Thornhill and Irwin named McGill athletes of the week

MONTREAL - Matt Thornhill of Ile-Bizard, Que., and Kelsey Irwin of West Vancouver, B.C., are the McGill University athletes of the week for the period ending, Jan. 17, 2010.

Thornhill, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard, scored 51 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while leading the Redmen basketball team to a pair of upset victories over the top two teams in the Quebec conference. Despite playing with a facemask to protect a broken nose, the 22-year-old finance senior tallied 32 points in a 72-65 win over Laval last Friday. Two days later, he added 19 points, including the winning basket with 0.9 seconds left in a 60-59 come-from behind victory over UQAM. Over the two games, he shot an impressive 50 per cent from the floor (18 of 36), making seven of 14 attempts from three-point range. He also was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and was credited with four assists and a steal. Thornhill, a product of Dawson College, also became just the seventh player in McGill history to score 1,500 points in a career. He currently leads the QUBL in both scoring and rebounds, averaging 20.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game,

Irwin, a six-foot middle blocker with the volleyball Martlets, scored a team-leading 38 points in weekend victories over Laval and Sherbrooke, averaging 5.43 points per set. The 21-year-old political science and sociology major amassed 21 kills, three aces and 14 stuff blocks, to go along with16 digs and a pair of assists. She played a major role in guiding McGill to a 3-1 upset over Laval last Friday. It was only McGill's third lifetime victory in Quebec City and she led the team with 21 points on 11 kills, a pair of aces and eight blocks in addition to eight digs. Irwin joined the Martlets in 2006 after graduating from Lord Byng secondary school in Vancouver.

SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman, McGill Athletics & Recreation (514-398-7012)