Marauders Gates, Gryphons Valentini earn OUA Athlete of the Week honours
Burlington, Ont. – Sarah Gates and Ryan Valentini have been named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week for the period ending January 19, 2020.
Female Athlete of the Week – Sarah Gates, McMaster Marauders, Basketball
It has been a season of ups and downs for the defending OUA and U SPORTS champion McMaster Marauders women’s basketball team, but Sarah Gates offered up a pair of celebratory performances against two of this year’s premier opponents.
In their first matchup of the week, Gates and the Marauders took on the No. 6 Windsor Lancers, who entered play with just one loss on the season. The Hamilton squad, with the third-year guard leading the charge, were able to dole out their second defeat of the year, 70-52. Gates was electric from the field, finishing with a game-high 30 points – including 14 in the final frame to seal the win – and seven boards. The Newmarket, Ont. native would follow that up with another 26 points against the OUA West Division leaders, Western, in a slim 72-69 loss. Despite the loss, Gates was able to record another game-high scoring performance thanks to a sharp 62 FG% and 50% from beyond the arc.
With the 28.0 PPG average this week in tow, the 2018-19 OUA all-star ranks third in the conference with 17.0 PPG and a fourth-ranked total of 238 points on the year.
Male Athlete of the Week – Ryan Valentini, Guelph Gryphons, Hockey
When the Guelph Gryphons men’s hockey team added Ryan Valentini at the midway point of the 2018-19 season, the team knew they were getting a proven offensive talent. The Mississauga, Ont. native has not disappointed since arriving on campus at the University of Guelph a year ago, and now, the 22-year-old psychology major will head into this Thursday’s 11th annual Frosty Mug game fresh off one of his most memorable weeks as a Gryphon.
Valentini scored four goals and added two assists this past week in a pair of road wins for the Gryphons. Thursday night in St. Catharines, Ont., Valentini scored twice and added an assist in Guelph’s 4-3 win over the Brock Badgers. One night later, he was at it again, recording his fifth multi-goal game of the season by scoring twice and adding another helper in his team’s 9-6 road win over the Waterloo Warriors.
For the season, Valentini now has 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists) in 23 games played, making him the 4th-leading scorer in the country. His 35 points, which tie him for the team lead alongside teammate Mikkel Aagaard, also ranks him second in the OUA, just one point behind David Thompson (Toronto Varsity Blues) for the conference lead.
