MARINA VAN DER MERWE AWARD (coach of the year): Sharon Rajaraman, Saint Mary’s

Rajaraman became the first Saint Mary’s head coach to claim the van der Merwe award since its inception in 1984, and the first recipient from an Atlantic University Sport school since UNB’s Donna Hornibrock was honoured back in 1990.
 
A native of Halifax and the Huskies’ sidelines boss since 1992, Rajaraman led her troops to a stellar 10-1-3 record this fall, the Huskies lone loss, unfortunately, coming in the league semi-final.
 
A former all-Canadian at Dalhousie University, Rajaraman represented Nova Scotia as a player at a number of national tournaments and was named to the Canadian team for two years in 1982 and 1983. She has coached at the provincial senior and junior levels, and was an assistant at Dalhousie (1986) and Saint Mary’s (1987) before inheriting head coaching duties with the Huskies.
 
ALL-CANADIAN TEAMS

The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday, with Guelph, UBC, Victoria and Toronto receiving three nominations apiece.


The 10 players joining Stairs on the first CIS squad were Saint Mary’s forward Mandy Avery of Halifax, Victoria midfielder Katie Collison of Duncan, B.C., UPEI forward Mikaela Ellis of Charlottetown, UBC defender Kristyn Harrington of West Vancouver, B.C., UBC forward Elise Milosevich of Duncan, UBC midfielder / forward Robyn Pendleton of Victoria, York midfielder Effie Petrou of Oakville, Ont., Alberta defender Jacqueline Trautman of Delta, B.C., Toronto defender Kaelan Watson of Richmond, Ont., and Guelph forward / midfielder Kristine Wishart of Hamilton.        
 
Wishart, the CIS rookie of the year back in 2005, accomplished a rare feat as she became a five-time member of the first all-Canadian team. Petrou, the nation’s top freshman in 2006, is the only other returning member from last year’s first squad and is a four-time all-Canadian in four seasons, including a trio of first-team nods.
 
Second-team CIS all-stars for the 2009 campaign include York goalkeeper Brittney Blount of Manotick, Ont, Saint Mary’s midfielder Arron Bonin of Halifax, Victoria midfielder / defender Perri Espeseth of Duncan, Dalhousie forward Alex Turriff of Vancouver, Alberta forward Bunny Hughes of Victoria, Guelph midfielder Angela Lancaster of Burlington, Ont., Toronto forward Kyesia O’Neale of Mississauga, Ont., Calgary defender Carolina Romeo of Calgary, Toronto midfielder Hannah Tighe of Penticton, B.C., Western Ontario forward Michelle Weber of Ilderton, Ont., and Victoria goalkeeper Kaitlyn Williams of White Rock, B.C.
 
Weber earned a fourth straight all-Canadian nomination. She was a first-team member the past two seasons.
 
2009 CIS WOMEN’S FIELD HOCKEY AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS

Liz Hoffman award (player of the year): Brienne Stairs, Guelph
Joyce Slipp award (rookie of the year): Abigail Raye, UBC
Gail Wilson award (outstanding contributor): Jennifer Foster, Alberta
Marina van der Merwe award (coach of the year): Sharon Rajaraman, Saint Mary’s
 
First Team

Position           Athlete                                    University       Year    Hometown                  Faculty                       

Forward           Mandy Avery              Saint Mary’s    2          Halifax, N.S.                Arts
Midfield           Katie Collison              Victoria            5          Duncan, B.C.               Education
Forward           Mikaela Ellis                UPEI                5          Charlottetown, P.E.I.    BBA
Defence           Kristyn Harrington       UBC                5          West Vancouver, B.C. Human Kinetics
Forward           Elise Milosevich          UBC                3          Duncan, B.C.               Human Kinetics
Mid. / Forw.     Robyn Pendleton         UBC                3          Victoria, B.C.               Human Kinetics
Midfield           Effie Petrou                 York                4          Oakville, Ont.              Health
Forward           Brienne Stairs              Guelph             3          Kitchener, Ont.                        Biomedical Science
Defence           Jacqueline Trautman    Alberta             2          Delta, B.C.                   Science
Defence           Kaelan Watson                        Toronto                        2          Richmond, Ont.                       Physical Education & Health
Forw. / Mid.     Kristine Wishart           Guelph             5          Hamilton, Ont.             Mathematics
 
Second Team

Goalkeeper      Brittney Blount                        York                5          Manotick, Ont.             Sociology
Midfield           Arron Bonin                Saint Mary’s    3          Halifax, N.S.                Arts
Mid. / Def.       Perri Espeseth              Victoria            4          Duncan, B.C.               Fine Arts
Forward           Alex Turriff                 Dalhousie        1          Vancouver, B.C.          Early Modern Studies
Forward           Bunny Hughes             Alberta             5          Victoria, B.C.               Education
Midfield           Angela Lancaster         Guelph             5          Burlington, Ont.           Psychology
Forward           Kyesia O’Neale                       Toronto                        4          Mississauga, Ont.         Engineering
Defence           Carolina Romeo           Calgary                        2          Calgary, Alta.               Engineering
Midfield           Hannah Tighe              Toronto                        3          Penticton, B.C.             European Studies
Forward           Michelle Weber                       Western           5          Ilderton, Ont.               Kinesiology
Goalkeeper      Kaitlyn Williams          Victoria            3          White Rock, B.C.         Social Sciences

This page last modified Sunday, 07-Nov-2010 16:43:31 AST