KINGSTON, Ont. (March 26, 2013) - Alex Cross (Ottawa) of Synchro and Francois Beaucage-Gauvreau (Montreal) of Fencing, were named the top student-athletes for the 2012-13 season at the 77th annual Colour Awards Varsity Club athletic banquet Tuesday night at the Ambassador Resort and Conference Centre.
Cross was awarded the Marion Ross trophy which is given to the top Varsity Club female student-athlete. A two-time Canadian University Synchronized Swimming League (CUSSL) All-Canadian, the fourth year Psychology student has been captain of the Queen's synchro team for the last three seasons and is a consistent top five finisher in Canada, with a bronze, 4th place and 5th place to her credit in her career.
The Ottawa native is a two-time Queen's Academic All-Star and has helped shape the Synchro program at Queen's with her passion for the CUSSL while remaining a leader and role model for the team.
Beaucage-Gauvreau, a fourth year Mechanical Engineering student was named the winner of the Jack Jarvis trophy, which is awarded to the top Varsity Club male student-athlete. Beaucage-Gauvreau is a three time OUA Champion, and over his career at Queen's has won five OUA gold medals and one OUA silver in the Sabre discipline.
A two time winner of the George Tully Trophy for skill, style and sportsmanship in OUA Fencing, Beaucage-Gauvreau also helped both the men's and women's fencing teams as an assistant coach and was an OUA All-Star and OUA Academic All-Star this season.
For the third straight year, The Award of Merit Trophy was presented Tuesday night to the OUA Champion men's fencing team. The men's team won their third consecutive OUA championship this year finishing with a team total of 245 points which was 85 points ahead of second place Toronto.
The Queen's team boasted 12 OUA Academic All-Stars and finished the OUA Championship with golds in the individual Sabre, team Sabre and individual Epee. Three Gaels were named to the OUA All-Star team, one from each discipline.
The Alfie Pierce award recipients for the top club rookies of the year were Julie-Anne Staehli (Lucknow, Ont.) from Track and Field and Mo Hamour (Courtice, Ont.) from men's squash. Staehli was the Track team's MVP and Rookie of the Year after finishing 4th at the OUA championship in the 1500m then 5th at the CIS championship. She was also a member of the 4x800m team that finished 7th at the CIS championship this season. Hamour was the men's squash OUA rookie of the year and took home an OUA All-Star spot after helping the team finish fourth at the OUA championship. Hamour played as the team's number two in most events but pushed the number one becoming interchangeable near the end of the season.
Throughout the course of the evening, each Varsity Club also honoured their team award winners as the individual team leaders spoke of their team's successes throughout the year.
Tomorrow evening, Queen's Athletics and Recreation will host the Colour Awards Varsity Team athletic banquet. Among the awards announced on Wednesday will be the Varsity Team rookies of the year, Varsity Team of Year as well as the Outstanding Performance of the Year. Also handed out will be the PHE'55 Alumnae Award and the Jenkins Trophy which are awarded to the top fourth or fifth year student-athletes.
QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS & RECREATION VARSITY CLUB AWARD RECIPIENTS FOR 2012-13
Marion Ross Trophy: Alex Cross (Synchro)
Jack Jarvis Trophy: Francois Beaucage-Gauvreau (Men's Fencing)
Award of Merit Trophy: Men's Fencing
Alfie Pierce Trophy (Female): Julie-Anne Staehli (Track & Field)
Alfie Pierce Trophy (Male): Mo Hamour (Men's Squash)
