April 16, 2020 …. WELLAND, ONT. - In a day usually spent gathering athletes, coaches and staff in a banquet hall to celebrate the achievements of the past athletic season, things looked a bit different for this year's Niagara College Athletic Awards celebration this morning.
The 51st edition of the year-end traditional awards banquet was transformed into an online broadcast that aired Thursday morning from Niagara College's Facebook page. The online celebration was created and produced by the Broadcast, Television, Radio and Film (BRTF) program, in coordination with the Athletics and Recreation Department.
The 2019-2020 awards saw a volleyball sweep of the Knights Athlete of the Year accolades, with 5th year men's volleyball player Sam Otten (Toronto) and born and raised Wellander, Natasha Desjardins taking home the day's top honours.
Desjardins marked her third season with the Knights in 2019-2020 and emerged as a leader on and off the court. Setting the bar high this season, Desjardins posted some impressive numbers for her team; 4th in kills and kills-per-set, 3rd in points, and 5th in points-per-set. Desjardins was also named an OCAA 1st team All-Star, and OCAA All-Academic and CCAA Academic recipient this season.
Otten came to the Knights this season coming off a CCAA Championship with the Fanshawe Falcons in 2019. In his final year of eligibility, Otten made an immediate impact for the Knight's run at an OCAA Championship. Otten consistently led his team with 3.75 kills per set, 0.68 aces per set, and a .319 hitting percentage. Despite missing a few games this season, he continued to remain in the top five of the OCAA League leaders as well as an OCAA First Team All-Star. The Toronto native will finish his OCAA career with over 400 kills and 100 aces.
Taking home the year's top Female and Male Leadership awards were men's soccer captain Andrew Currie (5th year, Woodstock)), and two female candidates; Local product Michelle Maecker (3rd year, Welland) from women's soccer, and Tamara Edwards (3rd year, Vineland) from women's volleyball.
Top Rookie of the Year Honours went to Sterphone Augustin (1st year, Bahamas) of men's basketball and women's soccer and basketball athlete Terin Hultink (1st year, Fenwick).
Picking up this year's Tournament Sport Athlete of the Year was the mixed-curling duo of McKenna McGovern (1st year, Lambton Shores) and Ben Jones (1st Year, Brantford). McGovern and Jones brought home the only OCAA medal this year, earning a gold after a complete sweep of every opponent at the OCAA Championships.
While the morning was spent celebrating athletic accomplishments, the success in the classroom did not go unnoticed. Five Niagara athletes were named CCAA Academic All-Canadians, one of the most prestigious honours from the CCAA, while several other athletes maintained top GPAs this season. For a second consecutive year, golf's Chris Hallborg (2nd year, St. Catharines) took home the Top Male Scholastic Award with a 97 percent GPA, while women's volleyball players Anica Haberstock (2nd year, Vernon, B.C.) and Taylor Morrison (2nd year, Hamilton) took home the Top Scholastic Female with a 98 percent GPA. Haberstock also took home the top honour last year.
Those who missed the 10:00 A.M. live stream of the awards ceremony can find the recorded version on Niagara College's Facebook page, and will air on Cogeco Sunday April 19th at 8:30 P.M. and Tuesday April 21st at 8:00 P.M.
Full list of 2019-2020 award recipients:
Luciano Berardocco Memorial Award
Rino Berardi, Men's Soccer Ass't Coach
Ralph Nero Award
Rob Lalama, Head Coach, Women's Soccer
Athlete of Distinction Award:
Men's Basketball – Johnnie Richardson, Daniel Lokole
Men's Soccer – Noah DiEgidio
Women' Soccer – Sophia Al-kayed
Women's Basketball – Samantha Baptie
Men's Volleyball – Robbie Zalewski, Eli Bugiardini
Women's Volleyball – Natasha Desjardins, Tamara Edwards, Ainsleigh Williams
Fourth Year Recognition Award:
Men's Basketball – Lequan Hylton
Men's Soccer – Andrew Currie
OCAA All-Academic Award:
Golf
Chris Hallborg
Men's Basketball
Abdel Rahim Bardi
Connor Jolliffe
Kennan Larmand
Reese Radobenko
Daniel Lokole
Women's Basketball
Elisabeth deBoer
Leanne Dekorte
Lysa Lowe
Jessyka Maliksi
Women's Soccer
Julieanne Buist
Maria Gamba
Wiktoria Keller
Katelyn Mix
Men's Soccer
James D'Annunzio
Patrick Ioanidis
Simon Silverio
Fabian Vargas Murcia,
Men's Volleyball
Nicholas Buckborough
Elijah Bugiardini
Ashton Fehr
Owen Pols
Robert Zalewski
Women's Volleyball
Alexis Barclay
Madelyn Berg
Natasha Desjardins
Tamara Edwards
Anica Haberstock
Taylor Morrison
Kristen Oudman
Marissa Steele
Montanna Taylor
CCAA Academic All-Canadians:
Women's Soccer- Katelyn Mix, Julieanne Buist
Women's Volleyball - Natasha Desjardins, Madelyn Berg
Men's Volleyball - Elijah Bugiardini
Team MVP Awards:
Golf- Logan Lammerant
Curling- McKenna McGovern and Ben Jones
Men's Volleyball – Sam Otten
Women's Soccer – Terin Hultink
Men's Soccer- Dean Miller
Men's Basketball- Lequan Hylton
Women's Basketball- Kaisen Mackinnon
Women's Volleyball- Natasha Desjardins
Team Scholastic Awards:
Men's Basketball - Connor Jolliffe
Men's Soccer - James D'Annunzio
Men's Volleyball - Robbie Zalewski
Women's Basketball - Elisabeth deBoer
Women's Soccer - Katelyn Mix
Team Leadership Awards:
Curling - McKenna McGovern
Women Volleyball - Tamara Edwards
Golf - Spencer Gates
Women's Basketball - Kaisen MacKinnon
Men's Soccer- Andrew Currie
Men's Basketball - Johnnie Richardson
Women's Soccer - Michelle Maecker
Men's volleyball - Robbie Zalewski
Rookie of the Year Team Awards:
Men's Volleyball - Colin Prelaz
Men's Basketball - Sterphone Augustin
Women's Basketball - Terin Hultink
Golf - Coleman Drummond
Curling - McKenna McGovern
Women's Soccer - Julieanne Buist
Men's Soccer - Simon Silverio
Women's Volleyball - Kristen Oudmen
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Knights Media Inquiries, please contact:
Lindsay English
Communications and Events Coordinator
Cell: 905-932-0354
