Rowe and Sluberski named 2014-15 Brock Athletes of the Year

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - Brock University Athletics celebrated another year of athletic accomplishments Wednesday night at the Holiday Inn & Suites Parkway Conference Centre. 

The 2014-15 Brock University Male and Female Athletes of the Year are men's wrestler Nick Rowe (Barrie, Ont.) and women's wrestler Carlene Sluberski (Fredonia, NY).

After missing the majority of the 2013-14 season with an injury (dislocated elbow), Nick Rowe battled through adversity and made a comeback in his fifth and final year as team captain.

He finished the season with four gold medals, highlighted by capturing first place at both the OUA and CIS Championship at 65kg. Rowe also placed first at the Ontario Junior Championships and McMaster Open and took home silver at the Brock Open and bronze at the Concordia Open.

Rowe was named an OUA First Team All-Star and CIS First Team All-Canadian. He also helped lead the Badgers to an OUA silver medal and their 15th CIS National Title over the past 25 years.

Brock baseball player Justin Gideon (Pickering, Ont.) and men's rugby player Connor Fitzsimmons (Markham, Ont.) were finalists for Male Athlete of the Year.

Carlene Sluberski, the first Brock international student to receive this prestigious award, helped lead the Brock women's wrestling team to their 14th OUA Championship over the past 16 years and their fourth straight CIS National Championship. 

Sluberski finished the 2014-15 season with five golds, which included winning the Nordhagen Classic, McMaster Open, Brock Open, OUA Championships and CIS Championships. She also captured a bronze medal at the 2014 USA World Team Trials.

At the 2015 OUA and CIS Championships, Sluberski won seven of her matches by technical superiority and one by pinfall. In her career, she has a perfect 24-0 record at the championships. Carlene was named the 2015 OUA Outstanding Female Wrestler. Sluberski was named an OUA First Team All-Star and CIS First Team All-Canadian for the third straight season.

Women's volleyball player Lauren Stirling (Whitby, Ont.), women's rower Katherine Walker (Grimsby, Ont.) and women's curler Erin Macaulay (Whitby, Ont.) were finalists for Female Athlete of the Year.

The 2014-15 Brock Men's Team of the Year is the Brock Baseball team who had one of their best seasons in school history finishing with a 32-5 overall record. 

Brock defeated the Waterloo Warriors by the score of 8-0 to capture their fourth Ontario University Athletics (OUA) title in the program's history and sixth championship over the past 20 years. They also took home silver at the OUA / OCAA Championship.

After posting a league best 17-1 OUA regular season record, the Badgers continued to roll in the OUA Championship posting a perfect 3-0 record. In the Championship versus Waterloo, the Badgers led 1-0 after one and scored seven runs in the 3rd on route to the 8-0 victory.

The Badgers captured back-to-back CIBA National Championships in 1998 and 1999 and four OUA titles in 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2014.

In their 20-year history, the Badgers have won 30+ games in a season five times and are now just three wins shy of 500 as a program. They are the winningest program in Canadian University/College baseball.

The 2014-15 Brock Women's Team of the Year is the Brock women's wrestling team who captured their fifth CIS National title and 14th OUA title in school history.

At the OUA Championships, the Brock women's wrestling qualified six wrestlers for Nationals. Taking home gold were Jade Parsons (48kg), Emily Schaefer (51kg), Carlene Sluberski (55kg) and Olivia Di Bacco (72kg). Indira Moores
captured silver medal at 59kg while Jessica Brouilette (63kg - third) and Marissa Sorrell ( 67kg - 4th) rounded out the Brock results.

Schaefer was named the OUA Rookie of the Year while Sluberski was named the OUA Outstanding Female Wrestler. Marty Calder was chosen as the OUA Women's Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his coaching career.

At the CIS Championships, the Badgers dominated the competition taking home four gold medals, including Jade Parsons' fourth straight CIS gold medal in the 48-kilogram weight class, and her fifth CIS medal overall after she also collected silver at 51 kg in 2009 when she was named CIS Rookie of the Year.

Also finishing on the top of the podium for the Badgers was Carlene Sluberski (55 kg), Indira Moores (59 kg) and Jessica Brouillette (63kg). In her rookie season, Emily Schaefer was named the CIS Rookie of the Year after a silver medal performance at 51kg. Olivia Di Bacco (67kg) rounded out the Brock medal winners with a bronze.

Marty Calder was named the CIS Women's Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his coaching career.

Other major award winners included men's hockey captain Mike McGurk (Hamilton, Ont.) who received the R.M. Davis Surgite Award and women's rower Jennifer Beaudette (St. Andrews, Ont.) who took home the Dr. David Atkinson Surgite Award. Both these student-athletes have excelled in the classroom throughout their university careers. McGurk ends his career as a five-time CIS Academic All-Canadian while Beaudette was a five-time OUA All-Academic.

The Dallas Beaton Award winners were men's rower Patrick Branch (Bathurst, NB) and women's rugby player Katie Faust (Port Elgin, Ont.). This award is named after former Brock men's hockey captain Dallas Beaton because of the dedication he showed towards academics, athletics and the community during his time as a Brock student-athlete. 

The Wally Barrow Memorial Brock Coach of the Year award was awarded to Brock curling head coach Murray Etherington. 

The Brock Director's Awards were presented to Dr. Marc Kalchman, Carol McIntosh and Bill Smith for their dedication and commitment to Brock University and the athletics program. 

The Tom Kearney Athletic Therapy Award was presented to student therapists Carlo Cardelli and Jessica Swallow.

Baseball
Most Valuable Player - Justin Gideon
Most Valuable Player - Justin Ayles
Rookie of the Year - Quinton Twohey

Men's Basketball
Most Valuable Player- Johneil Simpson
Rookie of the Year - Johneil Simpson

Women's Basketball
Most Valuable Player - Melissa Tatti
Rookie of the Year - Melissa Tatti

Men's and Women's Cross Country
Runner of the Year - Mike Van Bakel
Runner of the Year - Annelise Martin
Rookie of the Year - Jelmer van den Hadelkamp

Men's Curling
Curler of the Year - Blake Sandham
Rookie of the Year - Eric Bradey

Women's Curling
Curler of the Year - Erin Macaulay
Rookie of the Year - Terri Weeks

Women's Fencing
Douglas Trophy - Hannah Pass
Rookie of Year - Sylvia Kim

Men's Fencing
Douglas Trophy - Alex Preston
Rookie of Year - Matt Snider

Men's Golf
Golfer of the Year - Brett Mitchell
Rookie of Year - Adam Graham

Women's Golf
Golfer of the Year - Shannon Rowan
Rookie of Year - Shannon Rowan

Men's Hockey
Ed Davis (MVP) - Andrew Radjenovic
Denholm (Rookie) - Taylor Fielding

Women's Hockey
Most Valuable Player - Jessica Fickel
Rookie of the Year - Christina Ieradi

Men's & Women's Rowing
Oarsman of the Year - Matt Wortley
Oarswoman of the Year - Emma Sheehan

Men's Rugby
Clubman of the Year - Connor Fitzsimmons
Rookie of the Year - Jackson Amos

Women's Rugby
Most Valuable Player - Lauren Kniewasser
Most Valuable Player - Katie Faust
Rookie of the Year - Cera Knott-Mcmillan

Men's Soccer
Most Valuable Player - Sammy Orlando
Rookie of the Year - Eric Bradey

Women's Soccer
Most Valuable Player - Caitlyn Durish
Rookie of the Year - Brooke Boekestyn

Men's Squash
Most Valuable Player - Hayden Ashkanese
Rookie of the Year - Phil Calder

Women's Squash
Most Valuable Player - Allison Sparham
Rookie of the Year - Victoria Vaccaro

Men's Swimming
Joe Kerkhoven Award - Curtis Li

Women's Swimming
Joe Kerkhoven Award - Rachel Nogard
Herb deBray Progressive - Lesley Risdale

Women's Volleyball
Most Valuable Player - Karlinna O'Leary
Rookie of the Year - Abby Jenkins

Men's Wrestling
Wrestler of the Year - Nick Rowe
Wrestler of the Year - Andrii Vorontsov
Rookie of the Year - Ignatius Pitt

Women's Wrestling
Wrestler of the Year - Carlene Sluberski
Rookie of the Year - Emily Schaefer

Men's Track & Field
Most Valuable Player - Cam Giles
Rookie of the Year - Kwaku Bonsu

Women's Track & Field
Most Valuable Player - Jaclyn Harris
Rookie of the Year - Taryn Montague

Women's Figure Skating
Most Valuable Player - Laura Holbrough
Most Valuable Player - Kristen Dortono
Rookie of the Year Katie Desveaux

Women's Lacrosse
Most Valuable Player - Kendra Byers
Rookie of the Year - Grace Whitfield

Source: Brock Badgers