BlackBerry CIS athletes of the week: Waterloo’s Pringle, McGill’s Verreault-Paul honoured

OTTAWA (CIS) – Waterloo curler Katie Pringle and McGill hockey player Francis Verreault-Paul are the BlackBerry Canadian Interuniversity Sport female and male athletes of the week for the period ending February 14, 2010.

Pringle, a second-year psychology student from Orillia, Ont., skipped the Warriors’ women’s team to a perfect 4-0 record at the OUA championships in Waterloo, including a spectacular come-from-behind win in the gold-medal final. After they defeated Western 6-4, Brock 9-4 and Wilfrid Laurier 6-5 in round robin play, the Warriors faced their cross-town rivals from Laurier once again in the title match, where they erased a 5-2 deficit en route to a dramatic 6-5 extra-end victory. Pringle will lead her rink at the CIS championships to be held at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, from March 11 to 14.

Acadia volleyball player Nicole Davidson, Laval volleyball player Mélanie Savoie and Victoria basketball player Debbie Yeboah were also nominated for the women’s award.

Verreault-Paul, a second-year kinesiology student from Mashteuiatsh, Que., tallied 10 points in the Redmen’s final three regular season games to capture the OUA scoring title and lead No. 6-ranked McGill (22-6-0) to second place in the OUA East. The 5-foot-10, 178-pound winger had a goal and an assist in a close-fought 5-4 loss to No. 3 UQTR, was in on all four Redmen goals (one goal, three assists) in a 4-3 overtime win over Concordia and wrapped up his stellar campaign with a hat-trick and a helper in a 9-0 shutout of Ottawa. Verreault-Paul, the third McGill player to top the OUA in scoring and the first since current Montreal Canadien Mathieu Darche in 1999-2000, tied for the nation’s lead with 25 goals and finished second in the country with 54 points in 27 contests.

UPEI hockey player Jared Gomes, Western Ontario curler Evan Lilly and Calgary volleyball player Graham Vigrass were the other male nominees.

Female nominees:
AUS: Nicole Davidson, volleyball, Acadia
QSSF: Mélanie Savoie, volleyball, Laval
OUA: Katie Pringle, curling, Waterloo (recipient)
Canada West: Debbie Yeboah, basketball, Victoria

Male nominees:
AUS: Jared Gomes, hockey, UPEI
QSSF: Francis Verreault-Paul, hockey, McGill (recipient)
OUA: Evan Lilly, curling, Western Ontario
Canada West: Graham Vigrass, volleyball, Calgary


-CIS-