Players Bench Athletes of the Week: January 4 – 8

Male Athlete of the Week

The Cougars men’s basketball team hit the hardwood for the first time in 2024 and hosted their crosstown rivals, the University of Calgary Dinos for a pair of games at Kenyon Court. Both games offered a playoff-like atmosphere with the Cougars and Dinos putting on an entertaining show for the big crowd. On Friday, MRU and Calgary went back and forth with the Dinos pulling away late in the game to win 88-82. Saturday’s rematch showed no lack of intensity, as each team excelled with terrific offensive play. Ultimately, the visiting Dinos squad came out on top by a score of 119-103.

The Players Bench Male Athlete of the Week is Holt Tomie. The hard-nosed guard made history over the weekend, surpassing former Cougars star Glen Yang to become the MRU men’s basketball all-time leading scorer. On Friday, Tomie posted 20 points and six rebounds. In the following game, the Calgary local achieved another milestone when he reached 1,000 career regular-season points, becoming the first Mount Royal men’s player to do so. Tomie registered a season-high 31 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

Tomie, a fourth-year business student, is a two-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian.

Female Athlete of the Week

MRU’s women’s volleyball team kicked off the new year with a visit to Langley to take on the number-one-ranked Trinity Western Spartans. After losing a key member of their lineup, the Cougars fought hard in Friday’s match but eventually fell 3-1. In the weekend finale, Mount Royal and Trinity Western went into the third set tied at one, with the Cougars displaying an inspired effort. However, the talent and power of the Spartans would prove to be too much and they would hand the Cougars another 3-1 defeat.

The Players Bench Female Athlete of the Week is Emma Boyd. The workhorse from Whitehorse was the one to watch for Mount Royal as she formed an excellent partnership with setter Lexi Herrod. Boyd flourished on offence while showing off her power and finesse down the middle. On Friday, the third-year tallied eight kills and four blocks. In the following game on Saturday, Boyd erupted for a season-best performance, registering a campaign-high 15 kills along with two aces. In what has been a tough season for the team, Boyd has consistently brought a high-paced, high-energy level of play for the Cougars.

Boyd is a third-year student enrolled in the Geology program at Mount Royal.