Fryer, Riley named IG Wealth Management Athletes of the Week, powered by Planters
Burlington, Ont. – Erica Fryer and Nathan Riley have been named IG Wealth Management Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Athletes of the Week, powered by Planters, for the period ending January 6, 2019.
Female Athlete of the Week – Erica Fryer (Amherstburg, Ont.) – 1st Year – Toronto Varsity Blues
Rookie goalie Erica Fryer amassed 35 saves in leading the Varsity Blues women’s hockey team to a six-point weekend on the road, kicking off the 2019 calendar year in fine form.
The Amherstburg, Ont., native made 21 saves and earned her second shutout victory of the season as the Blues topped the Windsor Lancers 3-0 on Saturday afternoon. A first-year kinesiology major, Fryer went on to make 14 saves, while adding two in the shootout, to lead U of T to a 3-2 victory over the defending OUA champion and No. 9 nationally ranked Western Mustangs on Sunday in London, Ont.
With the back-to-back wins, Fryer evens her record at 4-4 on the year to go along with a 1.75 GAA and .908 SV% in her eight starts.
Male Athlete of the Week – Nathan Riley (Kitchener, Ont.) – 4th Year – Algoma Thunderbirds
He has been a consistent force the Thunderbirds men’s basketball team all season long, and after starting the 2019 calendar year in similar fashion, Algoma’s Nathan Riley earns this week’s provincial honour.
Algoma kicked off their second half with a back-to-back against the Waterloo Warriors, a team with whom they are neck-and-neck in the standings. Thanks to a pair of wins, buoyed greatly be the impressive play of Riley, the T’Birds leap-frogged the black and gold and now find themselves in a playoff position.
In the first game, Riley stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals in a slim 94-90 victory. The fourth-year forward was at it again the following night, topping the team with another 24-point outing to go along with four boards, four dimes, and three steals. If that wasn’t enough, Riley provided the dagger in the team’s second straight win, hitting the game-winning basket with just 0.8 seconds left on the clock.
