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University of Alberta

University Of Alberta Golden Bears & Pandas

University Of Alberta
Golden Bears & Pandas

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Sports Wall of Fame

Pandas Rugby 2003

1999-2003 Pandas Rugby

  • Class
  • Induction
    2018
  • Sport(s)
    Pandas Rugby
• 5 national championship teams in a row (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003)
• 5 national player of the year awards in a row
• Numerous Academic all-Canadians, including Mario Gallo in 2002 when she was named one of the country’s top 8 academic all-Canadians for the year
• 9 players went on to play for the Canadian national team
• The alumnae ranks include: a surgeon, engineers, professors, doctors, teachers, coaches, all of which benefits the internal and external U of A communities
• The 5 teams suffered one loss in 5 years with a 36-1-1 win-loss-tie record
 
The five seasons between 1999 and 2003 were a golden age for Pandas rugby, with the teams winning the Canada West and Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships for five consecutive years.

Coach Helen Wright, ‘94 BA, was named the Canada West Coach of the Year three times between 1999 and 2002 for her leadership of the team. These landmark seasons also boasted a bevy of individual player accomplishments, with five Pandas receiving CIS Player of the Year awards and three winning CIS Tournament MVP awards.

Nine players from this period went on to play for the Canadian national team and many more have returned to support Pandas rugby as assistant coaches, team managers and sports medicine surgeons.
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