CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: Gee-Gees host RSEQ Final Friday

The Gee-Gees women's rugby team has won four straight RSEQ championships at Matt Anthony Field and will have the opportunity to capture a fifth on Friday night at 7 p.m. when they face the Laval Rouge et Or in the conference final.

Tickets for Friday's final are for sale online at tickets.geegees.ca and the game will be webcast live on OUA.tv

The Rouge et Or and Gee-Gees met in the 2017 conference final as well as the national championship match. The teams opened the 2018 regular season with a head-to-head which Ottawa won at home, 24-12. Ottawa earned its way to the final with a 78-0 win over Sherbrooke in the semifinal, while Laval took out Carleton 23-12.

Laval scored the second-most points in the RSEQ regular season but had the third-ranked defence, allowing 85 points in seven games compared to Ottawa's 51. The Gee-Gees have held the no. 1 ranking in the U SPORTS Top Ten for the entire 2018 season, while Laval has been ranked as high as third.

Since the first meeting of the season, Ottawa's defence has locked down and allowed ten or fewer points in the last six RSEQ games. Defence has been crucial to the recent wins over Laval, with the Gee-Gees called upon to provide lengthy defensive stands to prevent Laval from scoring at key points in the match.

The RSEQ conference all-stars were announced last week with Ottawa players earning ten all-stars and awards. Five Laval players were recognized: the Garnet and Grey will have a particular eye on Laval's first-team all stars Laurie Houle at prop and Rosalie Lepage-Tremblay at hooker. Houle, a fifth-year, scored the only two Laval tries of the first meeting of the season and led the Rouge et Or with ten this season. The Gee-Gees tight five has shown its consistency and strength as a unit, and will be tasked with once again limiting the Laval damage.

Both Ottawa and Laval are guaranteed a spot at the U SPORTS National Championship tournament, which runs November 1-4 at Acadia University. Seeding will be announced on Saturday night. All games at the U SPORTS National Championship will be webcast live on SportsCanadaTV as Ottawa tries to repeat as national champions.