Swirsky and Miller-Johnston named Top Atheletes

Hockey player Corinne Swirsky and football player Dave Miller-Johnston were named Athletes of the Year when another eventful sports season was celebrated on April 2 at the Athletic Awards Banquet.

Swirsky, a centre, was the leading scorer on the Stingers women's hockey team, with 46 goals and 29 assists for 75 points in 37 games. Now in her third year at Concordia, she was named most valuable player of the inaugural Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) women's hockey championships, held here in February.

This is the second year in a row that Swirsky has won the Concordia Female Athlete of the Year Award. She remained modest, reported The Concordian's Bryan Parker, and "kept referring to her team's year instead of her own."

Swirsky has also been nominated for the Howard, Mackie Awards for CIAU female athlete of the year. Regardless of who is announced as the national winner on May 4, the nomination confirms her as the best female athlete of the year from Quebec.

Miller-Johnston, a place-kicker and punter in his fifth year here, had an exceptional season. He was one of two Canadians selected to play in the East-West Shrine Classic football game in Palo Alto, California, in January. Named All-Canadian punter, he was the second pick overall in the Canadian Football League college draft, chosen by the Toronto Argonauts.

"I have loved being a Concordia Stinger," Miller-Johnston told the crowd at the banquet, which was held at a St. Laurent reception hall. Here are the rest of the winners presented that night.

Fittest Male Athlete: Rob Balazic, football

Fittest Female Athlete: Catherine Bertand, women's hockey

Ron Lapointe Award, for leadership: Yan St. Pierre, hockey

Denise Beaudet Award, for leadership: Sylvie Lacombe, volleyball

Male Rookie of the Year: Michael Kieran, basketball

Laurie Brodrick Award for female rookie of the year: Deana Huyghebaert, hockey

Directors Shields, for service to the Department of Recreation and Athletics: Bryan Parker, The Concordian, and PA announcer Larry Fredericks

Merit Awards: Tamara Medwidsky, wrestling, Jennifer Smith, basketball, Dan Furlong, basketball, and student employees Ana Costa and Shawna Casement

Female and Male Academic Athlete of the Year: Wanita Jones, Psychology and Applied Social Sciences/basketball, and Patrick Groleau, Sociology and Anthropology/hockey

Team Most Valuable Players: Jay Prosper, basketball; Richard Yates, cross-country; Dave Miller-Johnston, football; Eric Nadeau, hockey; Alfredo Demartino, rugby; Dominic Frappier, skiing; Ari Angelopoulos, soccer; Headley Bent, track; David Chodat, wrestling; Marie-Hélène Héroux, basketball; Jennifer Casimir, cross-country; Corinne Swirsky, hockey; Erin Dance, rugby; Christine Cogger, skiing; Tanya Witschert, soccer; Tamara Medwidsky, wrestling; Swanne Gordon, track; and Sylvie Lacombe, volleyball.

Season of highs and lows

The outstanding events this year belonged to the women. The 30th annual Theresa Humes Tournament and the first CIAU women's hockey championship were big draws to the Concordia Athletic Complex, and our team made it perfect by winning both events. And the women's basketball team won the Quebec championship.

The Stingers men's rugby team just couldn't get to their games on time. As a result, they finished in third place instead of making it to the playoffs, as they did last year. The women's team was plagued by injuries, and finished the season 3-2-3. Next year will see the first CIAU women's rugby championships.

The men's football team lost a number of top players to graduation, including quarterback Dominik Goulet, but they acquitted themselves well, finishing with a respectable 5-3 season. After being briefly in second place, they finished third in the Ontario-Quebec league.

The men's hockey team placed second in their division, losing to the perennially strong Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. The men's basketball team finished the season with a 12-8 record, second only to Bishop's, but lost the QSSF semi-final to Laval, 85-81.

Soccer had a modest season, with the men finishing fourth in their league, and the women improving their 1-10-1 finish of last year to 3-9.

Baseball, always difficult to promote during the summer vacation, might raise more interest this year because of last summer's success. Concordia finished the season 11-5, and lost the championship by a whisker to Université Laval.

The women's volleyball team didn't win a regular-season match all year, but our cross-country runners finished third in the province. Headly Bent, Jr., of the track team, won a silver medal at the CIAU championships in the 600 metres and was chosen an All-Canadian.

Congratulations to David Chodat, who won a gold medal in this year's wrestling nationals. Jason Chen won a bronze at the same event.

- BB