Swimmers Hazem Issa and Naomie Lo named McGill athletes of the year

MONTREAL – Swimmers Hazem Issa of Cairo, Egypt and Naomie Lo of Toronto, were named male and female athletes of the year, respectively, at the 46th annual McGill University varsity sports awards gala, held Thursday at Evo Plaza Centre-Ville in downtown Montreal.
 
It marked the fifth consecutive year and 18th time in school history that a member of the men’s swim team had won the D. Stuart Forbes Trophy and the sixth occasion that a female swimmer took home the Gladys Bean Trophy, respectively, as the student-athletes who brought most credit to the University by reason of their athletic achievements.
 
Among the other laureates was hockey alternate captain Alexandre Gagnon of Gatineau, Que., and volleyball co-captain Victoria Iannotti from St. Laurent, Que., received the Richard Pound and Muriel Roscoe trophies, awarded to the graduating male and female athletes, respectively, for proficiency and leadership in athletics over their university careers.
 
Swimmer Emilia Mastromatteo of Kenora, Ont., took home the Uldis Auders Memorial Trophy as the top sophomore, in any sport, who best combines academic excellence with athletic prowess.

Swimmers Mats Baradat of Hyeres, France, and Maya McGhan of Kenora, Ont., were named as the University’s male and female rookie of the year, respectively.

The Dr. Mac Teskey Award for overcoming adversity while serving as an inspiration to others went to soccer’s Annika Schmunk, a 20-year-old management junior from Powell River, B.C. She overcame a stressful and challenging situation during final exams after learning of her father’s terminal illness back in British Columbia, to receive straight As and earn Academic All-Canadian status and a spot on the Principal’s Student-athlete Honour Roll.

The men’s hockey program received the Martlet Foundation Trophy for the fifth time since 1986 as the varsity team of the year. They placed first of 19 schools in the Ontario conference and posted a 30-14 record overall en route to winning bronze at both the OUA and U SPORTS national championships. They had three OUA all-stars, three conference major awards, one national major award and one player on U SPORTS All-Tournament Team

The women’s artistic swim squad was presented with the Harry Griffiths Trophy for the fifth time since 1996, awarded to the top team outside the jurisdiction of U SPORTS. They won three of six events at Nationals in Winnipeg to finish first of 14 teams and capture the Canadian University Artistic Swimming League by two points over second-place UBC. It was the team’s 17th national title. A well-organized team, they generated close to $10,000 during the recent one-day, McGill-24 fundraiser.

Tribute was also paid to McGill’s 11 All-Canadians, 85 conference all-stars and five league championships won during the 2023-24 varsity season. Conference banners were captured in women’s badminton for the first time since 1982, as well as artistic swimming, both men’s and women’s swimming, in addition to the combined swim title.

The evening concluded with the introduction of the newly-elected slate of officers for the McGill Varsity Council, which will be led by president Elizabeth Mura (hockey) of Calgary. Occupying the vice-president portfolios are track & field’s Ella Durno (communications) of Ottawa, basketball’s Kristy Awikeh (communications) of Aleppo (Syria), baseball’s Wilton Bompey (community outreach) of New York City, field hockey’s Ada Collins (equity, diversity & inclusion) of Evanston, Illinois, hockey’s Mitchell Prowse (varsity affairs) of Kelowna, B.C., and volleyball’s Erin Keating (varsity affairs) of Deerfield, Illinois.
 
(MAJOR AWARD PROFILES LISTED AFTER MVPs BELOW)

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2023-24 MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARDS FOR McGILL’S 26 VARSITY TEAMS
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ARTISTIC SWIMMING: Catherine McGee (Toronto, Ont)
BADMINTON: Nicolas Germain (Laval, Que) and Eliana Zhang (2nd consec. year; Ile-Bizard, Que)
BASEBALL: Brad Marelich (Pasadena, Calif.)
BASKETBALL: Sean Herscovitch (Montreal, Que) and Lily Rose Chatila (Quebec City, Que)
CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING: Jerome Jacques (St. Lambert, Que) and Sienna Matheson (Kingston, Ont)
FIELD HOCKEY: Avery Bourbonnais (Mississauga, Ont)
FOOTBALL: Darius Simmons (Lachine, Que)
GOLF: Simon Savaria (Oakville, Ont) and Sophia Ghorbel (New Canaan, Conn., USA)
HOCKEY: Scott Walford (3rd consec. year; Coquitlam, B.C.) and Jade Rivard-Coulombe (Chateauguay, Que)
LACROSSE: Joseph Boehm (Waterloo, Ont)
ROWING: Markus Maile (Vancouver, BC) and Eloise Doesserich (Washington, DC, USA)
RUGBY: Ian McDowell (Dorval, Que) and Lauren Minns (NDG, Que)
SOCCER: Matisse Chretien (Quebec City, Que) and Mara Bouchard (3rd consec. year; Granby, Que)
SWIMMING: Hazem Issa (Cairo, CAIRO) and Naomie Lo (Toronto, Ont)
TRACK & FIELD: Matthew Beaudet (2nd consec. year; NDG, Que) and Donna Ntambue (2nd consec. year; Montreal, Que)
VOLLEYBALL: Victoria Iannotti (St. Laurent, Que)
 
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PROFILES FOR 2024 McGILL ATHLETICS MAJOR AWARD RECIPIENTS
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D. STUART FORBES TROPHY (MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR):

Hazem Issa (swimming)

A 21-year-old civil engineering junior, was named male athlete of the meet in all five RSEQ competitions. At the league championship meet, the 6-foot-5, 212-pound sprinter won five gold medals and a silver to merit conference all-star honours. He qualified for Nationals, where he attained second-team All-Canadian status after winning silver in the 4×100 freestyle relay and bronze in the 50m butterfly.

GLADYS BEAN TROPHY (FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR):

Naomie Lo (swimming)

A 21-year-old science junior majoring in software engineering, she was named RSEQ female swimmer of the year. The 5-foot-2, middle distance specialist, won five gold medals and a silver at the RSEQ championship to earn athlete of the meet and conference all-star honours. Lo qualified for Nationals, where she reached the A finals in four of her five events, won silver in the 400m freestyle and merited second-team All-Canadian status.

ULDIS AUDERS MEMORIAL AWARD (SOPHOMORE WHO BEST COMBINES ACADEMICS & ATHLETICS):

Emilia Mastromatteo (swimming)

A 19-year-old anatomy and cellular biology major, she set a conference record in the 50m breaststroke and merited all-star honours after winning five gold medals and one bronze at the RSEQ championships. Mastromatteo qualified for Nationals, where she finished sixth in the 50m backstroke and eighth in the 100m breaststroke.

RICHARD W. POUND AWARD (PROFICIENCY & LEADERSHIP OVER McGILL CAREER):

Alexandre Gagnon (hockey)

Gagnon, A 25-year-old physical and health education senior, Gagnon won the OUA nomination and the national Dr. Randy Gregg Award as the hockey player who best combines academics and community service this season. An Academic All-Canadian and member of the Principal’s Student-athlete Honour Roll, Gagnon has won multiple scholarships and bursaries, including the 1938 Champions Award for excellence in leadership, academics and athletics. A past recipient of the team’s most improved player award (Albert Fyon Trophy), he served as the hockey team rep on the Varsity Council. In 96 career games overall, he scored 44 points including 19 goals, and had only 22 penalty minutes
 

MURIEL V. ROSCOE AWARD (PROFICIENCY & LEADERSHIP OVER McGILL CAREER):

Victoria Iannotti (volleyball)

A 24-year-old software engineering senior, she was a three-time conference all-star who won the 2022 national Thérèse Quigley Award for combining academics with leadership and community service. Iannotti meritedAcadademic All-Canadian status and made the Principal’s Student-athlete Honour Roll. She received the Jean Beliveau Athletic Award for academic achievement and leadership in student and/or community affairs. Iannotti was also a recipient of the Dorothy Nichol Award for academic achievement and contributions to extra-curricular activities in athletics. Heavily involved in team outreach to potential recruits, she was a key coordinator of the team’s crowd-funding campaign and various community events, including a fundraiser for the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation. She sat on the Varsity Council in the capacity as VP–student-athlete initiatives. In 64 career regular season games, she scored 749.5 points, 625 kills, 36 aces, 72.5 stuff blocks and had 354 digs.

MALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD (in first year of eligibility and under 22 years old by Sept. 1):

Mats Baradat (swimming)

A 20-year-old economics freshman, he was named as both, the RSEQ rookie and athlete of the year in swimming. Baradat earned conference all-star status and national All-Canadian honours.Over his four  conference meets, he tallied seven gold medals and a pair of bronzes, including a triple golden performance at the RSEQ championship meet. He qualified for five events at Nationals, where he claimed gold (4×200 free relay), bronze (400 free), finished sixth in the 1500 free, 11th in 200 butterfly and 14th in 200 free

FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD (in first year of eligibility and under 22 years old by Sept. 1):

Maya McGhan (swimming)

An 18-year-old management freshman, she won 10 gold medals, four silvers and a pair of bronzes over her five conference meets. At the league championships, she collected three gold medals and a pair of silvers. She qualified for Nationals, where she was fourth in 4×100 free relay, 20th in the 50 free, 20th in the 800 free, 11th in the 200 individual medley and 15th in 400 IM.

PAST MAJOR AWARD WINNERS AT McGILL ATHLETICS GALA
 

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca