By: Maggie Veitch, Bishop's Sports Information
LENNOXVILLE, Que. – The Bishop's Gaiters hosted the annual Athletic Banquet in-person for the first time since 2019 on Monday night. The night served as a celebration of athletic and academic success over the 2021-22 season, for the individual student-athletes and teams that make up Gaiters Athletics.
After the past two years, the evening celebrated the resiliency and determination of our student-athletes and the successes of the department throughout the season.
Louis-Philippe Gregoire (Jonquière, QC, Cégep de Jonquière) of the Bishop's Gaiters football team and
Amaiquen Siciliano (Buenos Aires, Argentina, Velez Sarsfield) of the women's basketball team took home top honours as the Athletes of the Year at Monday night's Athletic Banquet.
Fifth-year senior,
Louis-Philippe Gregoire (Jonquière, QC, Cégep de Jonquière), closes out his career as a Gaiter with Male Athlete of the Year honours. The running back was the second leading rusher in the AUS this season and played in all of Bishop's games this season. The Jonquière, Quebec local totalled 98 carries for 591 yards during the 2021 regular season. Gregoire averaged 6.0 yards per carry, 98.5 yards per game and found the end zone three times for the purple and silver. The high-energy running back also ran for 76 yards on 18 carries in the AUS semi-final win and led the Gaiters to the 5th best rushing attack in the country. Gregoire received AUS All-Star honours for the second straight season. On the U SPORTS stage, the Gaiters' primary ball carrier ranked fourth in touchdowns (3), fifth in rushes (98), sixth in yards per game (98.5) and seventh in total yards with 591.
Amaiquen Siciliano (Buenos Aires, Argentina, Velez Sarsfield) is adding yet another highlight to her resume as her fourth year at Bishop's comes to a close. The Bishop's Gaiters women's basketball guard was named the Player of the Year in the RSEQ, an RSEQ First Team All-Star and a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian for the second straight season and is this year's Female Athlete of the Year. The Buenos Aires, Argentina native led the conference in scoring and assists, averaging 21.3 points per game and 6.5 assists per game, during the regular season. The captain shot 46.2% from the field and 33.9% from 3-point range during her average of 34.4 minutes on the court each contest. In addition, Siciliano achieved second in assist to turnover ratio (2.1), fourth in steals (1.8 per game) and second in minutes played. Nationally, Siciliano led U SPORTS in assists per game and ranked fourth in the country in both points per game and minutes per game.
The Academic Student-Athletes of the Year for 2021-22 are
Malou Merovitz (Sherbrooke, QC, Champlain-Lennoxville) of the women's soccer team and
Connor Kelly (Brockville, Ont., St. Mary's C.S.S.) of the men's basketball team. Both Gaiters exemplify what it means to be a student-athlete, combining love of their sport with success in the classroom, and receive top marks for their performances this year.
Basketball's
Charles Robert (Vaudreuil, Que., Suffield Academy) and
Victoria Gauna (Mendoza, Argentina, ) were named this year's Freshmen of the Year. Both Robert and Gauna were honoured as members of the RSEQ All-Rookie Team while the latter was also named the RSEQ Rookie of the Year and a member of the U SPORTS All-Rookie Team.
This year marked the first time that the Student-Athlete Leadership Awards were handed out. These awards will be given annually to a male and female student-athlete who have been able to find success athletically, academically, and in the community, while also leading those around them to be better. The inaugural winners of this award are
Connor Kelly (Brockville, Ont., St. Mary's C.S.S.) of the men's basketball team and
Kayla Kyle (Montreal, QC, John Abbott College) of the women's soccer team, both winning the RSEQ Leadership Award this season.
The Ray Almond Award is given annually to a dedicated member of the Bishop's Athletics community who rises above the expected to deliver an invaluable service to Gaiters Athletics. This year's recipient was Andy Cowell.
The Athletic Banquet marks the official conclusion of the 2021-22 varsity season. The Gaiters will return to action in August.
Stay up-to-date anytime with the Bishop's Gaiters at www.gaiters.ca or on social media by using @BishopsGaiters.
The full list of award winners from the night is below:
Team Awards
Cheerleading
Rookie of the Year: Daphné Dupuis
Most Valuable Player: Emma Jones
Football
Newcomer of the Year: Marco A. Briones
Marcel Lebrun Award: Jake Kelly
Special Teams Player of the Year: Lucas Spencer
Offensive Player of the Year: Nykolas Pierre-Masse
Brian Morley Defensive Player of the Year: Keagan Hughes
Best Lineman of the Year: Remi Desbiens
Most Outstanding Player: Louis-Philippe Gregoire
Golf
Rookie of the Year: Patrick Cormier
Most Valuable Players: Avery Mack &
Ben Chasse
Lacrosse
Rookie of the Year: Antoine Tremblay
Lacrosse Coaches' Award: Ian Connors
Defensive Player of the Year: Karl Szabo
Offensive Player of the Year: Sam Firth
Chris Lesanko Award: Zakary Sparks
Men's Basketball
Newcomer of the Year: Charles Robert
Garth Smith Award: Connor Kelly
Michel Fontaine Award: Anthony Sanogo
Most Valuable Player: Ibrahim Ngom
Men's Rugby
Rookie of the Year: Marshall Mather
Cody Triggs Award: Jack Wallace
Men's Rugby Coaches' Award: Scott Sharma
Best Forward: Matthew Shufelt
Best Back: Kyle Corrigan
Most Valuable Player (Development Team): Archie Morris
Most Valuable Player (Varsity Team): Quinn Hayhurst
Women's Basketball
Rookie of the Year: Victoria Gauna
Nancy Knowlton Award: Jennifer Louis
Most Improved Player: Jasmine Martel
Most Valuable Player: Amaiquen Siciliano
Women's Hockey
Rookie of the Year: Neleh Vigneau Sargeant
Charles Chapman Award: Jade Shushu Saulnier-Cyr
Al Ansell Trophy: Jöelle Gagnon
Defensive Player of the Year: Gabrielle Rousseau
Most Valuable Player: Angélique Pagé
Women's Rugby
Rookie of the Year: Zenith Leroux
Myriam Cozen-McNally Memorial Award: Melody Leggett
Most Improved Player: Isabella Aguiar
Most Valuable Forward: Katie Locke
Most Valuable Backs: Erika Scott &
Kayla Ouellet
Most Valuable Player: Savannah Leroux
Women's Soccer
Rookie of the Year: Andréa Boily
SISU Award: Kalin O'Brien
Daniel Jeong Servant Leadership Award: Chloe Calitri
Kaizen Award: Lily Mannall-Fretwell
Erin Patrick Most Valuable Players: Anne-Marie Ulliac &
Kayla Kyle
Prix Excellence Sportive Sherbrooke
Trisha Shufelt
Major Awards
Ray Almond Award
Andy Cowell
Student-Athlete Leadership Award
Female
Kayla Kyle
Male
Connor Kelly
Freshman of the Year
Female
Victoria Gauna
Male
Charles Robert
Academic Student-Athlete of the Year
Female
Malou Merovitz
Male
Connor Kelly
Athlete of the Year
Female
Amaiquen Siciliano
Male
Louis-Philippe Gregoire
