The University of Victoria Vikes women's rugby team looks to answer back from a split weekend win and defeat to the Canada West No. 6-ranked Calgary Dinos and the Lethbridge Pronghorns, respectively, against rivals the UBC Thunderbirds at Wallace Field on Oct. 4. The Vikes' record fell to 1-1 on the season after dropping a 27-10 decision to the Dinos on Sept. 27 while the Thunderbirds are 0-1-1 after a loss and tie to the Dinos and Pronghorns.
 
Second-year back Madeleine Graham and fifth-year prop Jaiden Parhar added their second and third tries of the season in the loss to the Dinos. The Vikes struggled to keep pace with the Dinos in the second half, being outscored 17-5 after keeping it close at half time at 10-5.
 
The Dinos worked their way deep into Vikes' territory through strong forward play and the speed of players like fullback/wing Elysa Sandron, who added a try and conversion in the Dinos' victory. The Vikes' defence was constantly called on, but couldn't do enough to stop the Dinos from taking the advantage in the second half. Both teams paid tribute to the late Jenny Vincent after the match, who was instrumental in the development of both the Dinos' and Vikes' rugby programs.

The Vikes were on the opposite end of their resuly on Friday, Sept. 25 when they beat the Pronghorns 40-22 to open their account in Canada West action. CaitlinH, Gabrielle Senft and Nakisa Levale added tries alongside Graham and Parhar.
 
The T-Birds head into Sunday's match-up after a 12-12 come-from-behind effort to earn a draw against the Pronghorns. A crucial try and conversion from first-year outside centre Madison Gold and fourth-year flyhalf Paige Smith in the 74^th minute pulled the T-Birds back to earn their first point of the season.
 
The pair of fourth-year wing Ciara Malone and Smith has been a reliable duo for the T-Birds. Smith is 4/5 on conversions and penalty kicks this season while Malone is the T-Birds' leading scorer with three tries through their first two games of the Canada West season.
 
Second-year scrum Jess Neilson is a Vikes' best in conversions and penalties at 5-for-9, with Graham leading in the try category with three.
 
This weekend' rendition of the west coast match-up between the Vikes and T-Birds is the continuation of a  long-standing rivalry between the two sides who have split results between one another over recent years. The Vikes got the best of the T-Birds in 2014-15, defeating the T-Birds 22-10 on Oct. 4, 2014 in the regular season before defeating them in the Canada West Final Four 27-16 two weeks later on Oct 19.
 
Sunday's match will get underway at 1:00 p.m. at Wallace Field. If you can't catch the game live, follow @uvicvikes on Twitter for updates throughout the match.