Roundup

By John Austen

Zilberman fourth in Greece

Concordia wrestler David Zilberman finished in fourth place in the 96-kilo weight class at the prestigious Acropolis Tournament in Athens, held recently.

Zilberman won two of his four matches at the elite international event that attracted some of the top wrestling teams in the world, including representation from the U.S., Russia and Iran.

The Montreal native defeated his opponents from Cyprus (10-0) and Bulgaria (3-0), before running into some tough competition from Poland. He lost a preliminary match 7-3 to a Polish wrestler. He then faced Poland's Tomar Janiszewski in the bronze medal match, losing 3-1. He finished fourth out of 16 wrestlers in the 96-kilo division.

“It was a great experience,” said Victor Zilberman, David's father and coach. “Athletes need exposure to quality international competition to develop.

David, 21, was named to the under-23 team that represented Canada at the competition as part of a Wrestling Canada program focused on investing in its younger athletes in hopes of preparing them for the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008.

The next big event for David is the Canadian senior championship, which will be held in Fredericton the first weekend in May. He will also represent Canada at the World University Wrestling Championships in Lodz, Poland, June 3-6.

Stingers dominate women’s hockey awards

Janna Gillis, a fifth-year senior, was named the Quebec nominee for the TSN Award, which is presented annually to the women's hockey player who exhibits outstanding achievement in hockey, academics and community involvement. Gillis, a defenceman, is the Stingers' team captain and a CIS Academic All-Canadian.

Goaltender Cecilia Anderson was given the nod as QSSF Rookie of the Year. She posted an 11-1-3 record with the Stingers in the regular season and recorded five shutouts in 15 games. She had a stellar goals-against average of 0.93 and a save percentage was .960.

She was named the outstanding goalie at the prestigious Concordia-Theresa Humes tournament and was a QSSF Athlete of the Week in January. She also recently attended a selection camp with the Swedish national team.

Anderson was named to the QSSF first all-star team. Joining her are: centre Dominique Rancour, who was the leading scorer in the conference with 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 17 games; defensive centre Catherine De Abreu and defender Roxanne Dupuis.

Centre Anouk Grignon-L'Anglais and defender Marie-Pier Cantin-Drouin were named to the second all-star team.

Also join Stingers at clinic

Several members of the Montreal Alouettes joined Concordia head coach Gerry McGrath and members of his staff at the fourth annual Stinger Pride Football Coaches Clinic held last Saturday at the Concordia athletic complex in NDG.

Former Stingers Sylvain Girard and Brad Collinson were part of the conference. They were joined by Alouette teammates Barron Miles (defensive back techniques) and Uzooma Okeke and Luke Fritz (offensive line techniques).

Chris Cvetkovic, a graduate of the Concordia program who now plays for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, was also on hand to review strength and conditioning approaches.

The goal of the football clinic was to bring together coaches working at all levels from all over Quebec to spark discussion and develop networks and resources. This year participants had the opportunity to see and take part in drills with Stinger players and coaches.

Academic Centre for Excellence

The Concordia University Department of Recreation and Athletics has launched the Academic Centre for Excellence, an initiative designed to support student-athletes from the admissions stage through graduation.

ACE is comprised of three main components: academic support, personal development and career planning and placement.

The centre will feature study space, computers with the latest software, a student portal and more. Peter Regimbald, former assistant registrar and director of liaison, will serve as ACE's resource and support person.

The program's goals include assisting first-year athletes in the development of academic skills required to be successful at Concordia, tracking the academic performance of all student athletes, and helping them in terms of financial planning, nutrition, substance abuse, etc.