McGill's Thomson earns fourth All-Canadian honour
By Michel Bélanger, CIS
FREDERICTON (CIS) – McGill senior Jennifer Thomson of Rosemere,
Que., has earned all-Canadian honours for the fourth straight
season. Among the other honorees nnounced at the Canadian
Interuniversity Sport women’s volleyball major awards gala in
Fredericton, Wednesday, was Martlet freshman Emily Kyte of Ottawa,
who earned a berth on the CIS all-rookie team.
For the second straight season, Montreal Carabins power hitter
Laetitia Tchoualack of Paris, France, is the CIS women’s volleyball
player of the year.
Championship website:
www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009
Tchoualack became the seventh player to claim back-to-back Mary
Lyons awards and is the eighth double recipient since the trophy
was first presented in 1981-82. The last player to be named CIS MVP
in consecutive campaigns was Calgary’s Joanna Niemczewska, who was
honoured in 2003-04 and 2004-05.
Other CIS major award winners announced Wednesday night in
Fredericton were Alberta’s Kelci French of Okotoks, Alta., who
received the Mark Tennant award as rookie of the year, Western
Ontario’s Andrea Ruste of Edmonton, named the top libero in the
nation, Montreal’s Olivier Trudel, who earned coach-of-the-year
honours, and UBC’s Katie Tyzuk of Vancouver, who received the
Thérèse Quigley award recognizing excellence in volleyball,
academics and community involvement.
The 2009 CIS women’s volleyball championship, hosted by the
University of New Brunswick, gets under way Thursday with the
quarterfinal round and concludes Saturday at 7 p.m. Atlantic Time
(6 p.m. Eastern) with the gold-medal final.
Tchoualack is one of the most decorated female volleyball players
in CIS history. The Masters in management student has been named
Quebec conference MVP three years running, and her selection on the
2008-09 first all-Canadian team marks her fourth nod as a CIS
all-star in as many seasons at Montreal, including three
consecutive nominations to the first squad. Last April, a few weeks
after leading the Carabins to the best result in program history at
the CIS championship, a silver-medal finish, the 5-foot-11 hitter
received the prestigious BLG award as CIS female athlete of the
year.
This season, Tchoualack was first in Quebec in both points (5.14)
and kills (4.23) per set, totals that were good for third and
fourth place in the nation, respectively. The former France
national team member also led the QSSF with 0.46 service aces per
set and chipped in defensively with 2.62 digs per game, the seventh
best average in the conference.
Thanks in large part to her stellar play, the Carabins are enjoying
the best campaign in team history going into the CIS tournament.
Montreal topped all 13 national polls in 2008-09, kept a 32-1
overall record against CIS opponents, finished first in the Quebec
standings with a 20-1 mark in conference play, and captured a
second straight QSSF title with a two-match sweep of No. 8 Laval in
the Quebec final.
“Laetitia is an elite player because she wants the ball at the key
moments of the game,” says Trudel, who has coached Tchoualack since
her Carabins debut. “She’s able to step up and score points when we
need it the most. She also has an amazing personality, which makes
her very accessible to her teammates both veterans and rookies.
Everybody on the team enjoys her company.”
French is only the second Panda to claim the Tennant award. Former
Alberta great Jenny Cartmell was named CIS rookie of the year in
1995-96 before capturing back-to-back Mary Lyons awards later on in
her career.
French, a native studies student, was recruited out of Foothills
Composite High School in Okotoks as a natural setter but, knowing
fifth-year senior Daryll Roper would be her starter at the
position, long-time Alberta coach Laurie Eisler converted the
19-year-old freshman to the right side, where she found instant
success in the most competitive conference in the country.
The 2008 junior national team member finished seventh in Canada
West with 3.51 points per set and ninth with a 2.86 kill-per-set
average, and ranked second in the conference with 0.43 services
aces per game. She helped the Pandas take first place in the Canada
West overall standings for the first time in five years with a 16-4
record.
“Kelci has met every challenge that she has faced this year with
incredible poise and confidence,” says Eisler, a three-time CIS
coach of the year. “She is a very well-rounded player and
contributes to our team in every phase of the game. Her passion for
the game is unprecedented and she is going to be a very exciting
player to watch in the years to come as she continues to develop
her game.”
Ruste became the first player from the OUA conference to be named
CIS libero of the year since the inception of the award in
2005-06.
The fourth-year Mustang team captain has been a defensive machine
her entire university career. A three-time OUA West all-star and
OUA West libero of the year, Ruste led the nation in digs per set
for the second time this season with a 5.24 average. She also
ranked first in the country in 2006-07 (5.74), and finished third
last season (5.11).
An academic all-Canadian in social sciences, Ruste guided Western
Ontario to a 15-4 conference mark and a bronze-medal finish at this
year’s OUA championship.
“In 20 years of coaching at every level, I have never seen an
athlete do as many spectacular things as Andrea. Every day she
makes 2-3 digs that make everyone in the gym watch in awe,” says
Western head coach Dean Lowrie. “She plays with a passion and feel
that is very contagious to her teammates. She is our team captain
and leader and has showed her leadership by positive encouragement,
a committed work ethic, and maturity beyond her years.”
Trudel is the first Montreal coach to be honoured at the CIS level
and the first bench boss from the Quebec conference to receive the
coach-of-the-year award since Sherbrooke’s Normand Bouchard in
2000-01.
In his fifth season at the helm, he led the Carabins to the best
conference record in team history (20-1), a second straight QSSF
title, a 32-1 overall mark against CIS opponents, and first place
in all 13 national coaches polls. Montreal also successfully
defended its titles at the Carabins Invitational, McGill
Invitational and Barbados International Invitational
tournaments.
Trudel, who has a Ph.D. in physical science specialized in sport
psychology, was named head coach of the Carabins prior to the
2003-04 schedule following four seasons as an assistant with the
team. He moved back to an assistant role in 2004-05, before taking
the reins again the following year. Under his guidance, Montreal
has qualified for the CIS championship five times in five seasons,
captured its first QSSF banner in 14 years in 2007-08, and had its
best-ever finish at the CIS tournament last winter, claiming
silver.
“Over the last few of years, Olivier has been rewarded for all his
hard work. He went from an assistant position, while finishing his
Ph.D., to a very successful head coach,” says Montreal Athletics
Director, Manon Simard. “Since he took over, the team just keeps on
getting better and, for the last two seasons, has had the best
moments in the program’s history. His recruiting talent and amazing
leadership make him an outstanding ambassador for the University of
Montreal.”
Tyzuk is the fourth Thunderbird to receive the Thérèse Quigley
award for excellence in volleyball, academics and community
involvement since it was first presented in 1993-94, and the first
UBC recipient since Emily Cordonier in 2004-05.
The fourth-year T-Bird took over the role of setter this season
after the departure of 2007-08 Canada West MVP Carla Bradstock and
helped direct a UBC offence that ranked fourth in the conference in
kills with an average of 12.73 per game. She ranked sixth in Canada
West in assists (9.55 per contest) and was one of only three
T-Birds to play in all 73 regular-season sets this season. Prior to
attending UBC, Tyzuk spent two years with the junior national team
where she competed in various NORCECA events. In the summer of
2006, she teamed with current T-Bird Liz Cordonier to win the
Canadian U20 beach national championship.
Tyzuk, whose parents are both Rhodes Scholars and attended Oxford,
is a former recipient of UBC’s President’s Entrance Award and
Chancellor’s Entrance Scholarship. A biopsychology student, she was
an academic all-Canadian and a member of the Dean’s List each of
her first three years at UBC, and received the 2008 UBC CK Choi
Premier Undergraduate Scholarship.
Tyzuk has been involved with the Big Brothers / Big Sisters program
for the past two years, has been an Emergency Room volunteer at the
Vancouver General Hospital for a year and has worked as a volunteer
coach for the Thunder Volleyball Club. Through UBC Athletics, she
has been part of the “I’m Going to UBC” program, was a UBC Varsity
Reader and was the volleyball team representative on the UBC
Thunderbird Athletic Council.
“Katie has done a wonderful job becoming the team’s starting setter
this season and really grew into the role as the season
progressed,” says UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “She is an extremely
smart player that brings a calm confidence to the floor and
continues to do great things off the court outside of the game of
volleyball.”
The All-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday.
Joining Tchoualack on the first CIS squad are Carabin teammate,
middle Nadine Alphonse of Montreal, Alberta teammates and St.
Albert, Alta., natives, power hitter Jocelyn Blair and setter
Daryll Roper, Calgary right side Holly Harper of Lumsden, Sask.,
McMaster setter Jennifer Holt of Hamilton, and Trinity Western
middle Dayna Jansen Van Doorn of Langley, B.C.
Blair, a fifth-year senior, is selected to the first squad for the
second straight year and was a second-team all-Canadian in
2006-07.
This year’s second CIS team is comprised of Toronto left side
Heather Bansley of Waterdown, Ont., UBC middle Marisa Field of
Kelowna, B.C., Moncton middle Kristine Levesque of Grand-Sault,
N.B., Manitoba left side Sarah Morrissette of Winnipeg, Laval
middle JulieRodrigue of St- Georges, Que., Saint Mary’s left side
Kerri Smit of Shubenacadie, N.S., and McGill power Jennifer Thomson
of Rosemère, Que.
Named CIS rookie of the year in 2005-06, Thompson is a four-time
all-Canadian in as many varsity seasons. She was a member of the
first team the past two campaigns and made the second constellation
in her freshman season.
McGill technique Emily Kyte of Ottawa, Laval setter Sarah
Létourneau-Lévesque of Port-Cartier, Que., UBC left side Shanice
Marcelle of Victoria, StFX left side Katherine Ryan of Halifax,
Winnipeg right side / left side Ariel Smith of Yarmouth, N.S., and
York left side Thinesa Sriskandarajah of Scarborough, Ont., join
French on the CIS all-rookie team.
2008-09 CIS WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
Mary Lyons Award (player of the year): Laetitia Tchoualack,
Montreal Carabins
Mark Tennant Award (rookie of the year): Kelci French, Alberta
Pandas
Libero of the year: Andrea Ruste, Western Ontario Mustangs
Coach of the year: Olivier Trudel, Montreal Carabins
Thérèse Quigley Award (outstanding student-athlete): Katie Tyzuk,
UBC Thunderbirds
First Team
Position Athlete University Year Hometown Faculty
Power Laetitia Tchoualack Montreal 4 Paris, France Masters in
Management
Middle Nadine Alphonse Montreal 4 Montreal, Que. Physical Education
& Health
Power Jocelyn Blair Alberta 5 St. Albert, Alta. Education
Right Side Holly Harper Calgary 5 Lumsden, Sask. Social
Sciences
Setter Jennifer Holt McMaster 4 Hamilton, Ont. Kinesiology
Middle Dayna Jansen Van Doorn Trinity Western 5 Langley, B.C.
Education
Setter Daryll Roper Alberta 5 St. Albert, Alta. Graduate Studies
& Research
Second Team
Left Side Heather Bansley Toronto 4 Waterdown, Ont. Arts &
Sciences
Middle Marisa Field UBC 5 Kelowna, B.C. Science
Middle Kristine Levesque Moncton 5 Grand-Sault, N.B. Medicine
Left Side Sarah Morrissette Manitoba 3 Winnipeg, Man. University
1
Middle Julie Rodrigue Laval 4 St-Georges, Que. Industrial
Relations
Left Side Kerri Smit Saint Mary’s 2 Shubenacadie, N.S. Arts
Power Jennifer Thomson McGill 4 Rosemère, Que. Physical &
Health Education
All-Rookie Team
Setter / RS Kelci French Alberta 1 Okotoks, Alta. Native
Studies
Technique Emily Kyte McGill 1 Ottawa, Ont. Arts
Setter Sarah Létourneau-Lévesque Laval 1 Port-Cartier, Que.
Physiotherapy
Left Side Shanice Marcelle UBC 1 Victoria, B.C. Human
Kinetics
Left Side Katherine Ryan StFX 1 Halifax, N.S. Arts
RS / LS Ariel Smith Winnipeg 1 Yarmouth, N.S. Kinesiology
Left Side Thinesa Sriskandarajah York 1 Scarborough, Ont.
Kinesiology & Health Science
-CIS-
For more information, please contact:
Michel Bélanger
Communications Manager
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Ph: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: (613) 447-6334
belanger [at] universitysport.ca
www.universitysport.ca
Maureen Sparks
Athletic Coordinator / Sports Information Director
University of New Brunswick
Ph: (506) 451-6894
Cell: (506) 470-5578
sparks [at] unb.ca