UW Gazette, September 13, 1995 by Jennifer McCormick department of athletics Welcome back, fans, to what promises to be another exciting season in UW Varsity Athletics. This weekend saw the kick-off of several of our fall sports including field hockey, soccer, rugby, and football. This coming week is gearing up to be a busy one, so watch for more reports next week as the fall edition of the Gold & Black Attack kicks into high gear. Congratulations to the 95-96 season's first Warrior and Athena Athlete of the Week winners: ù Fourth year Athena field hockey goalkeeper Yolanda Lewczuk who had a tremendous run in the net, allowing only 4 goals in 6 games collecting 3 shut-outs ù Third year Warrior football linebacker Kevin Pressburger's 26 yard Western interception for a Warrior touchdown in the second quarter. Warrior football The Warrior football team held their own but lost a tough 23-16 battle to the #2 nationally ranked Western Ontario Mustangs in their season opener Saturday at Waterloo's University Stadium (formerly Seagram Stadium). The stadium was jammed to capacity with approximately 6,000 jubilant fans cheering on our boys, including thousands of gold and black face-and-body-painted UW frosh experiencing their first taste of Varsity Athletics. The game was taped for Rogers Cable 20, so watch for replays in the upcoming weeks in case you missed it. The Warrior defense held on against the Mustangs for most of the game and kept the score close until the final quarter when Western took the lead. Third-year linebacker Kevin Pressburger played an impressive game starting off with a beautiful 26-yard touchdown from an interception early in the second quarter giving the Warriors the lead and earning him Warrior Athlete of the Week honours. Defensive backs Tony Garland and Shawn Dyson both had great games, making outstanding tackles all over the field. At the half -ime, Western led by 13-8. In the third quarter, the score still remained close at 14-16 after Adrian Thorne's awesome 50-yard touchdown - a game highlight. Thorne had a strong game overall with 3 receptions for 63 yards and 103 yards on 6 punt returns, moving him closer to Gord Fawcett's receiving yardage record which he is expected to break this season. The Warrior running game lacked its usual dominance, gaining only 78 yards; however, tailback Jarrett Smith clearly dominated this area, carrying the ball 5 times for 50 of those 78 yards. On special teams, Waterloo had problems on the snap. New Warrior punter Matt Armstrong had a good day when has was able to kick the ball from snapper Rob Fawcett. Watch for an improved game once Fawcett gets his timing back after taking a year off. Offensively, quarterback Kevin Danschinko has some difficulties at the helm of the Warrior offense, getting sacked several times and picked off by the Western defense. The Warriors play their next two games at away: Saturday, September 16, against the Windsor Lancers at 2 p.m. and Saturday, September 23, versus the Toronto Varsity Blues at 3 p.m. The next home game will be played Saturday, September 30, at 2 p.m. Mark this game in your calendar as it will be Bell Canada Gold & Black Day. One lucky fan will walk away with a Mickey Mouse telephone along with lots of other great giveaways. Athena field hockey The field hockey team was busy this past weekend playing six games during a pre-season tournament hosted by the University of Toronto. Their weekend record was 2 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie. Their wins were 3-0 over Queen's on Friday and 5-0 over the Outaouais Club. In the Queen's win, Michelle Lo, Dawn Culverson and Sara Creighton were the goal scorers, and in the Outaouais Club win, goal scorers were Dawn Culverson with 2, Michelle Lo again and Carolyn Stark. Losses came were 0-2 to the University of Toronto 1-0 to the University of Alberta and 1-0 to York University and the tie was Friday in their first match with Alberta. Fourth year goalkeeper Yolanda Lewczuk had a tremendous run in the net, allowing only 4 goals in 6 games collecting 3 shut-outs earning her Athena Athlete of the Week honours. Waterloo had an outstanding season last year, finishing fourth in the league and third in the OWIAA championships so expect another great year from our Athenas. League play begins next weekend with two games. On Saturday, the Athenas travel to Western for a 10 a.m. game. Sunday marks their first home game against York, the reigning OWIAA league champions, on Sunday, September 17, at 10:30 am at University Stadium. Warrior and Athena soccer The Warrior soccer team was busy with an exhibition game against Laurier on Sunday which ended in a tie at 0 all, and followed by their annual alumni game which saw the Alumni win 2-0. This Wednesday they kick off league play on Wednesday here at home in a doubleheader against Windsor at 3 p.m. on the North Campus, following the 1 p.m. Athena game. They play again on Sunday in another doubleheader against Guelph with Athenas at 1 p.m. and the Warriors at 3. Warrior rugby The rugby team started pre-season action off the right way with an 31-0 hammering of Laurier this Sunday in exhibition play. Following this game, they held their annual alumni game which saw the Alumni show the younger players who's boss in a decided 55-15 victory. Watch for another strong season as the Warrior rugby machine gets ready to pick up where they left off after last year's amazing undefeated season. Waterloo moves up this year to Divison One after finishing at the top of Division Two last season with an amazing 7-0 record. Regular league play starts this Saturday with their season home opener as they meet the reigning OUAA champions, the Queen's Golden Gaels, starting at 1 p.m. on the North Campus. Season tickets If you haven't yet purchased your UW Athletics season ticket, now is the time. The ticket is a wonderful entertainment investment and truly is the best value for your dollar if you plan to attend Varsity games. Your season ticket admits you to all regular season Athena and Warrior home events. This includes Warrior football, Warrior ice hockey,Warrior and Athena basketball and Warrior and Athena volleyball, as well as all four of UW's action-packed annual tournaments: the 28th Naismith Basketball Classic, the Athena Christmas Basketball Invitational, the Warrior Oktoberfest Hockey Tournament and the Warrior Volleyball Classic. Just a reminder to all faculty and staff that seniors and children 14 and under are always admitted free to all Varsity home games - so bring the family out and enjoy! For more information or to order your season ticket, please call the athletics department at ext. 5869.