Rams athletes honoured at Ryerson athletic banquet

TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams celebrated the 66th Annual Athletic Awards Celebration on Monday evening in a fun atmosphere at the Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre Hotel. Highlighting this year’s major award winners were athletes of the year Veronica Livingston (Kelowna, B.C.) of the women’s volleyball team and soccer player Alex Braletic (Thornhill, Ont.).

Livingston was named the H.H. Kerr Female Athlete of the Year after leading the Rams volleyball team’s offence with 3.69 points per game which ranked her eighth in OUA scoring. Her 3.11 kills per game led the team and put her fifth in the OUA and 15th in the country. Livingston was an OUA East First-Team All-Star and led the Rams back to the playoffs for the second straight season. Figure skater Katherine Bilinsky (Toronto), badminton player Vivian Kwok (Stouffville, Ont.) and basketball player KenecaPingue-Giles (Winnipeg, Man.) were also nominated this year.
 
Fifth year midfielder Alex Braletic took home the Ryersonian Male Athlete of the Year award following his outstanding final season in a Rams uniform. Braletic saved his best season for last, leading the country with 13 goals in the regular season and earning his second career OUA East Most Valuable Player award. Braletic made history by being named the CIS Outstanding Player of the Year, the first Ram to do so in any sport at Ryerson, and helped lead the men’s soccer team to their first ever appearance at the national championship. Braletic was also named a CIS First-Team All-Canadian, an OUA First-Team All-Star, and a CIS Tournament All-Star this season. Also nominated for this award this season was Jahmal Jones (Mississauga, Ont.) of the basketball team, Jamie Wise (Stouffville, Ont.) of the hockey team and Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.) from the volleyball team.

Starting a new tradition at Ryerson Athletics, Braletic was also presented with a commemorative ring for being named the CIS Outstanding Player of the Year.


The women’s volleyball team took home a second major award on the night when freshman Julie Longman (Newmarket, Ont.) was named the RSU Female Rookie of the Year. In her first season with Ryerson, Longman became a critical piece to the Rams defence. The libero led the Rams with 3.75 digs per game and was named the OUA East Libero of the Year. Longman was also named to the OUA East All-Rookie Team.

After three straight years of the Eyeopener Male Rookie of the Year award going to a basketball player, hockey player Domenic Alberga (Maple, Ont.) snapped the streak and won this year’s top rookie honours. Alberga finished the hockey season ranked third in the OUA and fourth in the country with 44 points in 26 games. His 44 points led all rookies across the country. Alberga was rewarded for his season by being named the OUA West Rookie of the Year, a West Second-Team All-Star, to the West All-Rookie Team, and earned national recognition by being named to the CIS All-Rookie Team.

Women’s hockey captainNellaBrodett (Edmonton, Alta.) won this year’s G.L. Dobson Outstanding Contribution to Interuniversity Sport, Campus and Community Life Award. Brodett has had a steady presence in the community during her time at Ryerson. This year Brodett was a leading Rising Rams mentor, a program in which student-athletes go into elementary schools to share their experiences and encourage healthy living. Brodett was also the spearhead on the #RamsTalk initiative and the charity dodgeball tournament which jointly fundraised $3,250.85 for youth mental health through the Do It For Daron (DIFD) campaign.
 
Basketball player Yannick Walcott (Toronto) won this year’s D.H. Craighead Outstanding Contribution to Interuniversity Sport, Campus and Community Life Award. Walcott was a Rising Rams mentor and the spearhead for a partnership between the Rams and Special Olympics Toronto. Walcott helped organize a clinic where Special Olympics athletes learned to play basketball and foster active lifestyles with fellow Rams student-athletes.

See below for a full list of this year’s award winners.
 
H.H. Kerr Female Athlete of the Year
Veronica Livingston
 
Ryersonian Male Athlete of the Year
Alex Braletic
 
RSU Female Rookie of the Year
Julie Longman
 
Eyeopener Male Rookie of the Year
Domenic Alberga
 
G.L. Dobson Female Outstanding Contribution
NellaBrodett
 
D.H. Craighead Male Outstanding Contribution
Yannick Walcott
 
Gold ‘R’ Recipients
Katherine Bilinsky (Figure Skating)
Alex Braletic (Men’s Soccer)
Robert Earl (Men’s Volleyball)
Alysha Gjos (Figure Skating)
Michael Jan (Men’s Soccer)
Joanna Kolbe (Fencing)
 
Claude LaJeunesse Award
Robert Earl
 
Jim Peffers Award
Doug Shields
 
Media & Communications Award
Charles Vanegas

Student Excellence in Leadership
Shannon Cuciz
BabakGhodrati
 
CIS President’s Team Award
Men’s Soccer
 
OUA President’s Team Award
Figure Skating
 
Team MVPs
Badminton: Dayvon Reid and Vivian Kwok
Women’s Basketball: KenecaPingue-Giles
Men’s Basketball: Jahmal Jones
Fencing: Sebastien Dubois-Didcock and Joanna Kolbe
Figure Skating: Lisa Makeeva
Women’s Hockey: Melissa Wronzberg
Men’s Hockey: Jamie Wise
Women’s Soccer: Sarah Slattery
Men’s Soccer: Alex Braletic
Women’s Volleyball: Meghan Pratt
Men’s Volleyball: Stefan Ristic
 
Athletic Therapy Awards
Men’s Basketball: Jamal Lynch
Women’s Basketball: Mallory Woeller
Men’s Hockey: Scott Lavigne
Women’s Hockey: Amanda Liddle
Women’s Hockey: Christina Cotterill
Women’s Soccer/Volleyball: Juhi Patel
Men’s Soccer/Volleyball: Matthew Miller