SHERBROOKE, Que. – Basketball players Kyle Desmarais and Edith Noblecilla earned top honours at the Bishop's University Athletic Awards Night held at the Delta Hotel in Sherbrooke on Wednesday night. They were named male and female Athletes of the Year respectively.
 
Other major award winners included long-time fans and Gaiter supporters Kelley Patrick and Charles Kobelt of Lennoxville who were awarded the Ray Almond Award for rising above the expected and delivering an invaluable service to Gaiter Athletics.  Jean Gayrard (Thetford Mines, Que.) of the men's football team and Kelly Bradbury (Burlington, Ont.) of the women's soccer team were named Academic Student-Athletes of the Year and rugby player Brock Spencer (Stittsville, Ont.) and Noemie Hamel-Petit (Magog, Que.) of the women's basketball team were the top freshmen Gaiters.
 
Desmarais (Montreal, Que.) was a fifth-year transfer from Concordia.  He chose to finish his playing career in purple and silver with hope of winning a championship.  He did not disappoint and the men's basketball MVP led Bishop's to the 2015 RSEQ Championship, a feat they had not accomplished since 1999.  His 14.4 points per game in the regular season was second in the conference as were his 2.6 steals per game. He also chipped in with 5.3 rebounds per game, and 3.0 assists per game while earning a first-team RSEQ all-star selection.  Desmarais was also a three-time Provigo, Robert Lafond Bishop's Athlete of the Week.
 
Noblecilla (Guayaquil, Ecuador) led the Gaiters in what was a difficult season for them.  Despite going winless she was a difference maker on the floor.  The point-guard averaged 4.0 assists per game, good for second in the RSEQ, 2.46 steals per game (fourth in the conference) and 33.5 minutes per game (fifth).  She was also named to the RSEQ second all-star team and won a Provigo, Robert Lafond Bishop's Athlete of the Week award.
 
Impressively the Academic Student-Athletes of the Year performed extraordinarily well in the classroom.  Bradbury maintained a 91.8 percent average while studying health sciences in the 2013-14 academic year and an 88.8 percent average in the Fall of 2014 while playing fullback on the soccer team. She completed 52 credits in the three semesters.
 
Gayrard a starting defensive back for the Gaiters football squad held an 85.7 percent average in 2013-14 and an astonishing 95 percent average in the Fall of 2014 in Economics.  He completed 37 credits along the way.
 
The men's rugby team was one of the teams to beat in the RSEQ this season.  Spencer, a rookie made a big impression on the team.  He started every game and played every minute in each of those games at hooker.  He scored two tries on the year and has a bright future ahead of him.
 
Hamel-Petit was one of the leaders on the Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball team despite playing her first season in the CIS.  She averaged at team-high 7.1 points per game while shooting a sizzling 85.7 percent from the charity stripe. Her performance earned her a spot on the RSEQ all-rookie and she was named Provigo, Robert Lafond Bishop's Athlete of the Week on one occasion.
 
A complete list of team awards is below:
Football
Newcomer of the Year: Matthew Ouellet De Carlo (Montreal, Que.)
Marcel Lebrun Award: Shayne Cowan-Cholette (Ottawa, Ont.)
Best Lineman: Theo Thompson (Chateaugay, Que.)
Brian Morley Defensive Player of the Year: Justin Warden (Ottawa, Ont.)
Offensive Player of the Year: Nathan Heather (Oromocto, N.B.)
Most Outstanding Player: Ronlee King-Fileen (Toronto, Ont.)
 
Women's Soccer
Rookie of the Year:  Aidan McGillis (Vankleek Hill, Ont.)
Most Improved Player: Kaila Currie-Bartlett (Burlington, Ont.)
Most Valuable Player: Molly Bucholtz (Peterborough, Ont.)
 
Women's Rugby
Rookie of the Year: Emily Norris (Stanstead, Que.)
Most Valuable Forward: Becky Knox (Saint John, N.B.)
Most Valuable Back: Marie-Michele Paquin (Magog, Que.)
Miriam Cozen-McNally Memorial Award: Rachel Bérubé (Arnprior, Ont.)
Team Award: Andi Smith (Martinville, Que.)
Most Improved Player: Olivia Emmanuel (Montreal, Que.)
Most Valuable Player: Andi Smith
 
Women's Basketball
Rookie of the Year: Noemie Hamel-Petit (Magog, Que.)
Most Improved Player: Ashley White (Toronto, Ont.)
Nancy Knowlton Team Award: Danielle Lumley (Lennoxville, Que.)
Most Valuable Player: Edith Noblecilla (Guayaquil, Ecuador)
 
Men's Basketball
Brad Jones Award, Newcomer of the Year: Matthew Van doorn (Granby, Que.)
Michel Fontaine Memorial Award, Most Improved Player: Majid Naji (Lunel, France)
Garth Smith Award: Jamil Abiad (Orleans, Ont.)
Most Valuable Player: Kyle Desmarais (Montreal, Que.)
 
Men's Rugby
Cody Triggs Award: Scott Best (Ottawa)
Rookie of the Year: Brock Spencer (Stittsville, Ont.)
Coach's Award: Alex Roy (Montreal, Que.)
Best Forward: Lee Hudson (Sutton, Que.)
Best Back: Nic Charlton (North Hatley, Que.)
Most Valuable Player, B-Team: Long Tim Nixon (Hong Kong)
Most Valuable Player, A-Team: Max Grouette (Surrey, B.C.)
 
Golf
Most Valuable Player – Men: Martin St-Pierre (Sherbrooke, Que.)
Most Valuable Player – Women: Lindsay Reid (Beaconsfield, Que.)
 
Lacrosse
Rookie of the Year: Taren Cook (Rothesay, N.B.)
Defensive Player of the Year: David Bigley (New Westminster, B.C.)
Team Award: Joseph Laprairie (Regina, Sask.)
Chris Lesanko Award, Most Valuable Player: Ryan Dewar (Cornwall, Ont.)
 
Women's Hockey
Rookie of the Year: Laura Underhill (Kemptville, Ont.)
Charles Chapman Award: Jess Kipping (Ottawa, Ont.) & Acey Maves (Pickering, Ont.)
Most Improved Player: Raphaelle Martin (Ottawa, Ont.)
Most Valuable Player: Amelie Poirier (Vaudreuil, Que.)
 
The athletic banquet officially wraps up the Bishop's Gaiters 2014-15 varsity season, a year that saw the Gaiters capture their first championship (men's basketball) of any kind since 2011 (men's lacrosse). It was also the Gaiters' first time at a CIS Championships since 2004 (women's basketball).  The student-athletes turn their attention to the books as they write final exams and prepare for off-season training.
 
Stay tuned to www.gaiters.ca and all the Bishop's Gaiters social media channels, @BishopsGaiters on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook for all the latest news and information on the Gaiters including photos and videos from Wednesday night.