GGs step up to national silver for new all-time uOttawa best

By Anil Jhalli

A pair of decorated locally-brewed University of Ottawa Gee-Gees veterans have a shiny new silver medal to add to their large collections of rugby prizes thanks to their program’s all-time best finish at the Canadian university women’s rugby championships Nov. 2-6 in Victoria.

The Gee-Gees earned hard-fought victories over McMaster 25-19 and Calgary 7-5 at the nationals before falling 27-19 to St. Francis Xavier in a championship final where uOttawa repeatedly responded to St. FX scores but could never pull ahead.

Ottawa native Alex Ellis, a conference and national tournament all-star, praises her teammates for banding together when the team was hit with a slew of injuries to key players throughout the season.

“I feel super proud of the team and how far we have come,” highlights the 4th-year forward who led the team in scoring with 11 regular-season tries. “We didn’t let any of the injuries tear us apart as a team. We united together and pushed through every obstacle.”

Mirroring her coach’s path through the local rugby ranks, Ellis first earned a provincial gold medal with the Algonquin College Thunder before moving on to the Gee-Gees in 2015, and also the Canadian women’s under-20 program.

“(Joining uOttawa) was the best choice for me because of the coaching staff and the program,” signals the past Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School and Algonquin marketing student.

Fellow Ottawa native Jessica Foran has been a Gee-Gee all the way through, playing all five of her years at uOttawa.

“It’s kind of weird knowing that I won’t be coming back next year,” says the conference all-star hooker who would like to become a paramedic. ”I think I will really feel it next August when I am not at training camp and actually have a full month of summer.”

Foran was part of a good 4-3 squad in her rookie year, but revelled in the Gee-Gees’ rise into a powerhouse under new coaches Jen Boyd and Duncan McNaughton. The team remains undefeated in the past 3 years against Quebec opponents, with 4th, 3rd & 2nd-place finishes nationally in that time.

“Of course I wanted to win gold this year,” indicates Foran, a Merivale High School grad. “But generally over the past five years, I experienced the most diverse years and I got to see team built from the ground up by a really amazing coaching staff.

“They transformed this program and I am lucky to be part of it.”

Boyd says her team has build a strong culture of playing for one another.

“We were 4th 3 years ago, 3rd last year and 2nd this year, so we just keep progressing,” states the Quebec conference coach of the year. “And we look forward to the future for sure.”

GGs get little love from award selectors

The Canadian silver medal-winning Gee-Gees had just one player selected as a second-team All-Canadian, Simone Savary, and had none of the first team.

Another Ottawa native was part of the first team, however, Alexandra King of the Guelph Gryphons, who placed 4th nationally.

Local Laval football player wins Vanier Cup

Ottawa native Tyrone Pierre, a 3rd-year receiver at Université Laval, made 3 catches for 45 yards in his Rouge et Or’s 31-26 Vanier Cup victory over the Calgary Dinos on Nov. 26 in Hamilton.

The former St. Peter Knights star holds the conference record for single-game receiving yards (311 last year vs Concordia) and is 1 of just 5 players hailing from outside the province of Quebec on Laval’s 77-player roster.

Carleton Ravens receiver Nate Behar and returner Tunde Adeleke were both named a first-team All-Canadians, while Gee-Gees quarterback Derek Wendel and receiver Mitchell Baines were on the second team along with Ravens runningback Jayde Rowe.

Repeat field hockey win for UBC goalie

Ottawa native Rowan Harris was in goal for the first two matches of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds’ undefeated run to the Canadian university field hockey title Nov. 3-6 in Toronto.

University ultimate nationals

At the Canadian university ultimate nationals Oct. 14-16 in Montreal, the Carleton open team placed 5th, while the uOttawa women beat Carleton for 7th.

Historic soccer medal

Ottawa South United Force product Katherine Koehler-Grassau scored the lone goal in a 1-0 contest to give the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks the first Canadian university national medal in school history at the Nov. 10-13 women’s soccer nationals in Wolfville, N.S.

The second-team All-Canadian midfielder was named player of the match in the 1-0 win over Queen’s, which came on the heels of her team’s extra-time win over Trinity Western and extra-time loss to champion Laval.

Academic/community awards

University of British Columbia goalkeeper Chad Bush was back in town in November to collect his Top-8 Academic All-Canadian Award from Governor General David Johnston.

The former Ottawa Fury FC player was identified as the Canada-West conference’s best student, with a GPA of 4.22 out of 4.33 in his history studies.

The owner of a perfect 4.0 GPA, McGill Redmen sophomore Sanchit Gupta of Ottawa received the national university soccer Student-Athlete Community Service Award.

Amongst numerous other volunteer causes, the former OSU Force player helped co-found Meal-care, a student-run initiative that offers meals to the homeless and low-income families in Montreal.

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