2021-2022 BioSteel Athletes of the Week
MARCH 29:
Swimmers Amy Meharg and Alex Perreault are the BioSteel Athletes of the Week.
Meharg was a key member on the Gee-Gees relay teams at the 2022 U SPORTS National Championship. The first year from Tillsonburg, Ont., helped her team, which included three 18-year-old rookies, to a sixth place finish in the 4x200m freestyle event, going neck-and-neck with much more experienced swimmers. A Psychology student, Meharg helped the 4x100m freestyle team to an eight overall result.
Perreault picked up the bronze medal in the 50m butterfly at the 2022 U SPORTS National Championship. The Human Kinetics master’s student clocked a time of 23.73, smashing the team record at that distance he set earlier in the season. Perreault also set the program record in the 100m butterfly (52.89) and was a key member of the Gee-Gees relay teams.
*
MARCH 22:
They did it again! Sydney Smith and high jumper Thomas Senechal-Becker are the BioSteel Athletes of the Week for the second straight week.
Smith took the gold medal in the 600m at the OUA Championships. The fifth year from Ottawa became the first Gee-Gees female athlete to win gold at the conference championship since 2016. Smith, who previously won an OUA bronze medal in 2020 as a member of the 4x800m relay team, heads to the U SPORTS National Championship with the fastest time in the country this season (1:29.38 set in Windsor on Mar. 5).
Sénéchal-Becker earned a silver medal in the high jump at the OUA Championships. The first-year Gee-Gee enters the U SPORTS National Championship with the third highest leap in the country this season (2.05m). With the Health Science student’s silver medal, Gee-Gees high jumpers have won medals at four of the last eight OUA Championships.
*
MARCH 15:
Sydney Smith and high jumper Thomas Senechal-Becker are the BioSteel Athletes of the Week.
Smith won the 600m at the Redbird Last Chance Meet. The 2021-22 season has been tremendous for the senior from Ottawa, as her 600m time of 1:29.38 at the Windsor Team Challenge earlier this year is currently the fastest in U SPORTS and the fastest all-time by a Gee-Gee. Smith heads into next week’s OUA Championship as a medal favourite.
Senechal-Becker won the high jump competition at the Redbird Last Chance Meet - his second win in as many weeks. The first year Health Science student’s clearance of 2.02m easily took the event. Senechal-Becker is currently ranked third nationally in the high jump, thanks to a clearance of 2.05m last week in Windsor.
*
MARCH 8:
Lauren Shearer and Hugo Lemesle are the BioSteel Athletes of the Week.
Lauren Shearer won five medals at the RSEQ Swimming Championship, including gold in the 200m breaststroke. Shearer’s time of 2:36.22 in the prelims was good enough to reach U SPORTS standard, but she bettered it my nearly four seconds in the final. Shearer also won silver in the 50m breaststroke and bronze in the 100m breaststroke, qualifying the for U SPORTS National Championship in each. Lauren also won a pair of relay bronze medals in the 200m and 400m medley events.
Hugo Lemesle took home five total medals, including a pair of golds, at the RSEQ Swimming Championship. The first year Gee-Gee was nearly two seconds ahead of the competition in the 200m breastroke, easily achieving U SPORTS standard. Lemesle also won gold in the 400m medley relay, and silver in the 50m breaststroke, 100m breastroke, and 200m medley relay. Hugo reached U SPORTS standard in each event he medaled in.
*
MARCH 1:
Basketball players Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu and Maxime Boursiquot are the BioSteel Athletes of the Week.
Lefebvre-Okankwu packed the stats sheet over the weekend with a pair of double-doubles. In the process, the fourth year from Gatineau, Que., moved into second all-time on the women’s basketball scoring list. The Biomedical Science student is second in the OUA with 16.5 points per game.
Boursiquot could do no wrong Saturday, picking up a career-high 26 points. His six offensive rebounds gave the visiting Rams fits, while the Ottawa product’s stingy defensive play also yielded three steals. Boursiquot is shooting just shy of 57 percent on the season, good for fourth in the conference.
*
FEBRUARY 22:
The BioSteel Athletes of the Week are hockey players Kylie Lalonde and Nic Ouellet.
Lalonde’s goal was the difference maker Friday evening against Bishop’s. Ottawa’s 1-0 victory secured them a spot in the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season. The third period marker was also the Arnprior, Ont., product’s first as a Gee-Gee.
Ouellet had a debut weekend to remember, scoring a pair of goals in his first career Gee-Gees regular season game. The first year Marketing student from Mascouche, Que., set up the overtime game winner on Saturday, and now has four points through three games.
*
DECEMBER 6:
The BioSteel Athletes of the Week are women’s hockey player Ariane Aubin and men’s swimmer Gordon Forrest.
Aubin could not be stopped on the weekend, recording three goals and adding an assist during the team’s two games. The second-year from La Baie, Que., set up the game winning goal against the Carleton Ravens, and then put the game to bed with two unanswered goals in the third period.
Forrest took home his fair share of hardware at the Neptune Invitational last weekend. The third-year Accounting student finished second in the 200m backstroke and third in the 100m backstroke. The Christchurch, New Zealand, product is close to reaching the U SPORTS standard in both events.
*
NOVEMBER 29:
Women’s basketball player Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu and men’s hockey player Charles-Antoine Roy are the BioSteel Athletes of the Week.
Lefebvre-Okankwu helped the Gee-Gees to a pair of convincing wins over Toronto this weekend, recording identical stat lines of 19 points and eight rebounds in the two matchups. The fourth year Biomedical Science student is now just seven points shy of 1,000 in her uOttawa career.
Roy scored two goals in the men’s hockey team’s thrilling 3-2 victory over McGill Sunday afternoon. The rookie, who attended the Montreal Canadiens development camp in September, scored a late tying goal to spark a comeback, giving the team their third straight victory as they head into the holiday break.
*
NOVEMBER 22:
Women’s hockey player Katherine Birkby and men’s hockey player Jean-Robin Mantha are the BioSteel Athletes of the Week.
Birkby was outstanding, playing a role in all three Gee-Gees goals on Sunday. The third year Health Science student scored the game's opening goal and then the game winner, securing a statement victory for the Gee-Gees as they defeated the number-one ranked McGill Martlets 3-2.
Mantha notched three points over the weekend, including a late insurance marker in a 5-2 win against the Carleton Ravens. The goal was Mantha’s first since returning from a battle with testicular cancer. His last goal came on Jan. 21, 2018.
*
NOVEMBER 15:
This week’s BioSteel Athletes of the Week are women’s rugby player Claire Gallagher and men’s hockey player Cody Van Lierop.
Gallagher was instrumental in the women’s rugby team capturing the silver medal at the U SPORTS National Championship. The third year Health Sciences student’s clutch kicking was key to clinching Ottawa a spot in the Final, and she was named to the Championship All-Star Team.
Van Lierop had a game to remember Sunday evening against Concordia, recording two goals and an assist. The defencemen was in just his fourth regular season game since returning from a major knee injury, and has been a vital part of the program’s leadership group.
*
NOVEMBER 8:
The uOttawa BioSteel Athletes of the Week are Christine Deaudelin from women’s hockey and J-P Cimankinda from football.
Deaudelin, the captain of the women’s hockey team, scored a hat trick against Bishop’s on Sunday afternoon. The senior defender scored twice in the first period and iced the game with an empty netter late.
Cimankinda helped the football team to a convincing playoff victory over the University of Toronto. The Ottawa product scampered for 124 yards on the ground while scoring the game’s first touchdown. Cimankinda has now rushed for over 100 yards four times this season.
*
NOVEMBER 1:
Swimmer Adelle Yamashita-Ball and football’s Ben Maracle are the BioSteel Athletes of the Week.
Yamashita-Ball won the 100m butterfly and finished second in the 200m freestyle at the swim team’s duel meet with the University of Toronto on Saturday. The Psychology student is off to a strong start to the season, having already qualified for the U SPORTS National Championships in the 400m freestyle.
Maracle had a hand in three of his team’s touchdowns Thursday night, helping the Gee-Gees to a win over their heated rivals from Carleton. The second-year pivot from Tyendinaga, Ont., scrambled for two scores and passed for a touchdown. He enters the playoffs as the conference’s third-leading passer.
*
OCTOBER 25:
Soccer player Angelina Gendreau and swimmer William Barrett are the uOttawa BioSteel Athletes of the Week.
Gendreau’s stoppage time goal secured a pulse-pounding victory for the women’s soccer team against Queen’s. The third-year Human Kinetics student from Lancaster, Ont., unleashed a strike from 30 yards out, hitting the cross bar on its way into the net. It was Gendreau’s fourth goal in as many matches.
Barrett took home his far share of hardware at the swim team’s RSEQ Cup meet. The third-year Criminology student from Guelph, Ont., won gold in the 100m breaststroke, silver in the 50m breaststroke and helped the 4x100m medley relay team to a new short course record for the program.
*
OCTOBER 18:
The BioSteel Athletes of the Week are women’s soccer player Emma Lefebvre and men’s rugby player Simba Gumbo.
Lefebvre scored an astounding five goals over the weekend, including a four-goal showing against RMC. The fifth-year notched the game-winner versus Ontario Tech on Sunday, giving her 11 goals on the year - by far the most in the conference.
Gumbo broke Saturday’s men’s rugby game wide open with an electrifying try. The rookie from Johannesburg, South Africa scampered more than 70 yards, weaving in and out of defenders to give the Gee-Gees a lead they would not relinquish against ETS.
*
OCTOBER 12:
Women’s rugby’s Alexandra Ondo and football’s Kevin Victome are the BioSteel Athletes of the Week.
Ondo, a fifth-year senior from Gatineau, Que., lit it up in women’s rugby’s 58-7 win over Sherbrooke, scoring four tries. Ondo now leads the conference with nine tries on the season and is second to teammate Claire Gallagher in scoring.
Victome packed the stats sheet in football’s thrilling win over York at TD Place. The second-year cornerback made four solo tackles, broke up a pass and prevented a touchdown with a clutch interception.
*
OCTOBER 4:
The BioSteel Athletes of the Week are women’s soccer player Emma Lefebvre and football player Campbell Fair.
Lefebvre tallied four goals over the weekend, including a hat trick against Trent. The fifth year striker leads the conference with five goals in just three matches, helping Ottawa to the most potent offence in Ontario.
Fair etched his name in Panda Game folklore by drilling a career-long 45-yard field goal in the closing moments of the game. The third-year Arts major booted three field goals on the day, as the Gee-Gees secured their third straight Panda victory.
*
SEPTEMBER 27:
The BioSteel Athletes of the Week are women’s soccer player Kaylane Hogue and men’s rugby player Jamie Armstrong.
Hogue found the back of the net twice in the team’s season opener this weekend. The second year biology student played the full 90 minutes on defence as uOttawa kept a clean sheet.
Armstrong scored the go-ahead try for the men’s rugby team, and kicked three converts. Some clutch kicking and tackling from the second year economics major helped the Gee-Gees shutout Montreal in the second half, en route to a 26-12 win.
*
SEPTEMBER 13:
The BioSteel Athletes of the Week are women’s rugby player Madison Grant and men’s rugby player Elias Hancock.
Grant scored three tries for uOttawa as part of a 70-0 victory to open the 2021 season, at home against Sherbrooke. Grant, a geography student from Cornwall, Ont., is in her second season of playing with the Gee-Gees and picked up where she left off a successful 2019 season.
Hancock set a men's rugby team record with four tries in the team's 65-0 home victory against Sherbrooke. Prior to Saturday's game, no Gee-Gee had more than two in a single game. It was a special performance for Hancock, who was coming back from an injury that forced him to miss the 2019 season.