For the second time in as many weeks, the York Lions have a new team appearing in the national rankings, as the women’s hockey team cracked the top 10 on Tuesday, Jan. 27ranking at No. 10. Last week, it was the women’s volleyball team appearing in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) rankings for the first time and this week the squad moved up two places to No. 8.
The women’s hockey team has been on a roll as of late. The squad is currently in the midst of a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season, and has won seven of its last 10 games. The Lions have outscored their opponents 20-7 in the five-game stretch and moved up to fourth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) standings with a 12-10 record.
The last time the team was ranked was in late 2007, when the squad spent four weeks at No. 10, from Oct. 16 to Nov. 5. Last year, the Lions advanced to the playoffs for the first time in five years and they are well on their way to another appearance this year with five games left to play on the regular season schedule.
Following another two victories to bring its conference record to 15-0 on the season, the women’s volleyball team ascended to No. 8 in the national rankings. Only four games stand between the squad and a perfect season, which would make the Lions the first volleyball squad since the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks in 2001-2002 to go undefeated.
Finally, the men’s track and field team dropped one place in the national rankings to No. 4. The squad has now been ranked for 13 consecutive weeks, including all nine this season and four to close out the end of last year.