Mid-fielder Melanie Poirier and wrestler David Zilberman were named the Concordia Athletes of the Year at a gala awards dinner attended by 425 people on Friday, April 7.
Poirier has been a star since the first day she arrived at Concordia in 2003. The team captain, she is a leader with exceptional work ethic, dedication and commitment. During the season, this mid-fielder scored five goals and one assist and was named player of the game seven times. She is the MVP of the 2005 women's soccer team and a QSSF all-star for the third time. The Laval, Que. native was also a second team all-Canadian. She is Concordia's first women's soccer all-Canadian in 12 years and the only Stinger female athlete to achieve all-Canadian status this year. Poirier is a third-year Exercise Science student.
Zilberman has been a standout both on the university circuit and in international competition this year. In March, he won the CIS national championship in the heavy weight class. He went through four matches without having a point scored on him. His performance earned him all-Canadian status. He also finished first at the Quebec-Atlantic conference championship and at meets hosted by Queen's McMaster, Western and Concordia. He represented Canada at the World University Games last summer in Turkey. He also represented Canada at international competitions in France, finishing first in Sombo at the Henri Deglane Tournament. Zilberman, who is from Montreal, is in his third year studying Leisure Sciences.
A complete list of award winners is below:
Ron Lapointe Award for academics, athletics and community service - Frédéric Faucher, men's hockey
Denise Beaudet Award for academics, athletics and community service - Ali Olshefsky, women's rugby
Male Rookie of the Year - Karl Gagne, men's hockey
Laurie Brodrick Award/Female Rookie of the Year - Ali Olshefsky, rugby
Fittest Female Athlete - Marie-Pier Cantin-Drouin, hockey
Fittest Male Athlete - Patrick Donovan, football
Marvin Cooper Award - presented to a student-athlete who has successfully overcome adversity through hard work, commitment and dedication. Scott Syvret, football.
President's Award (combination of athletics and academics)- Tyler Marghetis, wrestling; Andrea Dolan, women's hockey
Director's Shields for contribution to varsity athletics program - Olympic silver medallist Cecilia Anderson, men's rugby head coach Clive Gibson, psychologist Dr. Lois Baron, IITS Creative Media Team for Web cast initiative.
Men's MVPs
- MVP baseball: Michael Pantin & Richard Kilgour
- MVP basketball: Patrick Perrotte
- MVP cross-country: Sylvain Reverdy
- MVP football: Patrick Donovan
- MVP hockey: Frédéric Faucher
- MVP rugby: Tim McEwen
- MVP soccer: Antoine Moreau
- MVP skiing: Vincent Van Uytfanck
- MVP wrestling: David Zilberman
Women's MVPs
- MVP basketball: Melanie Larocque
- MVP cross-country: Christina Lo Basso
- MVP hockey: Marie-Pier Cantin Drouin
- MVP rugby: Joanne Auger
- MVP soccer: Melanie Poirier
Male Rookies
- Baseball: Louis-Alex Monfette
- Basketball: Pierre Thompson
- Cross-Country: Christopher Gates
- Football: Ryan Mousseau
- Hockey: Karl Gagne
- Rugby: Jason White
- Soccer: Kouyabe Ignegongba
- Wrestling: Serguei Guevorkian
Female Rookies
- Basketball: Ebony Morris
- Cross-Country: Catherine Tarrants Hockey:
- Mary Jane O'Shea
- Rugby: Ali Olshefsky
- Skiing: Jessica Perreault-Howarth
- Soccer: Melissa Morgan
