Awards News

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Laval’s No. 8 Fabiola Forteza was honoured as the U SPORTS women’s rugby Player of the Year Thursday night, as the national award winners were celebrated at the annual All-Canadian gala

Past Award Winners

Her Rouge et Or bench boss Kévin Rouet captured the Jim Atkinson Award as Fox 40 Coach of the Year, while Queen’s back row Lizzie Gibson earned Rookie of the Year honours. Victoria lock Zoe Goodwin-Sutton earned the Student-Athlete Community Service Award for her outstanding contribution both on and off the playing field.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Fabiola Forteza, Laval

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For the first time in her career, Laval back row Fabiola Forteza has been named U SPORTS Player of the Year. The Masters in Nutrition student received the same honour at the RSEQ level as well at the end of the 2016 season.

This season, Forteza had three tries and was chosen Laval player of the match once. Her contribution, however, goes much further than the statistics reveal.

"Very intelligent, Fabiola has been extremely efficient both on offence and defence. She is always ultra efficient with the ball in hand," said Laval head coach Kévin Rouet. "She is probably my player who has touched the ball most often and crossed the most ground this season. Defensively, she misses very few tackles. Moreover, in her fifth year, she has taken a lot of leadership on the team.”

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Nominees

  • CW: Shoshanah Seumanutafa, UBC
  • OUA : Sophie de Goede, Queen’s
  • RSEQ: Fabiola Forteza, Laval (Winner)
  • AUS: Monique Coffey, Acadia

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Lizzie Gibson, Queen’s

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Lizzie Gibson joins teammate Sophie de Goede as only Gaels to be named U SPORTS Rookie of the Year.  

The Gaels rookie was named both U SPORTS and OUA Rookie of the Year after an impressive debut with the Tricolour. Gibson finished fourth in the OUA in scoring with 42 points after putting down six tries and kicking six conversions. Only one player outside of Queen’s topped the rookie in conference scoring. The Canadian U18 member, who competed at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, produced an 86 per cent tackle completion on over nine tackles per contest and 96 per cent gainline as the ball carrier (10-plus carries per game) this season. All-told, she will certainly be one to watch as she continues her career with the high-octane Gaels. 

“Lizzie has had an incredible start to her U SPORTS career, statistically she has been one of our most consistent performers across all aspects of the game, and was second on the team in minutes played,” said Queen’s head coach Dan Valley. “She’s a menace defensively and is a threat on the edge of the pack every time she touches the ball.  Her ability to read the play coupled with her creativity on the pitch make her a very difficult athlete to defend.  She’s an excellent teammate and I’m really excited to see how the rest of her U SPORTS career unfolds.” 

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Nominees

  • CW: Julia Omokhuale, Calgary
  • OUA: Lizzie Gibson, Queen’s (Winner)
  • RSEQ: Madison Grant, Ottawa
  • AUS: Sarah Palfy, Acadia

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Zoe Goodwin-Sutton, Victoria

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Victoria's Zoe Goodwin-Sutton is the Student-Athlete Community Service award winner after spending extensive time volunteering, while also earning an 89 per cent average in software engineering.

Goodwin-Sutton was head coach of the Mount Douglas Secondary girls rugby team this season, leading three practices per week from April to June. She also volunteered as a counsellor at Operation Trackshoes, which is a three-day track meet for people with developmental disabilities.

On campus, Goodwin-Sutton organized the Vikes Blood Drive, where more than 20 student-athletes donated blood last spring, and has also coordinated several other community outreach initiatives for Vikes student-athletes.

“Zoe Goodwin-Sutton is a great candidate for this award. She’s in software engineering with a 8.0/9.0 (on the UVic grading scale) GPA. She is one of the most consistent performers on our team, an MVP, a vice-captain and a leader on and off the field,” said Victoria head coach Brittany Waters. “She does a lot of work in the community and gives back as a coach, works with adults with disabilities, gives back to University by helping first and second year students with their studies.”

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Nominees

  • CW: Zoe Goodwin-Sutton, Victoria (Winner)
  • OUA: Alissa Zhang, McMaster
  • RSEQ: Meredith Sirrs, Ottawa
  • AUS: Maggie MacPhee, Saint Mary’s

JIM ATKINSON AWARD (Fox 40 Coach of the Year): Kévin Rouet, Laval

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Kévin Rouet has been named U SPORTS Fox 40 Coach of the Year for the first time since taking the reins of the Rouge et Or in 2017 – joining fellow Laval bench boss Bill McNeill, who won the award in 2012. Rouet also accomplished the feat of a perfect regular season (6-0), a first for the club since 2012. During the streak, Laval snapped the 46-game unbeaten run in the conference by the Ottawa Gee-Gees.”

"It's a fully deserved honor. In the Rouge et Or program, we are able to see all the efforts put in place to achieve excellence,” said Laval associate director Jean-Noël Corriveau. “We are lucky to have Kevin on our coaching staff. He is one of the best of his profession in the country and this recognition confirms that we are not the only ones who believe it."

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Nominees

  • CW: Dean Murten, UBC
  • OUA: Dan Valley, Queen’s
  • RSEQ: Kévin Rouet, Laval (Winner)
  • AUS: Mike Cavanagh, StFX

First Team

Position First Name Last Name School Eligibility Hometown Program
Prop Cloé Maranda Laval 2 Lévis, Que. Biomedical Sciences
Prop McKinley Hunt Queen's 4 King City, Ont. Concurrent Ed.
Hooker Gillian Boag UBC 5 Calgary, Alta. Applied Science
Lock Kasselle Menin Calgary 5 Vulcan, Alta. Medicine
Lock Marie-pier Fauteux Sherbrooke 3 Sherbrooke, Que. Substance addiction
Back row Emma Feldinger UBC 2 Alexis Creek, B.C. Kinesiology
Back row Sophie de Goede Queen's 3 Victoria, B.C. Commerce
No. 8 Fabiola Forteza Laval 5 Montreal, Que. Nutrition (Masters)
Scrum half Justine Pelletier Laval 3 Rivière-du-Loup, Que. Kinesiology
Fly half Taylor Black Queen's 1 Oakville, Ont. Arts & Science
Centre Julia Schell Guelph 5 Uxbridge, Ont. Sociology
Centre Shoshanah Seumanutafa UBC 3 Vancouver, B.C. Arts
Back three Paige Farries Victoria 5 Red Deer, Alta. Science
Back three Talia Hoffman Guelph 2 Binbrook, Ont. Environmental Sciences
Back three Monique Coffey Acadia 4 Dauphin, Man. Kinesiology

Second Team

Position First Name Last Name School Eligibility Hometown Program
Prop Sam Lake StFX 5 Windsor, N.S. Education
Prop Frances MacWilliam UPEI 4 Alberton, P.E.I. Nursing
Hooker Pippi McKay Queen's 5 Toronto, Ont. Arts & Science
Lock Sara McCarron StFX 4 Antigonish, N.S. Human Kinetics
Lock Michaela Haley Ottawa 5 Ottawa, Ont. Human Kinetics
Back row Lizzie Gibson Queen's 1 Caledon, Ont.  
Back row Laura Pfleiderer Acadia 4 150 Mile House, B.C. Environmental & Sustainability Studies
Back row Renee Gonzalez Victoria 3 Plymouth, Minn. Social Sciences
Scrum Half Berlyn Seselja Calgary 3 Surrey, B.C. Kinesiology
Fly half Anne-Charlotte Beaulieu Laval 5 Quebec City, Que Strategic Project Management (MBA)
Centre Maddy Aberg Victoria 5 Calgary, Alta. Social Sciences
Centre Alexandra Ondo Ottawa 4 Gatineau, Que. International Development & Globalization
Back Three Anaïs Gilbert Laval 3 Quebec City, Que. Kinesiology
Back Three Hailey Driscoll Lethbridge 5 Lethbridge, Alta. Kinseology
Back Three Carmen Izyk Queen's 1 Blackie, Alta. Arts & Science

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As the official Rugby Ball Supplier of U SPORTS, Gilbert Rugby Canada will provide match balls and other prizing to the 2019 U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship Presented by University of Ottawa from Oct. 30 - Nov. 3 at Matt Anthony Field.

Awards

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame presents inaugural Order of Sport Award to the Class of 2019

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

The Class of 2019 Inductees (L-R): Waneek Horn-Miller (Athlete, Water Polo), Colette Bourgonje (Athlete, Para Nordic Skiing and Wheelchair Racing), Jayna Hefford (Athlete, Ice Hockey), Doug Mitchell (Builder, Multisport), Guylaine Bernier (Builder, Rowing