Athletics – The Concordian

Frédérique Rajotte, Francis Carter and Anthony Beauregard named athletes of the year

The Concordia Stingers wrapped up the 2017-18 athletic season with their annual awards gala on April 6 at the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall. The Stingers celebrated their successes this season, during which two teams won championships, and they were able to laugh about the not-so-good moments.

Sebastian Iaricci of the men’s rugby team made sure to bring their championship banner when accepting his award. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

The Stingers held a cocktail party before the gala for all its athletes, which created an energetic atmosphere in the auditorium.

“We don’t always get together, but we see each other [around the complex] and we’re happy,” said fifth-year rugby player Frédérique Rajotte after the event. “It’s a big camaraderie and it’s very special.”

Here’s a breakdown of how each team did this season, and which players won each team’s most valuable player (MVP) and rookie of the year (ROY) awards.

Women’s hockey

The women’s hockey team was the most successful team this year. They had a 14-4-2 record during the regular season, and went on to win the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) championship in March. They won the bronze medal at the U Sports national championship. A few of their players also picked up awards at the gala.

MVP: Claudia Dubois

ROY: Lidia Fillion, who also won the overall rookie of the year award.

President’s Academic Award: Alexandra Nikolidakis and Audrey-Anne Allard

Fittest Female Athlete: Melinda Prévost

Men’s hockey

The men’s hockey team didn’t share the same success as the women’s team, despite finishing the regular season with a 18-7-3 record. They won the bronze medal in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference, and athletics director D’Arcy Ryan told the crowd, “bronze is the new gold.”

MVP: Anthony Beauregard, who also won the Stingers male athlete of the year.

ROY: Carl Neill, also named Stingers male rookie of the year.

Men’s rugby

The men’s rugby team won Concordia’s other championship this season, also winning the RSEQ title. They had a perfect 9-0 season in provincial play, but lost both games at nationals. They were easily the rowdiest team at the awards gala, bouncing an oversized beach ball around.

MVP: Charles Debove

ROY: Sebastian Iaricci

Marvin Cooper Award for overcoming adversity: Moritz Wittmann

Ron Lapointe Award for leadership and community service: Andreas Krawczyk

Women’s rugby

The women’s rugby stars, Rajotte and Alex Tessier, stole the show. Rajotte was also the female athletic valedictorian, and she said some of the smaller teams like wrestling, golf and cross-country deserve praise too. “I don’t think we talk about many of the teams, like wrestling that kill it every year, and deserve that recognition,” Rajotte said. “All those teams need to be recognized even if they’re not the main face of social media.”

MVP: Rajotte, also named as Stingers female athlete of the year.

ROY: Shawna Brayton

Michael Di Grappa Award for senior distinction: Alex Tessier

Wrestling

The wrestling team often goes unnoticed when compared to other Stingers teams. Head coach Victor Zilberman’s squad picked up major hardware this season, and continued to do so at awards night. At nationals, the team finished in second place.

MVPs: Jade Dufour and Francis Carter. Carter was also named male athlete of the year alongside Beauregard, and earned the President’s Academic Award.

ROYs: Laurence Beauregard and Alex Moore

Michael Di Grappa Award for senior distinction: Vincent De Marinis

Soccer

Simon Malaborsa of the men’s team picked up the MVP and ROY of the year honours. Olivier Georges was the male athlete valedictorian. The women’s team also collected a few distinctions. Chama Sedki’s long-distance goal in a September game was voted by the athletes as the play of the year.

MVP: Chama Sedki

ROY: Imane Chebel

Denise Beaudet Award for leadership and community service: Laura Lamontagne

After the event, men’s hockey defenceman Neill said all the athletes are part of the Stingers family.

“It’s fun to recognize all the teams at once, and all the teams appreciate the other teams,” Neill said. “You saw when we played [in the playoffs] against McGill, every team was present, and we support other teams too.”

Other Teams

Football

MVP: Mickael Côté, also named fittest male athlete.

ROY: Khadeem Pierre

Basketball

MVPs: Ken Beaulieu and Caroline Task

ROYs: Anthony Sonogo and Coralie Dumont. Dumont was also named a Stingers rookie of the year.

Baseball

MVP: Stefan Brady

ROY: Kyle Hazel

Cross-country

MVPs: Gabrielle Boyer-Antoni and Rikirogo Shinozuka

ROYs: Brittany Jackson and Ben Daurodovicious

Golf

MVPs: Ali Koury and Warren Sellors

ROYs: Maria Veronica Noriega and Ryan Mitchell

Main photo by Alex Hutchins.

It’s not even a competition; America is just better at college athletics

Last Monday, on Jan. 12, the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes squared off in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship. If you happened to be flipping through the channels and stumbled across it, you wouldn’t think it was a bunch of 18 to 21 year-olds. The presentation, the pageantry and the international attention that these student-athletes receive are incomparable to anything we have here in Canada. While there has been scrutiny of these big universities for the financial benefits that they get out of their unpaid athletes, the hype around college sports doesn’t depend solely on money.

If you did happen to catch the Buckeyes dismantle the Ducks 42-20, you weren’t alone. According to ESPN, over 33 million people tuned into the championship tilt. If that seems like an overwhelming amount, it’s because it is.

Last year’s Stanley Cup Game 5, where the Los Angeles Kings defeated the New York Rangers to hoist the cup, brought in approximately six million viewers according to Sports Media Watch. The National Championship even squashed the 27.8 million viewers who saw the San Francisco Giants’ final out in the 2014 World Series, according to Forbes magazine. And, for the sake of comparing apples to apples, 320,000 people watched this year’s Vanier Cup on Sportsnet between the Montreal Carabins and the McMaster Marauders, reported Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).

Although baseball is traditionally known as America’s pastime, football has become an entirely different beast within the past two decades. On American campuses, Saturdays are known as gameday. Whether you are a sports fan or not, students pack their stadiums to bask in their school spirit. It’s not so much a game, but a social event. Most students who attend American universities are only there for four years and it seems that they sure know how to make the most of it. Signs are made, faces are painted and the marching bands are rowdy; it’s a party that every student is invited to.

It’s unfair to compare Canada’s football passion to America’s, but hockey is supposed to be our game. Yet, when it comes to supporting our varsity teams, the enthusiasm just isn’t there. According to CIS, the average attendance for the past three home games of Concordia’s men’s hockey team was 53 spectators.

Canadian universities will never draw the same attraction towards athletics as the juggernaut American institutions. Their funding and population are too vast, but the passion that their student body brings is something that can be admired. We may not have the television deals or national coverage, but a little more support for the maroon and gold could go a long way.