VICTORIA - Early exaltation gave way to heartbreak for a UVic Vikes women's rugby team that continued to redefine the heights that the program can achieve. In her third season in charge of the team head coach Brittany Waters led the Vikes to what was undoubtedly their best Canada West regular season and also ended with them medalling at the conference championships for the fourth season in a row.

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A strong returning core that included Tiffany Picketts, Julia Folk, Chanelle Edwards-Challenger, Jess Neilson, Jennifer Appleby and Sya Trafford were joined by first-year standouts Shaye Tudor, Emily Belchos, Renee Gonzales and Sasha Guedes.
 
The Vikes served notice to the rest of the nation that they were in the hunt for their third consecutive berth at the U SPORTS National Championship right from the opening whistle in their very first game.  
 
51 first half points were poured in as the Vikes dominated one of their biggest rivals, the Alberta Pandas, eventually winning the game by a score of 82-0, the largest margin of victory in the program's history.
 
The Vikes equalled that record-setting performance the very next week.
 
Madison Aberg scored four tries in the game as the Vikes showed absolute control over their opponent for the second game in a row, en route to putting up another 82-0 shutout.
 
It took until the fourth minute in the third game of their season, 84 minutes in total, before the Vikes allowed a point to be scored against them. The team rebounded from their first deficit of the year to put up 42 points of their own in the first half to eventually run away with a 59-20 victory over the Lethbridge Pronghorns.
 
In the final game of the Canada West regular season the Vikes went up against the only other undefeated team in the conference, the Calgary Dinos.
 
A game full of momentum swings went Calgary's way as the visitors scored 17 points in the second half to hold off a furious Vikes comeback attempt to secure a 34-22 victory.
 
Next up for the team was a journey to Calgary for the Canada West Championships. Not only were the Vikes playing for the conference championship but also for a spot in the U SPORTS National Championship. With Lethbridge already occupying one Canada West spot at nationals as the host, only the winner of the tournament would join them in having a shot to win it all.
 
Four different players scored tries to lead the Vikes past an upset-minded Lethbridge Pronghorns team by a score of 20-17 in the conference semifinals. That victory ensured that for the second-straight year the Vikes and Dinos would battle for the right to be called Canada West Champions.
 
In a game that went down to the wire, the Dinos scored a try right as time expired to claim the conference crown and the lone Canada West berth at nationals. Renee Gonzales, Tiffany Picketts and Jennifer Appleby all scored tries in the game as the Vikes fought hard until the bitter end.

2017 AWARD WINNERS:
Canada West All-Stars: Tiffany Picketts, Julia Folk, Chanelle Edwards-Challenger, Jess Neilson, Kara Galbraith
Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service: Angela Thompson
U SPORTS First Team All-Canadians: Julia Folk
U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadians: Tiffany Picketts, Chanelle Edwards-Challenger, Jess Neilson
U SPORTS Athlete of the Month: Madison Aberg
U SPORTS Student-Athlete Community Service: Angela Thompson

SEASON RECORD
Canada West Record: 3-1 (2nd)
Canada West Final Four: 1-1 (Silver)