CALGARY – The University of Calgary women's rugby team kicks off their 2022 season Friday with a home showdown against Lethbridge at 1:30 p.m. from McMahon Stadium. 

Friday's contest will also be streamed live online through Canada West TV.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

LOOKING BACK AT LAST SEASON – The Dinos went 3-3 in conference play last fall before bringing home the bronze medal while hosting the Canada West Championships.

COACH CHI – Head coach Simon Chi enters his 13th season at the helm of the Dinos. Chi has led Calgary to three Canada West Championships since 2016, the same year the Dinos brought home the bronze medal at the U SPORTS Championships. 

In all, Chi has turned in an impressive 35-14-1 overall record during his time coaching Calgary.

PRE-SEASON POLL – Canada West released its pre-season coaches poll earlier this week, with the Dinos once again picked to compete with the best in the conference. Calgary picked up nine total points in the poll to rank them third behind defending champs UBC (16 points) and Victoria (13). Lethbridge (seven) and Alberta (five) round out this year's rankings.

FOR STARTERS – Calgary enters its 14th varsity season Friday and will look to continue its recent trend of strong starts, having won its last six season openers in a row. In fact, the Dinos are an impressive 8-4 all-time in lid lifters. The team is 8-3 in openers under head coach Simon Chi, including last year's 12-6 victory over Lethbridge.

NEW FACES – A total of 24 individuals – exactly half of this year's roster – will look to make their Dino debut this season, with a strong crop of talent joining this year's squad from both new recruits and redshirts from a season ago. 

-UC-