VICTORIA (CIS) – Third-year University of Guelph forward
Brienne Stairs was named player of the year in Canadian
Interuniversity Sport women’s field hockey, Wednesday
night.
The native of Kitchener, Ont., became the first Gryphon to claim
the Liz Hoffman award since the inception of the trophy in
1992.
The other CIS major award winners announced during the All-Canadian
Gala were UBC’s Abigail Raye of Kelowna, B.C., who captured
the Joyce Slipp award as the nation’s best rookie,
Alberta’s Jennifer Foster of Pincher Creek, Alta., who
received the Gail Wilson Outstanding Contributor award, and Saint
Mary’s Sharon Rajaraman, who was named coach of the year and
received the Marina van der Merwe award, presented by Coaches of
Canada.
The 2009 CIS championship gets under way on Thursday at the
University of Victoria. The gold-medal final is scheduled for
Sunday at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.
LIZ HOFFMAN
AWARD (player of the year): Brienne Stairs,
Guelph
Stairs led the nation in scoring for the second straight year
tallying a phenomenal 30 goals in 14 conference games, after
finishing with 19 markers in 13 outings in 2008. A three-time OUA
all-star and a second-team all-Canadian a year ago, the biomedical
sciences student already ranks fifth on the Gryphons all-time
scoring leaders list with 55 goals in three seasons.
Thanks in large part to Stairs’ dominance, the Gryphons
finished first in the OUA in the regular season with a
school-record 12-0-2 mark, led the conference with a team-record 68
goals scored, captured their second OUA title in three years
– and the second in team history – with a 1-0
gold-medal win over archrival Toronto, and enter the CIS
championship as the only undefeated team in the country and as the
No. 1 seed for the first time in history. Guelph hopes to improve
on a fourth-place finish in 2008, when Stairs was named a CIS
tournament all-star.
“Brienne has a passion for competition,” said Guelph
head coach Michelle Turley. “Losing is not an option. Her
endurance, speed and competitive edge make her the ideal athlete.
She is one of the best to ever play for Guelph.”
JOYCE SLIPP AWARD
(rookie of the year): Abigail Raye, UBC
Raye became only the second Thunderbird to receive the Joyce Slipp
award since the inception of the trophy in 1992. Former UBC great
Laura Dowling won the award in 2003.
Raye joined the UBC program after being named Kelowna Secondary
School’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2008-09. A starter
from day one with the Thunderbirds, she had two goals in her first
CIS campaign, showcasing her versatility and talent by playing in
almost every position on the pitch. She played a major role in the
T-Birds’ 10-2 regular season and seventh consecutive
conference championship.
A member of Team Canada, Raye has earned 13 caps for the national
side since joining the squad in 2008 after getting her Canadian
citizenship. Born in England, she moved to Canada four years ago
and has been playing field hockey for 10 years.
“Abby was actually one of three people that I considered for
the rookie award from our squad this year but I put her at the top
of list because when she has the ball, she just seems to get
positive results,” said UBC head coach Hash Kanjee.
“She has great speed and smarts on the field and she is
playing in a position that adds an additional thrust to our
offence. With her speed, she has really been a difference maker for
us this season even though she was slowed a bit by injury earlier
in the year.”
GAIL WILSON AWARD
(outstanding contributor): Jennifer Foster,
Alberta
Foster is the second Panda in three years, and the third in
history, to receive the Wilson award. Jennifer Zwicker was honoured
in 2007 and Annabel Duncan-Webb was the recipient in 2000.
In her final university season, the Pandas co-captain led Alberta
to third place in the Canada West conference and a fourth CIS
tournament berth under her watch. The 23-year-old midfielder, a
former member of Alberta’s U-18 and U-19 squads, helped the
Pandas capture their lone national title in her rookie campaign in
2005 and was part of the CIS silver-medal run a year ago.
Foster is currently completing her final practicum for her combined
Physical Education and Education degrees, with a minor in general
sciences. She has earned CIS Academic All-Canadian status each of
her first four seasons and has received numerous distinctions over
the years including the prestigious Dr. Maury Van Vliet
Athletic/Academic Scholarship and the University of Alberta
Academic Excellence Award.
Foster volunteers at inner city schools each winter officiating
both basketball and volleyball as well as reading to students in
elementary schools. She also volunteers at the U of A’s
Steadward Centre which provides activity programs to those with
disabilities. She gives back to the sport of field hockey, having
coached various programs in her home town of Pincher Creek, Alta.,
including the 2006 Alberta Summer Games team from her zone.
“Jenn has been a crucial component to our young team this
season. Her leadership ensures the smooth functioning of the team
day in and day out, on and off the turf,” said Alberta
interim head coach AJ Facendi. “She plays a vital role as a
leader on the field and in our systems, corner unit, and
defensively she is often matched up against top players from
opposing teams.”
MARINA VAN DER
MERWE AWARD (coach of the year), presented by Coaches of Canada:
Sharon Rajaraman, Saint Mary’s
Rajaraman became the first Saint Mary’s head coach to claim
the van der Merwe award since its inception in 1984, and the first
recipient from an Atlantic University Sport school since
UNB’s Donna Hornibrock was honoured back in 1990.
A native of Halifax and the Huskies’ sidelines boss since
1992, Rajaraman led her troops to a stellar 10-1-3 record this
fall, the Huskies lone loss, unfortunately, coming in the league
semi-final.
A former all-Canadian at Dalhousie University, Rajaraman
represented Nova Scotia as a player at a number of national
tournaments and was named to the Canadian team for two years in
1982 and 1983. She has coached at the provincial senior and junior
levels, and was an assistant at Dalhousie (1986) and Saint
Mary’s (1987) before inheriting head coaching duties with the
Huskies.
ALL-CANADIAN
TEAMS
The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday, with
Guelph, UBC, Victoria and Toronto receiving three nominations
apiece.
The 10 players joining Stairs on the first CIS squad were Saint
Mary’s forward Mandy Avery of Halifax, Victoria midfielder
Katie Collison of Duncan, B.C., UPEI forward Mikaela Ellis of
Charlottetown, UBC defender Kristyn Harrington of West Vancouver,
B.C., UBC forward Elise Milosevich of Duncan, UBC midfielder /
forward Robyn Pendleton of Victoria, York midfielder Effie Petrou
of Oakville, Ont., Alberta defender Jacqueline Trautman of Delta,
B.C., Toronto defender Kaelan Watson of Richmond, Ont., and Guelph
forward / midfielder Kristine Wishart of Hamilton.
Wishart, the CIS rookie of the year back in 2005, accomplished a
rare feat as she became a five-time member of the first
all-Canadian team. Petrou, the nation’s top freshman in 2006,
is the only other returning member from last year’s first
squad and is a four-time all-Canadian in four seasons, including a
trio of first-team nods.
Second-team CIS all-stars for the 2009 campaign include York
goalkeeper Brittney Blount of Manotick, Ont. , Saint Mary’s
midfielder Arron Bonin of Halifax, Victoria midfielder / defender
Perri Espeseth of Duncan, Dalhousie forward Alex Turriff of
Vancouver, Alberta forward Bunny Hughes of Victoria, Guelph
midfielder Angela Lancaster of Burlington, Ont., Toronto forward
Kyesia O’Neale of Mississauga, Ont., Calgary defender
Carolina Romeo of Calgary, Toronto midfielder Hannah Tighe of
Penticton, B.C., Western Ontario forward Michelle Weber of
Ilderton, Ont., and Victoria goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams of White
Rock, B.C.
Weber earned a fourth straight all-Canadian nomination. She was a
first-team member the past two seasons.
2009 CIS
WOMEN’S FIELD HOCKEY AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
Liz Hoffman award (player of the year): Brienne Stairs, Guelph
Joyce Slipp award (rookie of the year): Abigail Raye, UBC
Gail Wilson award (outstanding contributor): Jennifer Foster,
Alberta
Marina van der Merwe award (coach of the year): Sharon Rajaraman,
Saint Mary’s
First Team
Position - Athlete - University - Year - Hometown -
Faculty
Forward Mandy Avery Saint Mary’s 2 Halifax, N.S. Arts
Midfield Katie Collison Victoria 5 Duncan, B.C. Education
Forward Mikaela Ellis UPEI 5 Charlottetown, P.E.I. BBA
Defence Kristyn Harrington UBC 5 West Vancouver, B.C. Human
Kinetics
Forward Elise Milosevich UBC 3 Duncan, B.C. Human Kinetics
Mid. / Forw. Robyn Pendleton UBC 3 Victoria, B.C. Human
Kinetics
Midfield Effie Petrou York 4 Oakville, Ont. Health
Forward Brienne Stairs Guelph 3 Kitchener, Ont. Biomedical
Science
Defence Jacqueline Trautman Alberta 2 Delta, B.C. Science
Defence Kaelan Watson Toronto 2 Richmond, Ont. Physical Education
& Health
Forw. / Mid. Kristine Wishart Guelph 5 Hamilton, Ont.
Mathematics
Second
Team
Goalkeeper Brittney Blount York 5 Manotick, Ont. Sociology
Midfield Arron Bonin Saint Mary’s 3 Halifax, N.S. Arts
Mid. / Def. Perri Espeseth Victoria 4 Duncan, B.C. Fine Arts
Forward Alex Turriff Dalhousie 1 Vancouver, B.C. Early Modern
Studies
Forward Bunny Hughes Alberta 5 Victoria, B.C. Education
Midfield Angela Lancaster Guelph 5 Burlington, Ont. Psychology
Forward Kyesia O’Neale Toronto 4 Mississauga, Ont.
Engineering
Defence Carolina Romeo Calgary 2 Calgary, Alta. Engineering
Midfield Hannah Tighe Toronto 3 Penticton, B.C. European
Studies
Forward Michelle Weber Western 5 Ilderton, Ont. Kinesiology
Goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams Victoria 3 White Rock, B.C. Social
Sciences
-CIS-