Croisier, Zonneveld, Seyed named OUA athletes of the week

Burlington, Ont. - Bella Lehtimaki Croisier, Sarah Zonneveld, and Zubair Seyed have been named OUA athletes of the week, fueled by Milk2Go Sport, for the period ending February 4, 2024.

Bella Lehtimaki Croisier, Curling, Laurentian Voyageurs

Making her mark on the banner season stage, Bella Lehtimaki Croisier helped the Laurentian Voyageurs sweep their way to the top of the ice, taking home the women’s title at the 2024 OUA Curling Championships.

Having started off the weekend with two losses, the Voyageurs had a tall task ahead of them to stay in contention for the banner. The second-year skip from Sudbury, Ont. proved her skills and directed her team masterfully to stay in medal contention. Overall, she helped lead her rink to five straight wins and a spot in the gold medal match. Facing the McMaster Marauders therein, the Voyageurs took the lead early on, up 6-2 after four ends. Croisier strategized well, and capped off the performance with a perfect corner freeze in the final end to secure the win in a rematch of last year's final.

Lehtimaki Croisier’s efforts helped the Voyageurs earn their first banner of the year and take back the women’s banner for the first time since 2017.

Sarah Zonneveld, Volleyball, TMU Bold

Impacting her team on every play, Sarah Zonneveld was the star quarterback in the TMU women’s volleyball team’s back-to-back road wins.

Starting a double-header weekend on Friday night, the junior setter made her mark early and often. The Bold came out ready to play, but the Warriors were defending home court en route to first and second set wins. Zonneveld was putting the ball in the right place at the right time for her teammates, getting the Bold the set win to stay in the match. Racking up 38 assists, four kills, one solo and five assisted blocks offensively, and contributing 15 digs defensively in the reverse sweep, Zonneveld and the Bold came back to take the win.

Going back on night two, the Calgary, Alta. standout stayed consistent in her team’s crusade. Bringing back the same energy from the night before, the Bold again started the first set strong, this time keeping the lead all the way through. With some back and forth play in the second set, the Bold dropped the third to the Warriors before closing out the match. Again contributing on both offence and defence, Zonneveld brought another 37 assists, three kills, two block assists, and 15 digs to take both wins.

Zubair Seyed, Basketball, Ontario Tech Ridgebacks

Protecting home court not once, but twice, the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks added two more wins to their already impressive tally on Friday and Saturday night.

Zubair Seyed led the way for the Ridgebacks on Friday night against the Waterloo Warriors. Keeping the score close throughout the entire game, Ontario Tech turned their luck around in the third to take the lead. Scoring 33 points on the night, Seyed was one point away from tying the all-time single game record for his school, while shooting 13-for-16 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 at the line. Adding to his impressive offensive outing, he also grabbed two rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Facing the nationally ranked Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks the following night, the Ridgebacks had a tough match ahead. The veteran guard started the game strong with his team, keeping it close in the first. Throughout the second quarter, the Ridgebacks started pulling away, taking off for the rest of the game. Zubair stepped up in multiple roles for the Ridgebacks in the marquee matchup, and after starting his weekend as a leading scorer, he switched gears to become a facilitator for his team this time around.

With 21 points, four rebounds, six assists, and two steals on the night, the liberal studies major from Cambridge, Ont. made an impact on both ends of the court en route to his team’s fifth win against a ranked team this year.