2010-11 NEWS RELEASES

University of Ontario Institute of Technology
NEWS RELEASE
Friday, April 01, 2010

Spaling and Galea named 2010-11 UOIT Athletes of the Year

OSHAWA, Ont. – Men’s Hockey captain Nathan Spaling (Drayton, Ont.) and women’s rowing/squash standout Shannon Galea (Oshawa, Ont.) were named the 2010-11 University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Athletes of the Year on Thursday night at the fifth annual UOIT Ridgebacks Athletic Banquet.

It was a night of celebration at the General W. Sikorski Polish Veterans Association Hall as UOIT student-athletes, coaches and contributors were honoured for their outstanding accomplishments throughout the 2010-11 varsity season.

“What a great honour for two outstanding and deserving individuals,” said Ken Babcock, UOIT athletic director. “To be named the overall athlete of the year is an unbelievable accomplishment that shows their hard work and dedication to UOIT athletics.”

A fourth year Criminology major, Spaling becomes the first UOIT athlete to win back-to-back athlete of the year awards.

Spaling was named the third Captain in UOIT history and was the Ridgebacks top scorer this season with 26 points, leading the Ridgebacks back to the postseason. He is UOIT’s all-time leading scorer with 91 career points and has played in every game in Ridgebacks men’s hockey history. He was an all-academic and leadership award winner with the men’s hockey team.

His 2010-11 campaign was topped off with his nomination for the CIS Randy Gregg award. The CIS Randy Gregg Award is annually given to the player who best exhibits outstanding achievement in hockey, academics and community involvement.

Spaling also was awarded the James-Baun Cup for the second straight year, along with first time recipient women’s hockey assistant captain Jill Morillo (Whitby, Ont.). The award was presented by Toronto Maple Leafs legend Bobby Baun. The James-Baun Cup is presented to a student-athlete on the men’s and women’s hockey teams who show commitment, dedication, perseverance, academic responsibility, leadership and is a great teammate in the pursuit of excellence.

Male team MVP’s included tennis player Andrew Brown (Pickering, Ont.), soccer player Matt Craven (Oshawa, Ont.), hockey player Mike Noyes (Lucan, Ont.) and rower Scott Wilson (Port Perry, Ont.).

Galea, a first year Education major was recognized as the UOIT Female Athlete of the Year. Galea was a member of the Ridgebacks women’s novice eight crew who went on to win the first OUA medal in UOIT’s rowing program history, earning bronze at the provincial championship. Leading up to the OUA championship, the women’s novice eight crew won gold medals at the Guelph and Brock Invitationals.

Galea didn’t only excel at rowing, as she became the first student to represent UOIT at the OUA Squash Championship in March. She was also the women’s rowing top GPA award winner and was selected as UOIT’s representative for the OUA woman of influence award. Her extracurricular activities on campus include her involvement on the UOIT Ridgebacks rowing executive and coordinator of the UOIT extramural women’s flag football team.

Female team MVP award winners included tennis player Jennifer Hann (Port Perry, Ont.), dancer Lisa Smith (Pickering, Ont.) and rower Lauren Dares (Whitby, Ont.).

Dares was also the recipient of the inaugural Rob Millikin award, which was presented by Christina Millikin, daughter of UOIT’s founding head coach Rob Millikin. The award was created in Rob’s honour and is awarded to the varsity athlete best exemplifies and displays the following criteria: academic success, passion and heart. The award will be presented annually as part of the rowing program.

It was a big night for the women’s rowing team as they picked up two other major awards. Angela Dares (Whitby, Ont.) was named the overall female freshman athlete of the year and the entire program was honoured as the team of the year.

On the men’s side, defensive star Matt Pasztor (Langton, Ont.) of the men’s hockey team won the Freshman Athlete of the Year Award.

The Dr. Gary Polonsky Leadership Award was presented to the overall male and female athletes who best exemplify outstanding leadership in the pursuit of excellence. This year’s honour went to Megan Friel (Pickering, Ont.) of the women’s hockey team and Andrew Thompson (Whitby, Ont.) of the men’s soccer team.

COMPLETE LIST OF AWARD WINNERS

MAJOR AWARDS

Male Athlete of the Year
Nathan Spaling, Men’s Hockey (Drayton, Ont.)

Female Athlete of the Year
Shannon Galea, Women’s Rowing/Squash (Oshawa, Ont.)

Male Freshman Athlete of the Year
Matt Pasztor, Men’s Hockey (Langton, Ont.)

Female Freshman Athlete of the Year
Angela Dares, Women’s Rowing (Whitby, Ont.)

Team of the Year
Women’s Rowing

Dr. Gary Polonsky Leadership Award
Megan Friel, Women’s Hockey (Pickering, Ont.)
Andrew Thompson, Men’s Soccer (Whitby, Ont.)

James-Baun Cup
Nathan Spaling, Men’s Hockey (Drayton, Ont.)
Jill Morillo, Women’s Hockey (Whitby, Ont.)

Rob Millikin Award
Lauren Dares, Women’s Rowing (Whitby, Ont.)

CIS/OUA RECOGNITION AWARDS
OUA Women of Influence: Shannon Galea, Women’s Rowing/Squash (Oshawa, Ont.)
CIS Randy Gregg Award Nominee: Nathan Spaling, Men’s Hockey (Drayton, Ont.)
OUA Athlete of the Week: Jason Guy (Whitby, Ont.)
OUA/CIS Athlete of the Week: Jessica Larabie (Pickering, Ont.)
OUA Novice Rowing Coach of the Year: Jeanette Lunenborg

TEAM AWARDS

Men’s Hockey Team Awards
MVP: Mike Noyes (Lucan, Ont.)
Leadership: Nathan Spaling (Drayton, Ont.)
Top Scorer: Nathan Spaling (Drayton, Ont.)
Top Defensive Player: Chris Purves (Scarborough, Ont.)
Rookie of the Year: Matt Pasztor (Langton, Ont.)

Women’s Hockey Team Awards
MVP: Jaclyn Gibson (Cobourg, Ont.)
Leadership: Megan Friel (Pickering, Ont.)
Top Scorer: Sarah Worthington (Whitby, Ont.)
Top Defensive Player: Kara Carter (Whitby, Ont.)
Rookie of the Year: Melissa Berney (Bowmanville, Ont.)

Men’s Rowing Team Awards
MVP: Scott Wilson (Port Perry, Ont.)
Leadership: Justin Vanden Bosch (Frankford, Ont.)
Rookie of the Year: Jeff Bonnallie (Holland Landing, Ont.)

Women’s Rowing Team Awards
MVP: Lauren Dares (Whitby, Ont.)
Leadership: Christie Attwood (Whitby, Ont.)
Rookie of the Year: Angela Dares (Whitby, Ont.)
Coxswain of the Year: Monica Mak (Markham, Ont.)
Rob Millikin Award: Lauren Dares (Whitby, Ont.)

Dance Team Awards
MVP: Lisa Smith (Oshawa, Ont.)
Leadership: Ashley MacLean (Oshawa, Ont.)
Rookie of the Year: Paula Majewski (Mississauga, Ont.)

Men’s Tennis Team Awards
MVP: Andrew Brown (Pickering, Ont.)
Leadership: Karan Chophla (Oshawa, Ont.)
Rookie of the Year: Joel Cockerham (Whitby, Ont.)

Women’s Tennis Team Awards:
MVP: Jennifer Hann (Port Perry, Ont.)
Leadership Award: Jessica Lam (Peterborough, Ont.)
Rookie of the Year: Melissa Bell (Cobourg, Ont.)

Men’s Soccer Team Awards:
MVP: Paul Craven (Oshawa, Ont.)
Leadership Award: Andrew Thompson (Whitby, Ont.)
Offensive Player of the Year: Paul Craven (Oshawa, Ont.)
Defensive Player of the Year: John McMichael (Oshawa, Ont.)
Rookie of the Year: Alex Razimor (Newtonbrook, Ont.)

Student Trainer of the Year: Erica McCann

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College and UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784 (P)
905.721.3117 (F)
scott.dennis@dc-uoit.ca

Photos of individual award winners are available at our flickr site