Athletes of the year to be unveiled at 46th annual McGill Athletics awards gala on April 4

MONTREAL – The major award nominees have been announced for McGill University’s 46th annual athletics awards gala, to be held on April 4 at Plaza Centre-Ville on Boulevard Robert Bourassa.
 
Five nominees are in the running for the Major D. Stuart Forbes Trophy, presented to the male student-athlete who has brought the most credit to the University by reason of his athletic achievements.

The finalists include All-Canadians Darius Simmons (football), Hazem Issa (swimming) and Matthew Beaudet (track and field).
 
Rounding out the group are conference all-stars Scott Walford (hockey), who helped McGill win bronze at both the OUA and U SPORTS championships and signed a pro contract to play in the American Hockey League, Martin Laval (rugby), who finished second the league scoring title and lacrosse’s Dylan James, who was named CUFLA player of the year.

On the women’s side, five nominees are vying for the Gladys Bean Trophy, awarded to the female athlete of the year. The finalists include Naomie Lo (swimming), Lauren Minns (rugby) and Mara Bouchard (soccer), each of whom merited All-Canadian honours in their respective sports.

Other finalists are conference all-stars Victoria Iannotti (volleyball), who is also a finalist for the Roscoe Trophy, and Donna Ntambue (track & field), who broke a school record in the 60-metre dash and won bronze at Nationals.

In all, 11 major trophies will be presented at the event, in addition to MVP awards for McGill’s 26 varsity teams. Here is a brief look at all the finalists.

MAJOR D.S. FORBES TROPHY NOMINEES
(Male Athlete of the Year)
 
Matthew Beaudet, Track & Field / X-country, Electrical Engineering, 4th year, Notre Dame de Grace, Que.
Dylan James, Lacrosse, Arts (Psychology), 4th year, Little Britain, Ont.
Hazem Issa, Swimming, Civil Engineering, 3rd year, Cairo, Egypt
Martin Laval, Rugby, Management & Mathematics,  4th year, Biarritz, France
Darius Simmons, Football, Special Status, 4th year, Lachine, Que.
Scott Walford, Hockey, Arts (Economics), 4th year, Coquitlam, B.C.
 
GLADYS BEAN TROPHY NOMINEES
(Female Athlete of the Year)
 
Mara Bouchard (soccer), Arts (Psychology), 3rd year, Granby, Que.
Victoria Iannotti (volleyball), Software Engineering, 5th year, St. Laurent, Que.
Naomie Lo (swimming), Software Engineering, 3rd year, Toronto, Ont.
Lauren Minns (rugby), Civil Law (Master’s) 3rd year, Notre Dame de Grace, Que.
Donna Ntambue (track & field), Arts (Economics), 2nd year, Montreal North, Que.
 
RICHARD POUND TROPHY NOMINEES
(Proficiency & Leadership in Athletics over McGill awarded to candidate in their final year)
 
Malachy Belkhelladi (Swimming), Arts (Psychology), 3rd year, Montreal, Que.
Isaiah Cree (Lacrosse), Arts (Intl Development Studies), 5th year, Akwesasne, NY
Alexandre Gagnon (Hockey), Physical & Health Education,  4th year, Gatineau, Que.
Victor Rolland (Rowing), Mechanical Engineering (Master’s), 7th year, Lyon, France
 
MURIEL V. ROSCOE TROPHY NOMINEES
(Proficiency & Leadership in Athletics over McGill career; awarded to candidate in their final year)
 
Kristy Awikeh (Basketball), Science (Kinesiology), 4th year, Aleppo, Syria
Victoria Iannotti (volleyball), Software Engineering, 5th year, St. Laurent, Que.
Hana Mollin (Swimming), Management (Information Systems), 4th year, Schaumburg, Illinois
 
FEMALE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
(Must be in first year of eligibility and no older than 21 as of Sept. 1, 2023)
 
Amelie Beaudet-Gaudette (Soccer), Civil Engineering, 1st year, 19 yrs, Montreal, Que.
Seyna Diggs (Basketball), Arts (undeclared), 1st year, 19 yrs, Montreal, Que.
Maya McGhan (Swimming), Management (undeclared), 1st year, 18 yrs, Kenora, Ont.
 
MALE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
(Must be in first year of eligibility and no older than 21 as of Sept. 1, 2023)
 
Mats Baradat (Swimming), Arts (Economics), 1st year, 20 yrs, Hyeres, France
Matisse Chretien (Soccer), Physical & Health Education, 1st year, 19 yrs, Quebec City, Que.
Saransh Padhy (Basketball), Electrical Engineering, 1st year, 18 yrs, Stouffville, Ont.
 
ULDIS AUDERS MEMORIAL AWARD
(Top sophomore student-athlete)
(no shortlist, recipient to be announced at gala)

MAC TESKEY AWARD
(Demonstrating courage & morale worthy on honorable mention)
(no shortlist, recipient to be announced at gala)

TEDDY SMITH AWARD
(Outstanding volunteer work within the McGill Athletics community)
(no shortlist, recipient to be announced at gala)

MARTLET FOUNDATION TROPHY NOMINEES
(U SPORTS Varsity Team of the Year)
 
Swimming (w): won RSEQ championship (16 golds, 11 silvers, 7 bronzes), won all five league meets overall, qualified 17 women for Nationals, placed FOURTH of 22 teams at U SPORTS national championship in Pointe Claire, Que., where they won one silver; had 14 conference all-stars (11 on first team); also had one All-Canadian (second team).
 
Hockey (m): won OUA bronze and U SPORTS bronze… overall record: 30-14; finished first of 19 teams in OUA reg. season with a 21-7 record; had three conference all-stars (2 on first team), three conference major awards, one national major award, one player on U SPORTS All-Tournament Team
 
Swimming (m): won RSEQ championship (14 golds, 5 silvers, 5 bronzes), won all five league meets overall, qualified 18 men for Nationals, placed THIRD of 26 teams at U SPORTS national championship in Pointe Claire, Que., where they won two bronzes; had 12 conference all-stars (10 on first team); also had five All-Canadian (4 on first team).
 
 
HARRY GRIFFITHS TROPHY NOMINEES
(non-U SPORTS Varsity Club of the Year)
 
Badminton (w): won RSEQ championship (upset undefeated Montreal 3-2 in the final), first conference title si4nce 1982, finished second in regular season with an 8-4 record, won silver in women’s doubles, bronze in mixed doubles, three conference all-stars (one on first team)
 
Artistic Swimming (w): won GOLD at Canadian University Artistic Swim League championship (finished first of 14 teams; won 3 of 6 events at Nationals in Winnipeg); won three trophies at championship meet (highest scoring team, highest scoring novice team, individual all-round novice champion); at McGill Invitational: won five of six events; at Eastern Canadian Meet: won four of six events.
 
Lacrosse (m): won SILVER at Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association championship (finished second of six teams); posted an overall record of 10-4, including a 7-3 reg. season record (third in CUFLA East); had two conference all-stars (both first team); had two of league’s eight major awards.
 
 
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca