2023 Jean Béliveau Athletic Award recipients announced at McGill

MONTREAL – This week marks the ninth anniversary of the passing of a Hockey Hall of Fame legend and as is customary, the recipients of McGill University’s Jean Béliveau Athletic Awards for 2023 have been announced.

Swimmer Pablo Collin of Marseille, France, was selected along with volleyball’s Victoria Iannotti of St. Laurent, Que., badminton’s Eliana Zhang of Ile. Bizard, Que., and soccer’s Chris Cinelli-Faia of Dollard des Ormeaux, Que.
 
These Athletic Financial Awards were established as an endowment in 2016 to honour the memory of the Montreal Canadiens captain and inspirational community leader who passed away on Dec. 2, 2014. They recognize outstanding McGill student-athletes who have demonstrated academic achievement and leadership in student and/or community affairs. Recipients receive a medallion accompanied by a bursary which generally ranges between $2,500 and $6,000 but cannot exceed tuition and ancillary fees, in accordance with RSEQ, OUA and U SPORTS regulations.
 
Collin, a 22-year-old computer science junior, earned Academic All-Canadian status while making Principal’s Student-athlete Honour Roll. Last spring, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound freestyle specialist received the Forbes Trophy as McGill’s male athlete of the year and also merited the University’s Uldis Auders Award, presented to a sophomore who best combines academic performance with athletics. Collin finished an impressive campaign that resulted in him earning the U SPORTS Student-Athlete Community Service Award for swimming. He was the RSEQ conference male swimmer of the year, earned all-conference status and merited All-Canadian honours after winning two gold medals and a pair of bronzes at the Nationals in Victoria, B.C. He set school records in three short-course and three long-course events. Over the season, he was named RSEQ swimmer of the meet in three of the five conference competitions and led McGill to the Quebec league men’s banner. During his first two seasons at McGill, Collin has captured seven gold medals at the league title meet in addition to three golds, one silver and three bronze medals at the U SPORTS national championship.

Iannotti, a 24-year-old software engineering senior, earned Academic All-Canadian honours while making Principal’s Student-athlete Honour Roll. She has merited first-team all-conference status in each of her last two seasons. The 5-foot-9 power-hitter made the national championship all-tournament team at the 2022 Nationals and also received the Thérèse Quigley Award as the U SPORTS player who best combines academics with leadership and community service. Described by reporter Nicholas Richard of La Presse as the catalyst for the Martlets on offence with “atomic bombs that fly out of her hands at the net”, Iannotti recently became the sixth player in McGill volleyball history to reach the 500 kill club. Off the court, her responsibilities as co-captain include outreach to potential recruits, team crowd-funding campaigns and various community events, including a fundraiser for the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. She also sits on the Varsity Council in the capacity as VP–student-athlete initiatives.

Zhang, a 21-year-old junior in medical school, made the Principal’s Student-athlete Honour Roll. In her first year of varsity eligibility last season, she was named as both, the McGill and RSEQ conference’s most outstanding rookie. She was also voted RSEQ badminton player of the year and the only McGill player to merit all-star status, earning first-team honours. Zhang went undefeated during the RSEQ season, posting a perfect 11-0 record in singles and a 3-0 mark in mixed doubles. In terms of sets played, she registered a 22-0 mark in singles and went 6-1 in mixed doubles. A member of the Quebec provincial and Canadian national teams, she has competed at the last two Pan-American Games. Zhang was named as the Badminton Quebec’s athlete of the year for 2023 after her performance at the Yonex Canadian senior championships in Winnipeg last February, where she became the first Quebec athlete in 13 years to win gold, taking home the doubles title. A product of Marianopolis College, Zhang received a J.W. McConnell Entrance scholarship to McGill in 2021 and merited an athletic excellence bursary from the Aléo Foundation last year.
 
Cinelli-Faia, a co-captain with the men’s soccer team, is a 24-year-old senior in his final year of a master’s degree in sports psychology after graduating in 2022 with a degree in physical and health education. He qualified for Academic All-Canadian status as well as the Principal’s Student-athlete Honour Roll and the Dean’s Honour List. On the soccer pitch, the acrobatic 5-foot-7, 159-pound goalkeeper has posted four shutouts and a 1.78 goals-against average in 22 career regular season games. For his off-the-field activities, he was the recipient of the RSEQ soccer award for leadership and community service. He serves as co-chair of the team’s food drive in support of the Old Brewery Mission, which provides meals and other essential needs for homeless people in Montreal. He volunteers as a social coordinator with the Student Association of Physical Education and Kinesiology. He also served as co-chair of the soccer team’s Seeds of Change fundraiser which has generated more than $50,000 over the last four years. Cinelli-Faia was profiled by the McGill Alumni Association for a university-wide fundraising campaign.
 
The impetus for implementing these Jean Béliveau Athletic Awards at McGill came from several donors, including George Lengvari and Terry Tretiak of Lengvari Capital, The Rossy Family Foundation, the Joe Weider Foundation, Power Corporation and the Martlet Foundation. The endowed fund – expected to generate approximately $25,000 per year – is awarded to four full-time varsity student-athletes (two men and two women).
 
Béliveau skated for 18 seasons with the Canadiens from 1953 to 1971. He was a member of 10 Stanley Cup-winning teams as a player and seven more as an executive with the team. Off the ice, he supported charities in Quebec and throughout Canada. In 2003, the Montreal Canadiens introduced the Jean Béliveau Trophy, which is awarded to the Canadiens player who best demonstrates community involvement and spirit. In 2006, he was presented with an honourary doctorate of law from McGill. 
 
All-time List of McGill’s Jean Béliveau Athletic Award Recipients
 

SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (cell.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca