Award Winners highlight annual Gee-Gees club banquet
The Gee-Gees competitive sport club teams gathered and celebrated the 2022-2023 season on Thursday, March 30, including highlighting award winners from each team and overall major award winners.
Members of the Nordic ski team Shilo Rousseau and Aidan Kirkham were announced as the Athletes of the Year for competitive sport club teams after representing the Gee-Gees at the FISU World University Games. Teammate Zoe Pekos and baseball team member Ben Dodek were named the recipients of the Merit Awards which recognize achievement in academics and sport.
Erin Moore's contributions to the equestrian team captured the Leadership and Initiative Award, while Jackson Pallandi of the baseball team received a True Sport Award.
Twenty six team Most Valuable Players were honoured, and the complete list of winners is below.
The finalists for the Athlete of the Year awards were: Chloé Gagnon (equestrian), Jordanna Hartley (softball), Naomi Peterson (ultimate), Shilo Rousseau (Nordic skiing), Alex Bianchini (badminton), Cameron Kennedy (ultimate), Aidan Kirkham (Nordic skiing), Evan Whiteway-Willard (baseball).
Shilo Rousseau was named Athlete of the Year for the second straight season and has excelled on the international scene in 2022-23. Representing uOttawa in biathlon at the FISU World University Games, the fourth-year biology student won two gold medals and a silver medal, making Canadian FISU Games history in the process.
She was the first Canadian to win a biathlon medal at the event and is also one of just is one of just three Canadians in history to claim two gold medals at a single World University Games and the first since 2003. Rousseau, from Thessalon, Ont., was named Canada's flag-bearer for the closing ceremonies of the Games.
Rousseau was also Canada's top finisher at the International Biathlon Cup event in March and represented uOttawa in skate and classic Nordic skiing events at multiple Canada Cup competitions, earning top five finishes.
Aidan Kirkham was the top university skier and second overall at the Eastern Canadian Championships classic event and captained the Gee-Gees men's team to a best ever finish at the OUA Championships. He anchored the relay team to a silver medal, captured silver in the individual skate event, and shared in the team's bronze medal in the overall standings.
At the FISU World University Games, Kirkham anchored the Canadian men's relay team to a ninth place finish which marked a three-place improvement from the last event. He added Canada's top finish in the 30 kilometre skate event. Kirkham is a Master's student in Epidemiology, from Kanata.
The finalists for the Awards of Merit were: Madeline MacMillan (golf), Zoe Pekos (Nordic skiing), Rachel Matheson-Green (softball), Kennis Ross (equestrian), Ben Dodek (baseball), Shaafi Mahbub (soccer), Julian Rogers (volleyball), Kartikay Tyagi (badminton).
Ben Dodek has been a key leader within the baseball team for four years while maintaining strong academic performance in his Conflict Studies and Human Rights undergraduate studies. He has left a lasting impact on the team through his work as special projects coordinator and recruiting chair, as well as a peer mentor.
Dodek volunteers with the Toronto Foundation for Youth Involvement in Politics and has held positions in political research and government relations. He is also an active member of the Ottawa Jewish Community, serving as president of the local Chabad on Campus group and speaking in panels to educate people about antisemitism and the Holocaust.
Zoe Pekos excels in the classroom, with a CGPA of 9.92 over her four years as a biology student. She won a grant to study the role of non-native plants in the nectar diet of the monarch butterfly and is currently completing her honours thesis on the usage of non-native plants by the butterfly community in meadows in Ottawa; these preliminary results were used in a report to the National Capital Commission on site species richness.
Pekos, from Richomond Hill, Ont., values giving back to the ski community and is especially passionate about inspiring others to stay in sport through school. She was a member of Canada's biathlon team at the FISU World University Games and placed 11th in the pursuit and 13th in the mass start, and also competed at the IBU Cup Event in March.
The finalists for the Leadership and Initiative Award for 2022-2023 were: Yacine Amalou (volleyball), Michael Kanter (baseball), Erin Moore (equestrian), Luke Phelan (men's ultimate).
Erin Moore was selected as this year's recipient of the Leadership and Initiative Award due to her expertise and willingness to step forward and serve the sport of equestrian. In just her second year on the team, Moore held the roles of OCEA Assistant Captain and ISHA Assistant Captain on the team. She was then selected as one of two undergraduate representatives on the Regional Standards and Ethics Committee for a two-year term. She has shown her leadership on the circuit, and is seen as a valued resource among her competitors and has had a meaningful impact on the Gee-Gees team.
Jackson Pallandi was recognized with a True Sport Award. The third-year Political Science student has been the heart and soul of the baseball team since joining in 2021 as a walk-on. He exemplifies to his teammates the true sport principles of gratefulness, respecting others, and striving for excellence. As a team vice president, he stresses the balance of being a student-athlete, and on the field he plays with a contagious passion for the game.
Club Most Valuable Players:
Alpine: Cassandra Cormier - 2nd year Criminology / Gatineau, Que.
Artistic Swimming: Saari Fauteux-McLellan - 1st year Nursing / Ottawa, Ont.
Badminton (M): Alex Bianchini - 2nd year Civil Law / Montreal, Que.
Badminton (W): Dani Roth - 1st year Health Sciences / Ottawa, Ont.
Baseball: Max Zentil - 1st year Business Management Technology / Toronto, Ont.
Cheerleading: Cailin Buchanan - 2nd year Arts / Waterloo, Ont.
Dance: Kyla Featherstone - 3rd year Human Kinetics / Ottawa, Ont.
Equestrian: Darla Leroux - 4th year Health Sciences / Whitby, Ont.
Fencing (M): Sacha Vasiliev - 1st year Nursing / Ottawa, Ont.
Fencing (W): Sarah Nolasque - 4th year Commerce-Juris Doctor / Oakville, Ont.
Golf: Nina Martin - 3rd year Communication and Political Science / Vichy, France
Lacrosse: Ben Kromer - 1st year Marketing / Whitby, Ont.
Nordic (M): Aidan Kirkham - Master's Epidemolgy / Kanata, Ont.
Nordic (W): Shilo Rousseau - 4th year Biology / Thessalon, Ont.
Ringette: Jessica Glass - 2nd year Social Sciences / Ottawa, Ont.
Soccer (M): Shaafi Mahbub - 3rd year Biomedical Sciences / Ottawa, Ont.
Softball: Amber Weese - 2nd year Human Resource Management / Napanee, Ont.
Squash (M): Christopher Kirollos - 2nd year Common Law / Mississauga, Ont.
Squash (W): Sophia Mourcos - 3rd year Human Kinetics / Conestogo, Ont.
Tennis (M): Othman El Amrani - 3rd year Mechanical Engineering / Casablanca, Morocco
Tennis (W): Mayssa Tebourbi - 4th year Computer Engineering / Tunis, Tunisia
Ultimate (M): Cameron Kennedy - 4th year Biochemistry / Ottawa, Ont.
Ultimate (W): Hollie McCorkell - Master's Education / Aylmer. Que.
Volleyball: Alex Sollars - 4th year Finance / Ottawa, Ont.
Water Polo (M): Kayhan Krebs - 1st year Mechanical Engineering / Ottawa, Ont.
Water Polo (W): Samantha Zabchuk - 3rd year Sociology / Ottawa, Ont.