Roslyn Huber and Jen Woods had such exceptional seasons in their respective sports, the UBC Okanagan athletics department simply couldn’t choose an outright winner.
Intsead, the two varsity stars were named co-winners of the Heat Female Student Athlete of the Year honour which was handed at Tuesday night at the 2013 UBCO awards banquet.
A Kelowna product and five-year stalwart with the women’s basketball team, Huber finished her career as the leading scorer and rebounder in school history.
Huber will go down as one of the all-time top athletes on the UBC Okanagan campus as she was vital in the Heat’s transition to the CIS.
Woods closed out a spectacular athletic career by leading the Heat women’s team to a CCAA national title.
The 5-foot-3 Woods, whose size belies her reputation as a long hitter, was also a national tournament all-star, a four time provincial champion and a provincial all-star.
A dedicated academic, the Kelowna native intends to pursue a career in medicine upon graduation in Health Studies and will continue playing competitive golf.
The other finalists for the female award were soccer’s Jennifer Kidd, Kendra Wayling from the volleyball team and cross country’s Michelle Blackburne.
Uniat wins male award
Brett Uniat of the Heat men’s volleyball squad was named winner of the male student athlete of the year award.
It’s the fifth straight time and eighth time in the last nine years a player from the men’s volleyball squad has taken home the honour.
A CIS academic all-Canadian, the Cochrane, Alta. product averaged 89 per cent in the engineering program.
On the court in Uniat’s final year, this undersized middle was a force at the net with 81 total blocks and 69 block assists to finish sixth in the CIS. A dedicated, positive and team-first player, Uniat also received the Heat Sacrifice Award for men’s volleyball.
The other male finalists were basketball’s Mitch Goodwin, Cody Bell from the golf team, soccer’s Austin Jones and Colin Wallace from the cross country team.
Team awards
Each UBC Okanagan varsity team also handed out individual awards Tuesday, as chosen by the coaches.
Men’s soccer: Dustin Luck (Dedication Award), Donald Straith (MVP), Nicholas Kmet (Coach’s Award)
Women’s soccer: Marli Horth (Rookie of the Year), Christine Tallon (MVP), Elizabeth Babcock (Leadership Award).
Men’s basketball: Yassine Ghomari (top defensive player), Dave Mackay (team spirit), Mitch Goodwin (top rookie).
Women’s basketball: Melissa Irish (Coach’s Award), Roslyn Huber and Madison Kaneda (Leaderships Award).
Men’s volleyball: Kristof Schlagintweit (rookie of the year), Leo Schober (most improved), Alex Swiatlowski (Coach’s Award).
Women’s volleyball: Megan Festival (rookie of the year), Katie Wuttunee (most improved), Emily Oxland (MVP).
Golf: Jen Woods (top female), William Deck (top male) and Cody Bell (top male).
Cross country: Trisha Metro (student athlete award), Michelle Blackburne (MVP), Layne Richardson (Leadership Award).
