The cross-town rivalry between the University of Winnipeg Wesmen and the University of Manitoba Bisons flared last week at the 19th annual Duckworth Challenge. The Challenge involved both menâs and womenâs volleyball and basketball teams and took place on both campuses.
On Tuesday, Oct. 5, the volleyball portion of the tournament took place at the Duckworth Centre. The Bison womenâs volleyball team beat the Wesmen in all three sets with Kristin Hunter and Sarah Morrissette accumulating nine kills each for the Bisons. Bison Tricia Mayba and the Wesmenâs Ariel Smith were the Duckworth Challenge Players of the match.
That same night the Bison menâs volleyball team proceeded to defeat the Wesmen 3-2 with Dane Pischke and Chris Voth each amassing 14 kills for Manitoba. Zack Diboll of the Bisons and Justin Duff of the Wesmen were the Duckworth Challenge Players of the Match.
Continuing the tournament the next day at the Investorâs Group Athletic Centre, the Bison womenâs basketball team upset the Wesmen with a score of 88-69. The Bisonsâ Lauren Mortier earned 27 points for the team and Kayla Klassen earned another 20. Manitobaâs Caity Gooch and Winnipegâs Michele Hynes were honoured as the Duckworth Challenge Players of the Game.
In menâs basketball action the Bisons narrowly defeated the Wesmen with a score of 77-71. The high scorers for Manitoba were Richard Reimer with 15 points and Sean Maxwell with 14 points. The Bisonsâ Eric Garcia and the Wesmenâs Craig Penniston were named the players of the game.
These four victories for the Bisons earned them the trophy, which they had not held since the 2004-05 season. This challenge was commenced and named after Dr. Henry E. Duckworth who served as both president of the University of Winnipeg and Chancellor of the University of Manitoba. His involvement with both universities made him want to showcase and promote a healthy competition between the two schools. With the Duckworth Challenge in its 20th year next year, the rivalry is still strong.