Stafford, Diressa named OUA Athletes of the Week
BURLINGTON, Ont. - The following athletes have been named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week for the period ending January 25th, 2016.
BURLINGTON, Ont. - The following athletes have been named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week for the period ending January 25th, 2016.
FEMALE: Gabriela Stafford (Toronto, Ont.) – 3rd yr. – Toronto Varsity Blues – Track
There was no stopping (or catching) University of Toronto Varsity Blues standout Gabriela Stafford (Toronto, Ont.) on Saturday.
The third-year psychology major recorded the second-fastest time in the world in 2016 in the women's 1000m at the uOttawa Winter National Invitational.
Stafford, who also won gold at the OUA cross country championship this past fall, crossed the line in a time of 2:42.47, finishing ahead of 2014-15 U of T female athlete of the year Sasha Gollish.
The 5-foot-4 distance runner from Toronto, Ont. wasn’t done there as she also won the 1500m race in a CIS standard time of 4:20.52.
Next weekend, Stafford and the Varsity Blues will head to “The City of Roses” for the Windsor Team Challenge.
MALE: Ammaneul Diressa (Toronto, Ont.) – 3rd yr. – Ryerson Rams – Basketball
Ammaneul Diressa (Toronto, Ont.) and the Ryerson Rams men’s basketball team made quite the statement this weekend.
The third-year business management student-athlete athlete scored 50 points in two games as the No. 5 nationally ranked Rams swept their weekend series with the No. 1 Ottawa Gee-Gees and No. 2 Carleton Ravens.
On Friday night, in front of a rowdy Rams crowd at the Mattamy Athletic Centre’s Coca Cola Court, Diressa had a game-high 21 points and added six rebounds and three assists as Ryerson defeated Carleton 79-61 for the first time since January 22, 2000.
The Toronto, Ont. native followed that up on Saturday by dropping a game-high 29 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists and four steals as Ryerson knocked off the top ranked Gee-Gees 87-80.
In nine games this season for the Rams, Diressa, a 6-foot-4 guard who transferred from Tennessee Tech, is averaging 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Diressa and the Rams will look to stretch their winning streak to six games when they travel to Sudbury on Friday night to take on the Laurentian Voyageurs. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 pm.