Who excelled? Who didn't live up to the expectations? We review the second half of the athletics season by grading the UBC Thunderbird teams. As an added bonus, we've provided our picks for the 2015 Big Block Awards as well.

To see our first term report card, click here.

Swimming[/ub_subhead

After another dominant performance at Canada West in which the T-Birds missed the podium in just one of 38 events, the women’s squad battled injuries, illnesses and disqualifications to come through with their fourth-straight CIS championship. They narrowly beat out the Montreal Carabins despite swimming with three fewer racers on their roster, while the men’s side showed their improved depth to bring home their first national title since 2012.

Best player: Coleman Allen sets the pace for the men’s squad and continues to bring home medals and break records, but the additions of rookie sprinter Yuri Kisil and standout transfer Keegan Zanatta boosted the men’s team to their CIS championship. On the women’s side, Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson is a medal threat in just about any event and Jacomie Strydom showed consistent improvement throughout a strong rookie year.

Needs improvement: An already short-handed women’s squad is losing four more graduating swimmers, and both teams could have a few red-shirts next season with it being an Olympic year, so recruiting well and having new faces step up will be key.

A+

Women’s basketball[/ub_subhead

Regular season record: (17-3)

CW: 1st in Pioneer Division

Playoff Result: Canada West champions, CIS bronze medalists

UBC won 17 straight games this season en route to a Canada West championship and a CIS bronze medal. Their comeback in the Canada West final was one for the ages, and then they came heartbreakingly close to facing off with Windsor -- who won their fifth-straight CIS title -- in the national final, losing the CIS semifinal against McGill 59-57 in overtime.

Best players: Kris Young finished her UBC career in storybook fashion by spurring a comeback victory in the Canada West Championship then putting up a school record 40 points (hitting 15 of 19 shots) in the national quarterfinals. She set the pace throughout the season, averaging 18.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals and shooting 49.1 per cent from the floor. She was rewarded with her second Canada West MVP nod and is now UBC’s all-time leader in regular season points scored. All that’s missing is a national title, but she’s got two Canada West golds and a CIS silver and bronze in her collection.

Needs improvement: Young will be nearly impossible to replace, and with two other key starters departing (Harleen Sidhu and Diana Lee) UBC will need returning players to continue stepping up. While their overall depth improved a lot this year, the bench only scored two points in the loss that kept them from the CIS final, so they’ll need to be better next year.

A

Men’s rugby[/ub_subhead

Current record: (16-6)

After regaining their powerhouse status by going 20-3 last year, UBC has carried on most of that success this year albeit in less dominant fashion. The T-Birds won the Wightman’s Boot again with 30-19 and 23-19 victories over Victoria, and they also kept the World Cup again by giving themselves enough of a cushion in the first game (19-6) to mean that a last minute 23-21 home loss to California only cost them their pride. However, Victoria got the best of UBC in the National University 7’s tournament, so there’s some room for improvement there.

Best player: Brock Staller and Bryan Tyrer seem to come up big offensively in important games, but we’re told Sam Jeffries is consistently a leader in every match, going for long runs and making big tackles.

Needs improvement: They need to finish strong and close out games, especially when they’re ahead.

A-

Baseball[/ub_subhead

Current regular season record: (29-10, 12-4 in conference) at time of writing

A year after winning the NAIA West Championship but falling just short of the NAIA World Series, the ‘Birds have again come out of the gate strong. They’ve won games with both their bats and their defence, with UBC scoring 40 runs in a four-game sweep over Oregon Tech, but in their sweep of Simpson they allowed just six over the four games.

Best player: Bruce Yari has established himself as one of the top hitters in the conference, posting a strong .387 batting average, .447 on-base percentage and .607 slugging percentage -- the last mark due to his 11 doubles, two triples and six home runs. Curtis Taylor has anchored the bullpen, totalling nine saves to go along with his 0.89 ERA and 31/6 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Needs improvement: With so many games being played over such a short timespan, the pitching staff needs to stay healthy and hope Conor Lillis-White and Jeremy Newton can build off their strong performances from the past weekend against Concordia.

B+

Men’s hockey[/ub_subhead

Regular season record: (13-10-5)

CW: fourth of eight

Playoff result: Loss to Alberta in CW semis, did not advance to CIS

Under first-year head coach Tyler Kuntz, the T-Birds used a mix of old and new to put together one of their better seasons in recent memory. With strong play throughout the entire regular season, UBC hosted their first playoff game since 1971 and took down Manitoba in a tough quarterfinal series. In semis they were once again overmatched by the eventual national champs, Alberta, but with the team’s varsity status still in limbo this was a strong season for the ‘Birds and an important one for their future.

Best players: Cole Wilson concluded his T-Bird career with yet another strong offensive campaign, finishing with 13 goals to again lead the team. In net, Eric Williams provided much-needed stability down the stretch and was named to the CIS All-Rookie team.

Needs improvement: The team took great strides in hosting their first playoff game in 44 years, but that berth at nationals remains elusive. While they beat the likes of Alberta and Calgary during the regular season, come the playoffs it’s clear that a great divide remains between those squads.

B+

Women’s hockey[/ub_subhead

Regular season record: (18-6-4)

CW: second

Playoff result: Loss to Manitoba in CW semis, did not advance to CIS

It was another up-and-down season for the ‘Birds, and unfortunately for them it ended with a down. UBC won 10 of their 12 games in the second half of the season, giving them a first-round playoff bye and a home playoff berth in the semis, but after winning game one of the semis against Manitoba, they lost the next two to end what looked to be another promising season. For the second straight year, a strong regular season couldn’t translate into postseason success.

Best players: Tatiana Rafter’s and Sarah Casorso’s names have constantly been mentioned, but they deserve the recognition for all they’ve done for the team. Rafter tallied 29 points in 26 games, and the defenceman Casorso added 21 while also helping lead Team Canada to a bronze medal at the Universiade Games.

Needs improvement: Get it done in the playoffs. Luck plays more of a role in deciding the victor when the series are only three games, but after the team’s phenomenal run to nationals two years ago, UBC has suffered two-straight defeats in the Canada West semis.

B

Men’s basketball[/ub_subhead

Regular season record: (14-6)

CW: third in Pioneer Division

Playoff Result: fourth in Canada West, did not advance to CIS

Panic nearly ensued when ‘Birds struggled out of the gates and dropped five of their first six games. However, things quickly turned around following a weekend sweep over the Saskatchewan Huskies, who would go on to win the division and UBC won 13 of their final 14 regular season games to earn themselves home court advantage in the Canada West quarterfinal. They dispatched of the UNBC Timberwolves to reach the final four, but suffered a heartbreaking semifinal loss to the Huskies -- with the winner of that game heading to nationals.

Best player: Fifth-year forward Tommy Nixon put the team on his back and led in most major statistical categories, including points, rebounds, steals and free throws made. His 20.8 points a game earned him the Canada West scoring title and he did it on an efficient 57.7 per cent from the floor. To top it off, Nixon was lights out from three-point range, shooting a league-best 50 per cent.

Needs improvement: Largely thanks to Nixon, the T-Birds had the number one offence in the conference this year. They’ll lose him and other key seniors Tonner Jackson, Brylle Kamen and Andrew McGuinness, but the good news is Conor Morgan, Jordan Jensen-Whyte and Kedar Wright look to be on the verge of stardom heading into their third years. UBC is hosting nationals next year which means they’ll get an automatic berth, but they’ll have lots of work to do, especially defensively, if they want to contend with the likes of the Carleton Ravens, who’ve won five-straight CIS titles.

B

Women’s volleyball[/ub_subhead

Regular season record: (13-11)

Canada West finish: fifth

Playoff result: Canada West bronze, sixth at CIS

After coming oh-so-close to a record-setting seventh-straight national title last year, this year was a bit of a fall from grace for a once-dominant team. While coming sixth at nationals would be a dream come true for other T-Bird teams, this group has set the bar much higher for themselves. Somewhat plagued by injuries, their rocky 13-11 regular season record was the worst in Doug Reimer’s 18 years as head coach. Still, they fought hard to squeak into the CIS tournament, rallying past Calgary in the Canada West quarterfinals and pulling through with a victory over UBC Okanagan in the consolation final. But in a year that saw the T-Birds fall at the hands of teams they’ve never lost to before, the “sleeping giants” were unable to come through at the big stage where they’ve been remarkably consistent in the past, losing two of their three games at CIS.

Best players: With 2013-2014 CIS MVP Lisa Barclay sidelined with illnesses and an ankle injury for a good chunk of the season, third-year outside hitter Danielle Brisbois stepped up her game, averaging 3.06 kills per set on .263 hitting percentage to earn herself a Canada West second team all-star nod. Barclay led the team when she did play, but wasn’t quite at her top form.

Needs improvement: With senior leaders Abbey Keeping, Rosie Schlagintweit and Barclay graduating, this team looks to rebuild next season and will need more players to step up if they are to find their consistency and reach the top level again.

B-

Men’s volleyball[/ub_subhead

Regular season record: (13-11)

CW: fifth

Playoff Result: lost in CW semis to Alberta; did not advance to CIS

It was a story we’d seen before: the ‘Birds have a strong regular season, holding down a spot in the CIS top 10 for most of the regular season, then make the playoffs in a tough Canada West conference. They then took down Manitoba in the quarterfinals, setting up a matchup with #1 Alberta with the winner advancing to nationals. But after taking the first set of that semifinal, UBC lost the next three -- making it another season of ‘close but no cigar’.

Best players: Mac McNicol earned a second team Canada West all-star nod thanks in part to having the 10th most kills in the conference, while libero Ian Perry capped off a strong career in the blue and gold -- one during which he recorded the second-most digs in conference history.

Needs improvement: This is three straight seasons where UBC has been on the brink of making nationals but came up short. Quite simply, they need to step up at crunch time.

C+

Softball[/ub_subhead

Current regular season record: (14-24) at time of writing

It’s a bittersweet season for the ‘Birds in what might be their last as a varsity team, and they have struggled to find success on the field. They dropped 12 of their first 15 games to start the season -- though many by a close score -- but up-and-down play over the remainder of the season leaves them out of contention.

Best player: Lindsey Ogilvie’s been strong on both defence and offence, throwing a team-high 123 innings and posting a 3.93 ERA and compiling a strong .375 batting average, .531 on-base percentage and .542 slugging percentage as a hitter.

Needs improvement: In what still remains an unstable future, the team just needs keep fighting for the chance to have a team next year.

C-

Our picks for the 2015 Big Block Awards[/ub_subhead

Bobby Gaul Memorial Trophy (best graduating male athlete): Luc Bruchet has had a standout career running track and cross country in the blue and gold, winning NAIA 1500 meter titles and Canadian 10K Championships and everything in between.

Bus Phillips Memorial Trophy (male athlete of the year): Tommy Nixon saved his best year for last and did just about everything one could on the basketball court this season.

May Brown Trophy (best graduating female athlete): A recent concussion has slowed her down a bit, but Savannah King has helped UBC to four-straight CIS championships, winning 20 medals and two CIS Swimmer of the Year awards while also swimming on the Canadian national team and competing at the Olympic Games.

Marilyn Pomfret Trophy (female athlete of the year): Kris Young won her second Canada West MVP award this year and quite frankly we’re really going to miss watching her play basketball.

Thunderbird Rookie of the Year (male): All-around weapon Marcus Davis found new ways to amaze every time he touched the ball, taking home Canada West Rookie of the Year honours and leaving fans excited for what he can do next year in an expanded role.

Thunderbird Rookie of the Year (female): Lauren Logush backstopped UBC women’s field hockey to it’s fourth-straight national championship and was named CIS Rookie of the Year in the process.

Du Vivier Team of the Year Award: While they didn’t quite get the ultimate prize, the women’s basketball team had a memorable run that ended with a Canada West championship and CIS bronze medal -- and they were the most exciting team of the year to boot.

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