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Annual Athletic Banquet
Monday, April 11th, 2011
Redeemer University College held its annual athletic awards ceremony April 9th at the Courtyard Marriott in Hamilton, Ontario. The annual ceremony celebrates the accomplishments of the past season by honouring the top individual performers and celebrating team excellence.
Among the awards handed out were the Male and Female Athletes of the Year, the Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year, Sport MVP and Rookie of the Year, as well as awards for Coaching Staff of the Year and CCAA Academic All-Canadian winners. Graduating athletes were also recognized and two coaches with 10+ years of coaching were celebrated.
The night was also highlighted with a new member inducted into the Royal Road to Victory (Hall of Fame) as Cross Country runner Jakob Van Dorp was honoured as the 10th member to be inducted into the hall. Jakob ran for Redeemer from 2003-2006. During his time as a Royal, Van Dorp won a Provincial Silver medal in 2003, a Provincial Silver medal in 2004, and a Provincial Bronze medal in 2005. He finished 4th in two consecutive National Championships (2003 and 2004) and helped power Team Ontario to three consecutive CCAA Team Silver medals. His three Provincial medals and three National medals make Jakob the most decorated Redeemer Royal athlete ever.
The Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards went to Randall Brus and Ashley Muller. Ashley Muller led the Royals women’s volleyball team back into playoff contention this year after missing out since 2006-2007. Muller finished the season in 5th place in the OCAA West in points and was invited to play at the OCAA All-Star game in March. Muller also walked away with the women’s volleyball Most Valuable Player award and was the Royals' Athlete of the Month for November. Ashley also finished 2nd in the OCAA West in aces and was in the top 10 in points per game. Randall Brus took home the Male Athlete of the Year award for once again establishing himself as one of the top men’s singles badminton players in the province. Randall finished second in the Regional Championships and finished just out of the medals at 4th place in the OCAA Provincial Championships almost grabbing OCAA medals in back to back years (Randall won OCAA bronze in 2009-2010). Randall was so passionate about his sport when he arrived at Redeemer three years ago that he begged Redeemer to start the program once again, help put the plans in place, and is now leading it into the future.
The Scholar Athlete of the Year awards went to Christian Vandergeest and Krista Hoftyzer. Hoftyzer finished the semester with an almost perfect GPA while competing on the Royals Badminton team as well as both Indoor and Outdoor Soccer teams. Krista attended two Provincial Championships this season competing with her doubles partner at the Badminton Championships after finishing 2nd at the Regional Championships and at the Indoor Soccer Championship after the Lady Royals qualified, finishing 2nd at the
Regional Championships. Vandergeest powered the men’s volleyball team to their first division 1 silver medal in men’s volleyball history. He was named a second team all-star for his play during the season and was also named a Provincial Championship tournament all-star. Christian was able to balance his busy varsity schedule with his busy academic schedule and was named to the Dean’s Honor list as a result.
Christian Vandergeest was also named an Academic All-Canadian along with men’s soccer player Kevin Vanderleeuw for their success both as provincial all-stars as well as maintaining honours GPA status in the classroom. The awards are handed out by the CCAA to recognize an athlete who has excelled both on and off the court. The award is one of the most prestigious national awards given.
The men’s soccer coaching staff was awarded with the Coaching Staff of the Year award. Under the leadership of Head Coach Tom Sauder, both the men’s outdoor and indoor teams made it to the playoffs in the same year for the first time ever. The outdoor team finished with a winning record while the indoor team won the Regional Championships and qualified for the Provincial Championships.
As well, Tom Sauder and Nathan Siebenga, coach of the men's volleyball team, were recognized for dedication to their respective programs and 10+ years of coaching with their teams.
You can view the 2010-2011 season highlight DVD on the Redeemer Royals website at www.redeemer.ca/royals
The following is a complete list of the award winners:
Male Athlete of the Year: Randall Brus
Female Athlete of the Year: Ashley Muller
Male Scholar Athlete of the Year: Christian Vandergeest
Female Scholar Athlete of the Year: Krista Hoftyzer
Coaching Staff of the Year: Men’s Soccer
CCAA Academic All-Canadians: Christian Vandergeest, Kevin Vanderleeuw
Royal Road to Victory Inductee: Jakob Van Dorp (Cross Country)
Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year: Chantel Eade
Women’s Basketball Most Valuable Player: Kristy Aloe
Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Year: Benjamin Ibrahim
Men’s Basketball Most Valuable Player: Navanga Burke
Women’s Outdoor Soccer Rookie of the Year: Rachel Passchier
Women’s Outdoor Soccer Most Valuable Player: Maddy Wynands
Women’s Indoor Soccer Rookie of the Year: Rachel Passchier
Women’s Indoor Soccer Most Valuable Player: Shawna Druif
Men’s Outdoor Soccer Rookie of the Year: Justin Olthof
Men’s Outdoor Soccer Most Valuable Player: Kevin Vanderleeuw
Men’s Indoor Soccer Rookie of the Year: Everett Graham
Men’s Indoor Soccer Most Valuable Player: Gregory Dykxhoorn
Women’s Volleyball Rookie of the Year: Shira Bouwman
Women’s Volleyball Most Valuable Player: Ashley Muller
Men’s Volleyball Rookie of the Year: Aaron Vander Lugt
Men’s Volleyball Most Valuable Player: Joshua Dykxhoorn
Cross Country Rookie of the Year: Hannah Van de Kemp
Cross Country Most Valuable Player: Alexander Van Geest
Badminton Rookie of the Year: Bryan Couperus
Badminton Most Valuable Player: Randall Brus
Hockey Rookie of the Year: PJ Buys
Hockey Most Valuable Player: Gregory Dykxhoorn
10 Year Coaching Distinction Award: Nathan Siebenga, Tom Sauder
Active Life Style Winner: Alfred Mazereeuw
Intramural Player of the Year: Jackie Lieuwen
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