Tag: Frederique Rajotte

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Celebrating success at gala

Frédérique Rajotte (left) and Olivier Georges (right) were the athletic valedictorians. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

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.

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Representing Canada with pride

From Concordia to the national rugby team, Frédérique Rajotte and Alex Tessier share their experience

When Frédérique Rajotte saw Canadian fans cheering for her following a Women’s Rugby World Cup match in Dublin, Ireland, she started crying.

“I thought, ‘Wow this is so special,’” Rajotte said. “My parents were there with my sister and her husband. So [my family and the fans being there] was really special, and you just felt the pride.”

Rajotte, a fifth-year centre with the Concordia Stingers, played for Canada in the Women’s Rugby World Cup this summer. Alex Tessier, another fifth-year centre with the Stingers, joined Rajotte on the journey to represent their country.

“It’s always such an honour [to represent Canada],” said Tessier, who has played for Team Canada before at various levels. “It’s always so special to play at the highest level. It’s hard to describe.”

Tessier and Rajotte traded in their standard Stingers maroon and gold for the Canadian red and white for almost the entire month of August. The two Concordia students are roommates in Montreal and were roommates in Ireland. They agreed it was a special experience to have each other there.

“Our connection is strong on the field and off the field,” Tessier said. “It’s always good having confidence in someone.”

“Having Alex [there], there’s kind of a sense of home,” Rajotte said.

Frédérique Rajotte carries the ball against the Carleton Ravens at Concordia Stadium on Sept. 17. Photo by Alex Hutchins

Twelve teams participated in the Women’s Rugby World Cup, which is played once every three years. Even though the two Stingers were surrounded by players from all around the world, they said they kept to themselves.

“You always think [the World Cup] is going to be a lot of socializing,” Rajotte said. “But we didn’t interact with other teams. Not saying we were anti-social or rude about it, but we were very focused on ourselves, and we had a team-first mentality.”

“I’m not the most outgoing person,” Tessier added, “so I didn’t meet players from other teams. But it was cool to be all together and see other cultures—like the New Zealand culture is something different.”

Before each game, New Zealand rugby teams—known as the All Blacks for their all-black uniforms—perform the traditional Haka dance, which is unique in the world of rugby. According to Tourism New Zealand, the Haka originates from the Maori people, who are indigenous to New Zealand. The Maori performed the Haka in preparation of war, to symbolize the tribe’s pride, strength and unity.

The Haka tradition was passed down from armies to New Zealand’s rugby teams, who try to intimidate their opponents with the dance before each match. The Canadian team had to face the Haka before their match against New Zealand on Aug. 17.

“It’s impressive at first, but you just have to focus on your game,” Tessier said. “It doesn’t affect you, it can’t affect you.”

Rajotte added that while Team Canada respected the dance because of its history, they just wanted to get to the game. “Seeing that, I think that it’s a challenge or an invitation to go to war, but you get used to it,” she said.

Canada lost that game against New Zealand 48-5, which was their final pool game. Before that, Canada beat Hong Kong 98-0 in their first match, where Tessier scored a try. They also beat Wales, 15-0, in the second match.

The two wins weren’t enough for Canada, as their loss against New Zealand disqualified them from the semi-final. The All Blacks eventually won the tournament, while Rajotte, Tessier and the rest of Team Canada were relegated into the fifth-place playoffs.

Alex Tessier kicks the ball during a match versus the Carleton Ravens on Sept. 17. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

In a battle for pride in the playoffs, Canada beat Wales 52-0, then Australia 43-12, to finish in fifth place at the Rugby World Cup. Before the tournament, Canada was ranked as the fourth-best team in the world. For the two Stingers, their failure to earn a spot on the podium was disappointing.

“We didn’t have the result we wanted. We were supposed to get the medals,” Tessier said. “It pissed us off that we lost that game [against New Zealand]. So the two last games we played for fifth place were amazing games that I will never forget, because they were really well fought.”

Rajotte added that Canada could compete with the stronger teams like New Zealand and England, the other team that made it to the final. She said the Canadian women’s national team has a lot of potential.

“There’s a lot of hope, and there were a lot of veterans on the team who are retiring, so now it’s up to the younger girls to take over,” she said. “[The veterans] did a great job of sharing their knowledge and their past experiences.”

Tessier and Rajotte both said they learned a lot about discipline and professionalism with the Canadian team. “Discipline, we call it being pro, like being on time and being efficient,” Tessier said. “We try to focus on quality over quantity. That’s one thing I took away, is discipline and staying focused.”

The Stingers veterans aim to bring that professionalism back to the Stingers in their final year with the team. The soft-spoken Tessier said the team needs to have a one-game-at-a-time mentality in order win the championship, while the outgoing Rajotte was more direct about what she thought the team could accomplish.

“We are going to win the RSEQ championship, and we are going to go to Nationals in Alberta.”

Main photo by Alex Hutchin

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From Concordia to Canada’s national team

Rajotte was named RSEQ MVP last season after the team went to nationals. Photo by Brianna Thicke.

Women’s rugby player Frédérique Rajotte talks about her start in rugby and her career with the Stingers

Frédérique Rajotte is a beast out on the rugby field. The fourth-year Concordia Stingers women’s rugby player has become a leader for the established squad, and has picked up a Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) MVP award last year. Her rugby career is impressive—but it’s not the sport that started her athletic career.

“It all started in high school. I played soccer competitively, and then one of my coaches introduced me to rugby,” Rajotte said. “I tried out in grade nine, not knowing what it was all about, and ended up loving it. From that day on, I made the team and decided to quit soccer and take rugby on full-time.”

Rajotte said that she had no idea there were rugby clubs in her hometown of Markham, Ont. when she first got into the sport. After doing some digging, Rajotte, who was 16 at the time, found a club in her area and played during the summer. She played with the Markham Irish junior team, and was invited to try out for their senior team when she turned 17.

The running aspect of rugby came naturally to her, she said, due to her experience with soccer. However, Rajotte admitted that learning the rules of the sport, as well as the physical aspect of rugby, was a difficult transition.

“You really need to study the game to be good at it, and I acquired knowledge as I went along,” Rajotte said. “In terms of physical play, at first it was messy. I was tackling high and dangerous, and when you’re young, you don’t have body awareness. But as you go on, you learn a lot.”

Part of Rajotte’s rugby journey has taken place at Concordia. Rajotte said that, contrary to what many people think, she wasn’t recruited by the school. Her sole reason for coming to Concordia was for its communication studies program.

Rajotte, who is interested in a career in sports broadcasting, applied to journalism schools across the country—when she was accepted at Concordia, she didn’t look back.

Rajotte is hoping to play in the rugby World Cup in the summer of 2017. Photo by Alexander Cole.

“When I got into the communications program, I knew it had taken a lot of work with interviews, the letter of intent and essays,” Rajotte said. “I was super excited and they only took 60 students, so my decision was set.”

Rajotte added that, although she was not recruited directly, she did go on a recruitment trip that convinced her to join the Stingers rugby program. Rajotte now has one year of eligibility left after this season, and said she has every intention of playing out her final year with the squad.

For Rajotte, playing for the Stingers comes with a sense of belonging that, in many ways, feels like a tight-knit family. In her last couple of seasons with the team, Rajotte wants to make the most of the opportunity and make her coaches proud.

“You walk into the complex, and it’s like your second home,” Rajotte said. “I think wearing the jersey and knowing that it’s my last couple of years, I just want to win some games, be a part of the wonderful team we have.”

The Stingers changed their game plan this season, which, according to Rajotte, put pressure on the team. As a result, the team struggled in the first game of the season against the Université de Laval Rouge et Or, losing by a score of 45-26. Despite that, Rajotte said the team has been able to bounce back, which is something she is extremely proud of.

Not only is Rajotte seen as a talented player, she and her teammate, Alex Tessier, are also considered leaders on the team. Rajotte said that her and Tessier, who are also roommates, have discussed their roles with each other, and agree that there can be pressure at times to perform well.

“Yes, there is some pressure because some people on our team look up to us and they want that leadership,” Rajotte said. “There’s definitely been some pressure on our shoulders. We want to perform at games and practices—and we try our best to lead by example.”

Aside from the Stingers, Rajotte plays for Canada’s national women’s 15s rugby team, and this summer, she played in the World Rugby Super Series.

Rajotte played alongside her Stingers teammate Tessier, and the team won the whole tournament after beating England 52-17, the United States 33-5 and France 29-10.

“This summer was huge. A lot of training went into it,” Rajotte said. “Winning it and going undefeated with all of those girls was really the highlight of my career so far.”

During the World Rugby Super Series, Rajotte said that the team gained a lot more media exposure than she expected. In the past, women’s rugby, and rugby in general, has been brushed aside by Canadian media outlets because sports like hockey, football and baseball are a bigger part of Canada’s sports culture. Rajotte said that, to change this mentality, rugby needs to be introduced more frequently at the youth level, which will allow the sport to grow and become part of the public consciousness.

Rajotte added that, while there was good coverage which gave the team better representation, there was still a lack of promotion for the event, which left people unaware that the event was even taking place.

“In my opinion, there still needs to be work done when it comes to talking about the event prior to it happening,” Rajotte said. “It would be cool if [the media] would do profile pieces on the national team athletes, and do them on the bigger platforms like TSN and Sportsnet.”

“People knew we won the Super Series, but some people didn’t even know what it was or what it means,” Rajotte said.

Rajotte hopes to be a part of the 2017 Rugby Women’s World Cup next summer in Ireland. Rajotte said selections for the team will be made on Oct. 17, and if she makes the team, she will be going to Ireland in November for a three-week tour in preparation for the tournament.

She added that balancing rugby and school can be difficult. However, when teachers are on board, it makes it easier.

“I’ve had teachers who think it’s awesome and wish me luck and are super supportive,” Rajotte said. “ Some of my teachers in my other classes don’t understand and are close-minded to sports, which is so hard because that’s who I am.”

While making the World Cup team is a top priority for Rajotte, she hasn’t forgotten about her Stingers. Last year the team made it to nationals, but was defeated in the bronze medal game against their fiercest rivals, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Rajotte wants to improve on that performance, and said that doing well at nationals this season would be better than winning the Super Series.

“I’m hoping that the highlight of this year will be making it to nationals and performing well. That’s next on my list,” said Rajotte.

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Different season, same high expectations

The Stingers finished second in their division last year with a record of 6-1. Photos by Brianna Thicke

Women’s rugby coach Graeme McGravie talks about the upcoming year

Last year, the women’s rugby team had a successful season that brought them all the way to Nationals. They won six out of their seven games and posted a point differential of plus 260. The team was able to finish second in the Réseau de sport étudiant de Quebec (RSEQ) division, but according to coach Graeme McGravie, the team is always looking to improve.

“The goal is always the same—it is to win week in and week out,” McGravie said. “We want to—and expect to—win every single game, every single week and eventually get a medal at the Nationals.”

The team has started to practice and is already refining their skills for the upcoming season. Many of the Stingers players from last year are returning, and with a few new recruits, McGravie feels the team is ready to take the next step.

“This year, we have a lot of fifth year players and returning players,” McGravie said. “We have a lot of veterans and experience, so the focus is to win—now and fast. If we would have had a mantra going into training camp, it would definitely be win now.’”

Last season, the Stingers made it to Nationals, but lost in the third place game to the Queen’s University Golden Gaels with a score of 27-13. Two of the players that led the team to Nationals last season were the dynamic duo Frédérique Rajotte and Alex Tessier. Rajotte and Tessier are both All-Canadians, and Rajotte was named league MVP. For McGravie, the team’s physical strategy helps both of these players put up points.

“We like to bang on other teams and get physical to wear them out. It allows us to let Fred and Tess use their speed and work their magic on the boundaries,” said McGravie.

When asked about how the coaching staff is looking at tactical changes going into training camp, McGravie said the physical style of play the team has adopted over the years will remain a staple of the program. McGravie even compared his team to the New York Giants of the NFL.

In terms of recruitment for the upcoming season, McGravie said a winning program and players like Rajotte on his team help in the recruiting process

“It’s kind of like when Kevin Durant went to the Warriors. Players want to go where they’re winning,” McGravie said.

One of the big additions to this year’s team is Francois Ratier, Team Canada’s senior women’s rugby head coach and former technical director of Rugby Quebec. Ratier will be joining the team as an assistant coach.

“He’s the man,” McGravie said. “He’s going to help the coaching staff and kind of look over things. He doesn’t guarantee us wins but he’s going to push everybody on the coaching staff and will be a great asset to the team.”

The Stingers will be given a chance to make an impression on the league during their season opener at home against the Laval Rouge Et Or. The game is on Sept. 5 and will be the first step on the road to Nationals.

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