Ss KATE RICHARDSON, BRIDGETTE WATTSON photos (Clockwise from top left) Harsimran Khangura keeps her guard up; Vivian Huang practices her jab; Langara Boxing Club members warm up before practice, and wrap their hands before practice starts; Jasmine Ng wraps her hands to prevent injury. Working out-side of the box The Langara Boxing Club gives its members more than fitness By KATE RICHARDSON e women of the Langara Boxing Club push aside tables and chairs so they can train and push themselves to their limits. The weekly sessions are run in part by Langara College kinesiology stu- dent, Adrian De Lima and Sean Sung, the owner of the Langara Sushi Café, De Lima was surprised that more women than men attended the club’s first meeting. “It was very encouraging,” said De Lima. Justine DeGuzman, a first-year gen- eral studies student, said that she was attracted to the club as a way of main- taining her fighting shape, but admits that she was unsure of what to expect. “T thought that there would be a lot of muscular guys who were experi- enced in boxing,” said DeGuzman, who found herself pleasantly surprised about “how many girls [attended].” Others, like general arts student Jenna Brewer, are looking for some- thing more than just a workout. “I like the intensity of it and [hope] it will also make me feel strong and empowered.” For Brewer, empowerment is being able to “take charge of what you’re do- ing and whatever comes your way.” The focus of the club is developing skills and technique, with no emphasis on contact. “We strictly avoid hitting people at this club,” De Lima said. The club’s vice-president sees the organiza- tion as a way for members to test the waters before joining a full-contact gym. BOXING gyms in Vancouver 1 SUGARRAYS Boxing 2 Contenders Training Studio 3 Powercore Boxing Fitness Source: Google.ca - Langara defence- \ ) man Olivia Kappeli PHOTO Olivia Kappeli mid-kick. JULIA WICKHAM ~ plays for keeps By JULIA WICKHAM . livia Kappeli is dribbling : her way towards soccer stardom. Kappeli, the 5°10” defence- man from North Delta, began playing soccer when she was seven-years-old in the SurDel Girls Soccer league. It wasn’t until she was 12 that she decided to ful- ly commit herself to soccer, leav- ing volleyball and gymnastics be- hind. Kapelli is one of the team cap- tains for the Falcons and accord- ing to Ryan Birt, coach for the Langara women’s soccer team she is consistent in her everyday ef- fort. “Olivia has developed into one of the best players in our confer- ence and one of the best who has played for Langara [College] in my 15 years as head coach,” he said. During her first season on the team in 2013-2014, Kappeli was awarded Pac West Rookie of the Year, and was a Langara Freshman Student Ath- lete of the Year. “Every game I know I have to go out there and play my hardest,” Kappeli said. Last season, she was awarded All-Round Athlete of the Year. In all of her seasons on the team, she has been a PacWest first team all- Soccer star aims to impress star. The 20-year-old has been very successful despite the fact that she wears the jersey with the no- torious number 13. After losing 2-1 to Vancouver Island University on Oct. 17, and tying with Kwantlen Polytechnic University on Oct. 18, Kappeli is feeling the pressure with only two games left before the PacWest women’s provincial soccer cham- pionships. Kappeli said that it is crucial Langara ranks at least fourth in the standings in order to secure a spot at provincials. Langara Falcons forward and Kappeli’s teammate, Kelsa Lefeb- vre said that Kappeli’s “intelli- gence and intensity on and off the field makes her all-in-all a won- derful teammate.” Checkered record won't slow Falcons Both teams’ coaches think their teams are more than sum of wins and losses By MARK STUART women’s soccer teams are dog- gedly moving forward towards the PacWest B.C. provincial champion- ships, despite a few losses. While the top four teams move on to B.C. provincials at the end of the month, Langara College’s men’s and women’s teams are currently sitting in fifth and fourth place, respectively. “We deserve C C more—teams are T Langara Falcons men’s and worried when they play us,” said men’s Teams are head coach Mare worried Rizzardo. when they Defenceman Luca Locascio play us agreed with his coach, adding that the team’s record this season doesn’t tell the whole story. “There’s been games against [Quest University], where they scored a crappy goal off a defensive error by us, and then we end up tying it up, but got some tough luck in the second half,” he said. “A spot at provincials is very achiev- able, we just need to focus a bit hard- er,” said Locascio. The men’s team is currently in fifth place, while the women fared slightly better, sitting in fourth and in a posi- tion to advance to provincials. After a tough start, they've re- bounded and _ re- claimed a _ spot amongst the league’s top four. “We had a couple of results early in MARC RIZZARDO MEN’S SOCCER HEAD COACH panel head that 0-8 start, where soccer coach I thought we at least deserved a win or a tie, especially in those first two games,” he said women’s head coach Ryan Birt. With 13 games played and the pro- vincial championships fast approach- ing, it’s looking like a close fight to the finish for both teams as they vie to se- cure a spot to represent Langara on the provincial stage. The championships are being hosted by Langara and take place on Oct. 30 and 31. MARK STUART photo Langara striker/centre back Luca Locascio runs down a loose ball vs. Capilano University on Oct. 15. & Falcons’ Tally i) WOMEN'S SOCCER MEN'S SOCCER W-D-L W-D-L 4-3-6 3-4-6 Ranked: 4th Ranked: 5th