Grigorev, McKnight, Meilikhan named OUA athletes of the week

Graphic on predominantly blue background featuring action photo of TMU Bold Daniil Grigorev, Toronto Varsity Blues Kaitlyn McKnight and Waterloo Warriors Rachael Meilikhan along with the OUA Athletes of the Week logo and large white 'Athletes of the Week' text in the lower third
February 3, 2025

Burlington, Ont. – Daniil Grigorev, Kaitlyn McKnight and Rachael Meilikhan have been named OUA athletes of the week for the period ending February 2, 2025. 

Daniil Grigorev, TMU Bold, Hockey

Grigorev played a major role in the Bold’s two wins this week, scoring four goals across back-to-back victories, a 3-2 win against the York Lions and an 8-2 triumph over the Laurier Golden Hawks.

Against York, the second-year forward from Moscow, Russia tied the game at 1-1 with a perfectly placed one-timer on Friday night. He followed up that outing with an even more dominant performance against Laurier, netting a hat-trick with two goals in the first period and another in the second period on Saturday at home.

Grigorev and the TMU Bold currently sit atop the OUA West with two weeks to play in the regular season.

Kaitlyn McKnight, Toronto Varsity Blues, Hockey

McKnight, a third-year nutritional science and psychology student, tallied an impressive five goals and one assist across two Varsity Blues wins this past weekend. The Barrie, Ont. native began her weekend with a two-goal outing in Toronto's 6-2 win over TMU on Friday, including notching both the eventual game-winner midway through the second period and the final goal of the game in the third.

Right back on the ice the next day versus the nationally ranked Nipissing Lakers, McKnight notched her second career hat-trick, adding an assist to round out her four-point performance in another 6-2 home ice win.

McKnight has been on a roll recently, registering a point in each of the last five games for the Blues, all wins. She also currently sits tied for third in the OUA now with three game winning goals so far this season.

Rachael Meilikhan, Waterloo Warriors, Volleyball

Meilikhan had an impressive weekend for the Waterloo Warriors as she contributed 50.5 points, 46 kills and 26 digs across their two games with the Windsor Lancers. The Toronto, Ont. product put up 24 kills, 16 digs and three aces in Waterloo’s five set loss to the Lancers.

On Saturday, the second-year pharmacy student helped the Warriors defeat Windsor in four sets, with 22 kills and one ace.

Her all-around dominance on the court continues to make a significant impact for Waterloo. Meilikhan now sits third in the OUA with 225 kills this season and second with 3.81 kills per set.