RICHMOND HILL, Ont. (U SPORTS) — The march to the Bronze Baby this year is led by a herd of Rams, as the undefeated OUA Champions claimed the top seed in the 2022 Women’s Final 8.

Championship website: https://usports.ca/en/championships/final-8/f/info

U SPORTS announced the seeding on Sunday for the 2022 national tournament, which runs from Thursday to Sunday at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. All 11 games from the eight-team competition will be webcast live, up to and including the gold medal game on Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern. The full webcast and broadcast schedule will be available throughout the tournament at usports.ca/en/broadcast.

Rounding out the seeding behind the OUA Critelli Cup winners are the No. 2 Saskatchewan Huskies (Canada West champions), No. 3 Winnipeg Wesmen (CW finalists), No. 4 Brock Badgers (OUA finalists), No. 5 Acadia Axewomen (AUS champions), No. 6 Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ champions), No. 7 Queen’s Gaels (hosts) and No. 8 UPEI Panthers (wildcard).

Quarter-final action gets underway on Thursday with the top-ranked Rams taking on UPEI at noon, followed by Brock vs. Acadia at 3 p.m. The evening session sees Winnipeg face Laval at 5:30, while the hosts Queen’s take on Saskatchewan in the nightcap, set for an 8 p.m. start.

The Rams are claiming the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history, and only the third time for any sport at the university – following men’s basketball in 2017 and 2018. They are in search of their first Bronze Baby championship, while the No. 2-seeded Huskies are the defending champions, and also won gold in 2016. The Wesmen have the most previous championships in the field as they won three straight championships from 1993 to 1995.

The UPEI Panthers were awarded the sole at-large (wildcard) entry into the tournament by a committee of U SPORTS coaches. The Panthers, who finished atop the AUS with an 11-2 regular-season record and posted a 16-3 record against U SPORTS opposition this year, were ranked in the Top 6 for nine of 10 weeks this season, rising to as high as No. 1 on November 23.

NOTES: A complete championship preview will follow on Tuesday … The All-Canadian awards ceremony is set for Wednesday evening at the Kingston Grand Theatre.

SEEDING:

1. Ryerson* Rams (OUA champions: 14-0 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

2. Saskatchewan Huskies (CW champions: 14-2 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

3. Winnipeg Wesmen (CW finalists: 14-2 regular season, 3-1 playoffs)

4. Brock Badgers (OUA finalists: 12-0 regular season, 2-1 playoffs)

5. Acadia Axewomen (AUS champions: 11-4 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

6. Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ champions: 7-5 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)

7. Queen’s Gaels (Hosts: 9-5 regular season, 1-1 playoffs)

8. UPEI Panthers (Wildcard: 11-2 regular season, 1-1 playoffs)

‍

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times EASTERN TIME)

Wednesday, March 30

7 p.m.: U SPORTS Awards Ceremony (Kingston Grand Theatre)

Thursday, March 31

Noon: Quarter-final #1—No. 8 Ryerson vs. No. 1 UPEI

3 p.m.: Quarter-final #2—No. 5 Acadia vs. No. 4 Brock

5:30 p.m.: Quarter-final #3—No. 6 Laval vs. No. 3 Winnipeg

8 p.m.: Quarter-final #4—No. 2 Saskatchewan at No. 7 Queen’s

Friday, April 1

6 p.m.: Consolation #1—Loser Quarter-final #1 vs. Loser Quarter-final #2

8 p.m.: Consolation #2—Loser Quarter-final #3 vs. Loser Quarter-final #4

Saturday, April 2

3 p.m.: Semifinal #1—Winner Quarter-final #1 vs. Winner Quarter-final #2

6 p.m.: Semifinal #2—Winner Quarter-final #3 vs. Winner Quarter-final #4

Sunday, April 3

Noon: 5th-place game

3 p.m.: Bronze Medal

6 p.m.: Gold Medal