of both criticism and praise for how the university has been handling the situation.
For the fastest results, students are encouraged to check SFU’s Twitter account as well as Translink to find out if transit will be able to get students to and from the mountain.
While the Trottier observatory is a great place to take pictures of stars, it was the place to take pictures of SFU last night.
With the first major snowfall in the greater Vancouver area in nearly three years happening on Monday, it was the first snow day for many of the undergraduate students at Simon Fraser University, as classes were cancelled.
While Burnaby Mountain was not safe to drive up during the day, the roads had cleared up in the evening, allowing anyone willing to brave the cold to come up and observe the sights of a snow-covered SFU in the moonlight. Those who made the trek would not have been disappointed.
The heaps of snow provided a different look for SFU, which usually can be a depressing sight for students during the winter months. However, it would not be a stretch to refer to the campus as a winter wonderland last night.
While it was reported that international students were making their first snowmen in residence, that didn’t stop several from appearing throughout the AQ as well, with one pictured here near the pond outside Robert C. Brown Hall.
The AQ pond even looked like it could have been frozen over, but it became very clear upon a quick test that it was still very much liquid.
SFU is blanketed in snow, and it looks like this could be the scene on Burnaby Mountain for the next while.
UPDATE: SFU has announced that all classes will be cancelled for Monday, December 5. Check on @peaksfu or your SFU connect email to stay informed for the rest of the week.
The first snowfall of the year has thrown a wrench into the final week of classes, with a snow day being called due to “hazardous conditions on Burnaby Mountain” as stated in an email sent by Simon Fraser University this morning.
TransLink has also stopped service up the mountain until conditions improve, so it would be difficult for students to get to class if they weren’t cancelled.
The cancellation comes on the final day of classes, with exams starting on Wednesday. Some students have even received emails from professors telling them to keep their fingers crossed that the campus will be open for their finals later in the week.
If you live in residence or are on Burnaby Mountain today, send us or tweet us your best snow day photos to @peaksfu!
With just over a month left in 2016, we move into that time of year when everyone looks back with nostalgia on the last 12 months. However, it seems for this year, when reflecting on the events of 2016, one shared thought comes to mind: what the fuck was 2016? Here is a recap of what the hell happened in the past 11 months . . .
#1: Racial tensions/protests: With over 800 fatal police shootings in the US according to The Washington Post, frustration, anger, and riots were common. Black Lives Matter protests were some of the most prominent, as they called for an end to police brutality. These conflicts highlighted the persisting racial tensions in the US despite being the self-proclaimed “land of the free.”
#2: Terror attacks: The bombing of a Brussels airport, the shooting at the Pulse nightclub, the Baghdad bombing, among several other terror attacks have left hundreds dead.
#3: Celebrity deaths: 2016 saw the passing of many big names in a variety of industries. David Bowie, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Leonard Cohen, Alan Rickman, Edgar Mitchell, and Gordie Howe are among those who passed away this year. May all these great talents rest in peace.
#4: The UK leaving the EU: The infamous Brexit. Many thought it wouldn’t happen, but by a margin of 3.8 percent, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. After generations of being part of the EU and other similar organizations that preceded the EU, the UK decided that 2016 was the year to put an end to this “cooperation.” #ThanksFarage
#5: Shooting of Harambe at the Cincinnati Zoo: The story behind the meme. After an unattended child fell into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo, officials decided to shoot and kill the gorilla named Harambe, in an attempt to protect the child. Public response quickly grew, and shamed the zoo for its actions. We then were forced to scroll through Harambe memes for what felt like an eternity. All around, a sad event.
#6: Zika outbreak: The aggressive spread of the Zika virus that saw an equally aggressive response from the World Health Organization and countries from around the world, including a mobilization of 220,000 soldiers from the Brazilian army to reduce the spread of the virus.
#7: Brock Turner: So many parts of this story just make you feel gross. Whether it be Turner’s father’s quote about “20 minutes of action,” or the fact that this convicted sex offender only spent three months in jail after sexually assaulting a woman . . . A lot of people can agree that this is a low point for 2016.
#8: North Korea being North Korea: In case you forgot about North Korea with all the other crazy headlines going on in the world, this is your friendly reminder that in early September they detonated their fifth — and reportedly largest — nuclear weapon in a test. Great.
#9: Samsung’s explosive new phone: Usually when everything starts going wrong and you want to escape it all, you can go home, lie down, and spend hours scrolling through social media to get your mind off things. Unfortunately, if you had the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, 2016 took that away from you by making your phone have the brand-new feature of catching on fire.
#10: Chicago Cubs win the World Series: Not as dark as other events this year, but ending their 108-year World Series drought after being down 3–1 to the Cleveland Indians certainly was a twist that not many were expecting. Guys, this is proof we’re in the darkest timeline.
#11: Trump becoming president: No discussion about 2016 would be complete without mention of “The Donald.” Back in 2015, ESPN gave him 12 to 1 odds of winning the entire election, so when president-elect Trump won the Republican nomination, he surprised many. He went on to shock many more when he defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: 2016 sucked. That is completely understandable. However, there is one event that occurred in 2016 that you may be happy about, considering the other events of this year.
If seeing all this makes you think “I don’t want to live on this planet anymore,” there is one glimmer of hope: Elon Musk held a press conference discussing his company’s intention to send people to Mars. The year is almost over — just hold on long enough to get your ticket to Mars.
Antonio Brown is poised for a big game this Sunday against the Giants.
Last Week: 10-6
Season: 104-71-2
The Kansas City-Denver game was fantastic last Sunday night and lived up to its prime-time billing. Both teams demonstrated that they are playoff contenders. The Jets and Panthers almost pulled off big time upsets last week but failed to get the job done in crunch time against the Patriots and Raiders. Thanksgiving saw Dallas improve to 10–1 while Detroit won a huge game against Minnesota to get to 7–4 despite trailing in the fourth quarter of every game this season. The best teams with losing records continue to be the Saints and Chargers. Any team eyeing a playoff position does not want to face these dangerous teams.
Byes: Cleveland and Tennessee
Dallas (10–1) at Minnesota (6–5) Thursday 5:25 p.m.
I keep picking against Dallas and they keep winning. This game looks like it could be ripe for an upset as any game on the road against a team with a good defence is a recipe for trouble. Nevertheless, I will not be burned again by going against what looks like destiny.
Prediction: Cowboys 27 Vikings 14
Detroit (7–4) at New Orleans (5–6) Sunday 10 a.m.
The Saints shredded one of the best defensive units in the league last week in the Rams to the tune of 49 points. The lions continue to win ugly but will be in tough this week against an offence firing on all cylinders. Look for Mark Ingram to light up the Lions defence with another monster game as the Saints go marching into the locker room with a .500 record for the first time this season.
Prediction: Saints 36 Lions 23
Miami (7–4) at Baltimore (6–5) Sunday 10 a.m.
Since moving from Cleveland in 1996, the Ravens have been one of the best teams in football. Last season they were plagued by injuries and missed the playoffs for only the third time since 2000. Nevertheless, they are getting no respect despite being in first place in the gritty AFC North Division. The Dolphins are the trendy pick in this matchup on the strength of a six-game winning streak and the solid play of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who is playing the most inspired football of his career.
Do not buy the hype. The Fins are going to run smack into one of the best defensive units in the NFL. While the Ravens are limited offensively, they do have a big time weapon; kicker Justin Tucker. Tucker has not missed a kick all year and last week connected on three field goals, three of which were from 50 yards or more in the Ravens victory over the Bengals. The old axiom is football is a game of three phases; offence, defence, and special teams. The Ravens have the edge in two of the three departments, plus home field advantage.
Prediction: Ravens 23 Dolphins 21
Los Angeles (4–7) at New England (9–2) Sunday 10 a.m.
The Rams got destroyed last week on the field and now are being pillared off of it. Former Rams legend and Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson was recently denied press passes for his guests by the team for reportedly criticizing them on his radio program. The story has garnered national media attention, big time criticism, and has been a huge distraction for a team that is not very good to begin with. Not a good week when travelling to New England to play the perennially tough Patriots. Even without the services of all-world tight end Rob Gronkowski, they should win by a healthy margin this week against the Rams.
Prediction: Patriots 34 Rams 13
Upset Special
Denver (7–4) at Jacksonville (2–9) Sunday 10 a.m.
The Broncos lost a gut wrenching overtime decision to Kansas City last week that was an incredibly tough defeat. With the Broncos leading 21–20, wide receiver Bennie Fowler scored on a long touchdown play with about three minutes remaining. If he had taken a knee at the one yard line, the Broncos could have drained the clock to next to nothing before giving the ball back to the Chiefs. Instead the Chiefs scored, got the two-point conversion, and the rest is history. Now the Broncos have a long trip to sunny Florida with all its distractions. They are playing a Jaguars team whose coach, Gus Bradley, is on the hot seat and hence is very motivated for a big win. Bradley is also an excellent defensive mind who will be able to devise a solid game plan to stop a limited Broncos offence. This matchup has trap game written all over it and I predict that the Broncos will fall in a shocking upset.
Prediction: Jaguars 24 Broncos 23
San Francisco (1–10) at Chicago (2–9) Sunday 10 a.m.
Not much to say about this matchup between two of the NFL’s doormats. Colin Kaepernick has played outstanding football as of late. The 49ers quarterback last week became the fifth player in NFL history to rush for over 100 yards and pass for over 250 yards in the same game. Meanwhile the Bears are down to third string quarterback Matt Barkley. Kaepernick will lead the 49ers to victory and will cost his organization a spot in the draft order as a result.
Prediction: 49ers 31 Bears 19
Houston (6–5) at Green Bay (5–6) Sunday 10 a.m.
The Texans lost to a good Chargers team last week but the poor play of quarterback Brock Osweiler is the real cause for concern. Osweiler has not been productive despite having an elite receiving option in Deandre Hopkins and a speed threat in Will Fuller. The Packers meanwhile looked very good on offence last week against Philadelphia and finally put a stop to the bleeding on defence. Packers should win this one comfortably.
Prediction: Packers 27 Texans 17
Philadelphia (5–6) at Cincinnati (3–7–1) Sunday 10 a.m.
I am not impressed by Eagles coach Doug Pederson’s acceptance of losing. Pederson explained that he thought the Eagles were right around where he thought they would be. Imagine being a player and your leader telling the team, “hey guys, I figured we would be mediocre so great hustle out there and don’t sweat it.” The Bengals meanwhile have been a tremendous disappointment, with rumours swirling that coach Marvin Lewis’ job may be at stake. I like the Bengals to take care of business at home provided kicker Mike Nugent can make an extra point or two.
Prediction: Bengals 20 Eagles 18
Kansas City (8–3) at Atlanta (7–4) Sunday 10 a.m.
Atlanta looked like a dominant team capable of making the Super Bowl last week with their 38-19 drubbing of the Cardinals. Kansas City was buoyed last week by the return of stalwart defensive player Justin Houston. Houston had a tremendous game and will be zeroed in on stopping a prolific Falcons offence. Two teams I will rarely pick against at home are New Orleans and Atlanta. The Falcons soar to 8-4 and the Chiefs play like the Leafs to fall back to the pack.
Prediction: Falcons 29 Chiefs 26
Buffalo (6–5) at Oakland (9–2) Sunday 1:05 p.m.
Do you believe in famous sports curses? The curse of the Bambino and the curse of the Billy Goat are the two most notable coming from the world of baseball. The curse of the Flutie Flakes I submit should join the lexicon. The Bills have not made the Playoffs since the 1999 season where owner Ralph Wilson ordered coach Wade Phillips to bench starting quarterback Doug Flutie in favour of Rob Johnson. Johnson, who got a big contract to be the starter, was injured during the season before returning the final week of the season, playing well in a meaningless game. The Bills are the only team in NFL history to bench their starting quarterback for a playoff game, and the result was a desultory showing by Johnson and a stunning defeat on the final play of the game in what became known as the “Music City Miracle.” The cursed Bills will fall to an Oakland team that looks like a serious contender to win the AFC.
Prediction: Raiders 34 Bills 31
Tampa Bay (6–5) at San Diego (5–6) Sunday 1:25 p.m.
The Buccaneers played dominant defence last week, holding Seattle to just five points. The team also boasts one of the best receivers in football in Mike Evans. San Diego is a quality team that suffered several last second losses early in the year. I am buying Tampa Bay’s ascendance with a big time road win this week over the Chargers.
Prediction: Buccaneers 25 Chargers 21
Washington (6–4–1) at Arizona (4–6–1) Sunday 1:25 p.m.
This is not the year for Arizona. Reality has set in that this is just not the same team that went 13–3 a year ago. Washington has looked very good this season, almost beating the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving. The Washington offence has looked very impressive of late with Kirk Cousins looking like a true franchise quarterback. The Cardinals defence will not have an answer for Washington as they cascade further out of the playoff picture.
Prediction: Washington 37 Cardinals 26
Game of the Week
New York Giants (8–3) at Pittsburgh (6–5) Sunday 1:25 p.m.
This should be an entertaining star studded matchup between two teams, both of whom have legitimate playoff potential. Other than the Cowboys, the Giants may be the hottest team in football on the strength of their six-game winning streak. I see that grinding to a halt against a Pittsburgh team that still considers themselves Super Bowl contenders despite a tough start to the season. If you like receiver play, this is the game to watch, as the Steelers Antonio Brown and Giants Odell Beckham are two of the league’s finest. The Steelers will get a big play from veteran James Harrison on defence in the fourth quarter to win an exciting shootout.
Prediction: Steelers 38 Giants 35
Carolina (4–7) at Seattle (7–3–1) Sunday 5:30 p.m.
Yes, Carolina went into Seattle and won last year. Yes the Seahawks got beat last week and managed to score only five points. However, Carolina is playing back-to-back road games on the west coast and will find it hard to win in Seattle yet again. The Panthers were crushed by last week’s loss to Oakland and will find it hard to step it up against one of the NFC’s finest.
Prediction: Seahawks 29 Panthers 23
Indianapolis (6–6) at New York Jets (3–8) Monday 5:30 p.m.
I remember when Monday Night Football used to matter. The game was set up to match two of the league’s finest in a time slot which received the most ratings of any NFL telecast. That culture and pattern is long gone with the games now frequently pitting lousy teams against one another. This is another example of a dud matchup between mediocre and bad opponents. The Colts and Andrew Luck will find a way to win. This will keep alive their ultimate dream of winning the worst division in football, being nine-point underdogs and losing by 17 in the wild card round.
A train runs along the Evergreen line earlier this week in preparation of opening today.
After over a year of delays, the Evergreen Line is officially open today. This news should delight SFU students who live in Coquitlam and Port Moody.
The extension starts at new Burquitlam stop, going all the way to Lafarge Lake—Douglas with four stops in between. It will meet up with the already existing SkyTrain routes at Lougheed Town Centre.
A map detailing all the new stops on the Evergreen line
TransLink has estimated that potentially 70,000 people could be using it daily within the next five years.
Construction on the project began back in 2013, with an original completion date scheduled in 2014. After a series of delays, the project is finally completed and has already begun transporting passengers.
While the Fall 2016 has mostly wrapped up for students, they will be able to fully take advantage of the new service during the Spring 2017 semester and onwards.
