Justin Dunk

With the athletic year in the books it’s time to hand out some awards for the second semester of varsity Gryphon sports.

 

Male athlete of the semester: Kyle Boorsma track and field

Yawn, hard to pick someone else this guy is the definition of dominant. Flat out he simply wins. Throughout his entire Gryphon career Boorsma has been the best distance runner in Canada and he went out, you guessed it, winning. Boorsma captured two gold medals at the 2011 CIS track and field championships in his final event in Guelph colours.

Female athlete of the semester: Kylen Van Osch women’s volleyball

It seemed like Van Osch willed her team to victory in every single game down the stretch of the 2011 regular season and playoffs. She was a leader by example and her team followed all the way to the Ontario championship final where the Gryphons would fall just short in a rockin’ home gym.

Guelph took home an OUA silver medal, not bad for a team that was last place in the OUA when Van Osch stepped foot on campus five-years ago.

Rookie of the semester: Katie Mora women’s hockey

The speedy forward led the Gryphons in goal scoring and finished tied for ninth in the entire CIS with 15 goals in her first season. A native of Guelph, Mora provided the Gryphons with increased scoring depth and was a key part in the team advancing to the OUA finals for the third consecutive year.

Coach of the semester: Tom O’Brien women’s basketball

O’Brien took over a depleted and rebuilding women’s program at Guelph after a dismal 2-20 2009-10 campaign. In short order O’Brien changed the losing culture around the team to a positive one. He coached the Gryphons to a respectable 9-13 regular season record, which was good enough to qualify for post-season play.

Play of the semester: Scramble in front of the Guelph net in the dying seconds of the OUA Women’s hockey final game one

Gryphon Bodies strewn all over the ice in last ditch attempts to clear the puck out of their zone. Time was ticking down eight, seven, six and the puck squirted loose in front of Guelph goaltender, Danielle Skoufranis, but too far for her to reach out and smother it. Queen’s forward, Becky Conroy pounced on the puck and fed it into the back of the net to tie game up at one goal apiece. That goal with four seconds on the clock changed the complexion of the OUA finals and the Gryphons could not recover from it, losing in two games straight to the Gaels.

Game of the semester: Women’s hockey OUA finals game one six overtimes

After Queen’s forward, Becky Conroy tied the game up with four seconds on the clock the Gryphons and Gaels needed some extra hockey to decide a winner in game one of the OUA women’s hockey final series. Little did either team know they would play SIX overtime periods before Queen’s forward, Morgan McHaffie netted the game winner for the Gaels, but the game would go down as the longest ever collegiate hockey game to be played and the second longest hockey game ever.

Single game performance of the semester: Men’s basketball Dan McCarthy drops 38 in key win over Windsor

With the teams playoff lives hanging in the balance McCarthy went unconscious from the floor in spurring the Gryphons to a 97-94 upset of the then number eight ranked Lancers in Windsor. McCarthy dropped a career-high 38 points in the win. He knocked down six of seven attempts from deep and added nine boards, four steals and two assists in a victory that propelled Guelph to a playoff birth.

Biggest surprise of the semester: Gryphon football secures transfer quarterback, Jack Creighton

After a being benched in his first start of the 2010 CIS football season Creighton quit the St. Mary’s Huskies football team and wound up transferring to Guelph in January where he will be in competition to start for the Gryphons next season.

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