Historic National Awards Night for Gee-Gees Rugby

It was a historic evening for the Gee-Gees women's rugby team on Thursday night as Aurora Bowie was named National Player of the Year, Duncan McNaughton was named National Coach of the Year, and Alysia Comtois and Ketsia Kamba joined Bowie on the All-Canadian Team.

The Gee-Gees are in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to compete at the 2024 U SPORTS Women's Rugby National Championship, marking the team's tenth consecutive appearance at the national tournament.

Bowie is the first Gee-Gees rugby player to be named the National Player of the Year, and the Gee-Gees have never won two major awards for women's rugby in the same season at the national level. Additionally, Kamba becomes only the second Gee-Gees rugby player to be named to the All-Canadian team three times in their career.

Bowie led the RSEQ conference in regular season points scored,recording two tries, 36 converts, and two penalty goals for a total of 88 points in her six games played. The second highest conference scorer totalled 55 points. 88 regular season points is the most by any RSEQ player since 2018. 

Bowie's 36 regular season converts set a new Gee-Gees program single-season record, while her points total ranks second in team history for a single season. She started all six regular season games at number 10 and started the RSEQ semifinal, adding 4 converts to her season total.

Hailing from Stouffville, Ont., and a Master's student in Counselling Psychology, Bowie finishes her Gee-Gees career third in program history with a total of 154 points scored in regular season play. Of note, 2024 marked the first RSEQ All-Star selection for Bowie, who has been a regular contributor to the Gee-Gees success since her rookie campaign in 2019, and is a four-time Academic All-Canadian. Bowie was a member of the Canada Selects team which competed internationally in Spain in the summer of 2024. 

Duncan McNaughton guided the Gee-Gees to an undefeated regular season record in his second season as head coach. Ottawa outscored opponents by a 367-59 margin in regular season play.

McNaughton is acting in an interim role, having planned to retire from coaching following the 2023 season. When the Gee-Gees hired Jack Hanratty to be the program's next head coach, his Olympic team commitments led McNaughton to return and allow for a smooth transition. McNaughton has served as an assistant coach on the Canadian 15s Senior Women's team, including a fourth-place finish at the Rugby World Cup in 2022. 

At the University level, McNaughton was an assistant coach with the Queen's varsity men's rugby program, winning OUA Championships in 2018 and 2019, as well as silver (2018) and bronze (2019) at the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship. McNaughton has also found significant success coaching with the Canadian U20 women's team, Quebec's senior women's provincial team, and Algonquin College. 

Fifth-year prop Alysia Comtois scored six tries during the 2024 regular season, setting a career high. A Master's student in Occupational Therapy, she ranked tied for sixth in the RSEQ in points scored and was third on the Gee-Gees team. The Magog, Que., product is a two-time RSEQ All-Star, having previously been recognized in 2021 as a member of the Sherbrooke Vert et Or, and she started all six regular season games at #3 this season. 

Fifth-year lock Ketsia Kamba scored four tries during the 2024 regular season. She ranked tied for eleventh in the RSEQ in points scored and was tied for fifth on the Gee-Gees team. She is a three-time All-Canadian, having previously been selected in 2022 and 2023. The communication and sociology student from Burlington, Ont. started all six regular season games at #4 this season. Kamba finishes her career with 110 points scored, which ranks seventh in team history, and she is second in team history with 22 career tries scored in regular season play.