October 24, 2018
The Holland Hurricanes basketball teams kick off the 2018-19 ACAA regular season this Saturday when they host the STU Tommies at the Holland College Centre for Community Engagement. The women’s game will begin at 4pm with the men to follow at 6pm.
The men’s Hurricanes are coming off their third straight CCAA national bronze medal and their sixth straight ACAA championship last season. The run of six straight titles is tied for the longest in men’s ACAA basketball history.
The ‘Canes went 20-1 during last year’s regular season before winning the ACAA championship and going 3-1 at nationals; they finished with a season record of 25-2 across all ACAA/CCAA games.
The ‘Canes return an impressive core to their roster with the reigning ACAA Rookie of the Year, Jace Colley, along with Roosevelt Whyley, Antonio Kostakos, and Connor Therrien back in the maroon and black.
Joining the Hurricanes are four notable recruits in Jordan Holness, Martin Campbell, Demeric Mercer, and Agak Lual. The ‘Canes will feature Island talent in Cameron Paynter, Isaac Cheverie, and Josh Bourque.
Colley is eager to get the season started after a long pre-season.
“Everyone’s restless for the start of the season,” he shared. “We’re excited to go out there and try to win.”
The Hurricanes had a strong preseason with a 2-0 record at the UNB Eric Garland tournament, a third-place finish at the Dawson Classic in Montreal going 3-1, a perfect 3-0 record at the Mickey Place Tournament hosted by UPEI, and they finished their pre-season with a victory over the Panthers at the Holland College Centre for Community Engagement last weekend.
Last season, the STU Tommies finished in seventh place with a 4-17 record; they did not qualify for the playoffs.
Returning at the guard position, Kostakos is glad to be back with the Hurricanes.
“I’m really looking forward to getting our regular season started this weekend. We have a great group of guys who work very hard and enjoy playing together. We set a goal at the start of the season and our journey to accomplishing it begins on Saturday.”
The ‘Canes women’s team is coming off an 11-7 regular season record and a third-place finish last season. They defeated the UNBSJ Seawolves in the quarter-finals before falling in the semi-finals to the eventual conference champions, the Mount Allison Mounties.
The women return six players from last season’s roster including reigning ACAA Rookie of the Year in Lexi MacInnis, along with Jayla Verney, Keionia Beals, Tyleigha Nelson, Tekera Smith, and Sydney Goode.
New players to the roster include Ashley Plaggenhoef, Kassandra Little, Antenique Young, Desiree Oakley, and Briontae Riley; all of whom will be important factors in the ‘Canes success this season.
The ‘Canes will feature Island talent in MacInnis, Plaggenhoef, and Little.
Plaggenhoef is eager to begin her collegiate basketball career on home soil.
“Going into this season, I believe if we compete hard as a team we will be successful in achieving our goals.”
MacInnis agrees.
“If we play like I know we can, then we should have a successful year. We just have to work hard and play together.”
During the pre-season, the Hurricanes prepared for their season with games in Quebec and versus AUS members, the St. FX X-Women and UPEI Panthers as well as a game with the King’s Edgehill Prep School.
Tyleigha Nelson is happy with the improvements the team has made during the pre-season.
“We have been training hard and faced some challenges during our preseason. Each day we’re continuing to progress and I can’t wait to see what we can do as a team this season.”
The STU Tommies are coming off an 11-7 record and a fourth-place finish last season before losing to the MSVU Mystics in the other ACAA semi-final.
Coaches pre-game comments
Jared Cheverie, women’s basketball Hurricanes head coach
“I feel that we are making big strides in the right direction and am excited to get the ACAA regular season underway. STU presents an exciting challenge to start with, as Coach Connors always has a group of hard-working players who will leave it all on the court. We will need to be ready for a high-pace game and take care of the ball. Rebounding at our end of the floor and execution with our offensive principles continue to be focus points; and we will be working hard in practice this week to be as prepared as possible for the weekend.”
Josh Whitty,men’s basketball Hurricanes head coach
“We’re looking forward to getting league play started. We’ve had a strong preseason and our expectation are high for this group.”
Saturday’s games will be live streamed on www.acaatv.ca.
To connect with the basketball Hurricanes, visit www.twitter.com/caneswbballand www.twitter.com/canesmbball.
For more information on the Holland Hurricanes visit www.hollandcollege.com/athletics,www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes,www.twitter.com/hc_hurricanesand www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.
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For more information about this release, please contact:
Daniel Cudmore, Athletics Development and Communications Coordinator
Tel: (902) 894-6870
Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2018
