Special Edition: CFL Combine, U SPORTS Basketball Playoffs, U SPORTS Hockey Playoffs Deliver, Stop Sleeping on Grammarly!

Welcome to PRSPECTVES, an interactive monthly digest of all the major news and stories happening across Canadian university sports, accompanied by intentional introductions to tools and resources that can aid student-athletes in excelling professionally, academically, and personally.

In this special edition, we'll be taking a look at the 2023 Canadian Football League Invitational Combine, while highlighting the continuation of the U SPORTS hockey playoffs, as well as the conclusion of the U SPORTS basketball conference playoffs.

Let's tap in!

?? CFL Combine Returns: Appiah-Kubi Steals The Show

What went down: 77 athletes from 33 different schools participated in the CFL's Invitational Combine. Hosted this year at the 加拿大滑铁卢大学 , the Invitational Combine was a one-day evaluation program that allowed CFL scouts to get a closer look at standout Canadian football players from U SPORTS and NCAA schools.

Athletes who excelled during the program were invited to the CFL's National Combine, a three-day evaluation program that will allow CFL scouts to get a closer at the top Canadian football players from U SPORTS and NCAA schools - currently scheduled to take place in Edmonton at the end of March.

Who impressed: 加拿大约克大学 receiver Gabriel Appiah-Kubi was the star of the day, recording the highest vertical (37.00 inches), the fastest 40-yard dash (4.48 seconds), the farthest broad jump (10'7 5/8"), and the third-fastest shuttle drill time (4.25 seconds). The performance was enough to earn Appiah-Kubi a spot in the CFL's National Combine!

Along with Appiah-Kubi, these 11 with also be making the trip to Edmonton for the National Combine:

• Tolu Ahmed | DB | Toronto
• Jacob Biggs | DB | Calgary
• Maxim Charbonneau | LB | Ottawa
• Theo Grant | OL | Queen's
• Sebastian Howard | TE | SMU
• Markcus Jean-Loescher | LB | SMU
• Aidan John | DL | SMU
• Zakariya Karim | REC | StFX
• Collin Kornelson | DL | Manitoba
• Alexandre Marcoux | OL | McGill
• Caleb Morin | REC | Saskatchewan

What's next: The CFL National Combine takes place in Edmonton, Alberta from 22-26. All participants in this year's CFL Invitational and National Combines will be eligible for the CFL Draft on May 2.

???? U SPORTS Basketball Playoffs: Conference Champions Crowned

The Women's champs: In addition to the Saint Mary's University Huskies, who captured the AUS Conference championship last weekend, here are your 2023 U SPORTS Women's basketball conference champions:

• The Carleton Ravens defeated the top-seeded Queen's Gaels, 70-57, to win the OUA's Critelli Cup. It's Carleton's third conference championship in program history, and third in six years.
• The 加拿大阿尔伯塔大学 Pandas defeated the Calgary Dinos, 76-65, to win their first Canada West Conference Championship in program history.
• The UQAM | Université du Québec à Montréal Citadins defeated the Bishop's Gaiters, 68-59, to win the RSEQ Conference Championship.

The Men's champs: In addition to the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men, who captured their first AUS Conference Championship in 17 years last weekend, here are your 2023 U SPORTS Men's basketball conference champions:

• The 加拿大渥太华大学 Gee-Gees defeated their cross-town rival Carleton Ravens, 79-57, to win the OUA's Wilson Cup. It's Ottawa's third conference championship in program history, and first since 2014.
• The top-seeded 加拿大维多利亚大学 Vikes defeated the Winnipeg Wesmen, 95-80, to win their second consecutive Canada West Conference Championship. It is Victoria's 17th Canada West Conference Championship in program history - the most all-time.
• Deja vu - the UQAM | Université du Québec à Montréal Citadins defeated the Bishop's Gaiters, 88-71, to win the RSEQ Conference Championship.

What's next: New basketball national champions will be crowned when the U SPORTS Women's and Men's Final 8 take place from March 9-12 in Sydney, Nova Scotia (Women's) and Halifax, Nova Scotia (Men's).

• The Women's Final 8 bracket can be found here
• The Men's Final 8 bracket can be found here

???? U SPORTS Hockey Playoffs: Dramatic Endings

The truth: It's often said that U SPORTS hockey is one of Canadian sports' best-kept secrets, and while many may think otherwise, what can't be denied is how box office this year's playoffs have been across the board. Let's take a look at three playoff series from this past weekend that had us on the edge of our seats:

• The Nipissing University Lakers defeated the Waterloo Warriors in back-to-back overtime thrillers to win their best-of-three OUA Women's Hockey Semifinal series and advance to the OUA conference finals.
• After splitting the first two games of their series, the 加拿大多伦多大学 Varsity Blues and Guelph Gryphons required a Game 3 to decide their OUA Women's Hockey Semifinal Series. In the end, Varsity Blues 4th year forward Taylor Trussler recorded a hat-trick to help Toronto pick up a 4-0 win, punching their ticket to the OUA conference finals.
• The 加拿大卡尔加里大学 Dinos and Alberta Golden Bears needed overtime to settle the first two games of their best-of-three Canada West Men's Hockey Conference Finals series. Goals from Tyson Upper and Josh Maser led Calgary to a 2-1 win to defeat the reigning conference champions and claim their first conference championship since 1996.
• The UQTR Patriotes overcame a 4-0 deficit to force overtime in the series-deciding Game 3 of the OUA Men's Hockey Semifinals against the Concordia Stingers. In the end, Jordan Lepage scored the game-winning goal to send the Patriotes back to the OUA conference finals.

?? Who's racking up MVPs

Bishop's University guard Amaiquen Siciliano was recently named RSEQ Women's basketball MVP. It was her third consecutive season winning the conference's top honour.

?? Who's breaking all-time records

Acadia University guard Haley McDonald had a historic senior year, becoming the Axewomen's all-time career leader in total points scored, total field goals made, total free throws made, total 3pt made, and total assists.

McDonald and the Axewomen now have their eyes set on a national championship as they enter the Final 8 National Championship tournament as a wildcard team.

?? Three ways to effectively use Grammarly

Grammarly is a cloud-based typing assistant that reviews your spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If you're a writer - which most students are - then Grammarly is a must-have! Here are three ways you can effectively use the tool to enhance your day-to-day writing tasks and communications.

To gain a stronger understanding of your tone:

• Yes, we all know it's a common - and unspoken - problem. Just think back to that time you received an email from a classmate, coach, or co-worker and spent more time trying to decode their tone rather than actually trying to understand the intended message. Grammarly has a feature that directly communicates to you how the tone of your writing may come across - through the form of emojis, of course.

To expand your vocabulary:

• Grammarly is also a thesaurus! Are you..like..tired of..like..using..like..the same words? Grammarly has a tool that can help refresh your vocabulary by suggesting stronger synonyms for keywords identified within your writing and messaging.

To provide better clarity:

• Oftentimes, what we say may make sense to us - hopefully. But, that doesn't always mean what we say may make sense to others. Grammarly uses clarity suggestions that help you cut out the meaningless, redundant words and phrases from your writing so that you can get straight to the point both clearly and concisely.

Now that you've become familiar with Grammarly, you can be the judge of whether or not we used the tool to edit this special edition of PRSPECTVES!

For a further glimpse at the reimagined Canadian university sports fan experience, be sure to follow PRSVRE on?Instagram , and?Twitter , or visit our?website ?for up-to-date university sports news, stories, and more.