UofT's O'Hara claims second straight MVP award

VICTORIA (CIS) - For the second straight season, University of Toronto fifth-year forward Cailie O'Hara is the top player in Canadian Interuniversity Sport women's field hockey.

O'Hara of Oakville, Ont. becomes the first double recipient of the Liz Hoffman Award since the inception of the trophy in 1992. Other Varsity Blues to claim CIS MVP honours include Philippa Kedgley in 2003 and Deb Cuthbert in 1998.

The other CIS major award winners announced Wednesday night at the All-Canadian Banquet were Guelph's Jessalyn Walkey of Rockwood, Ont., who captured the Joyce Slipp Award as the nation's best rookie, UBC's Tyla Flexman of Vancouver, who received the Gail Wilson Outstanding Contributor Award, and UBC's Hash Kanjee, who was named coach of the year for the third time and received the Marina van der Merwe Award.

The 2008 CIS championship gets under way on Thursday at the University of Victoria. The gold-medal final is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. Pacific.

O'Hara tied for sixth in Ontario and seventh in the nation in the regular season with eight goals as she led the Varsity Blues to a sparkling 12-0-2 record and first place in the OUA standings. The 21-year-old criminology major followed up with a game-MVP performance in the conference final helping Toronto reclaim the OUA banner with a 2-1 win over Guelph.

One of the most distinguished careers in CIS women's field hockey history will come to an end this week when the Blues try to defend their CIS title in B.C.'s capital. Since 2004, O'Hara has been named CIS and OUA player of the year twice, an all-Canadian four times, including three first-team nods, an OUA first-team all-star each of her five seasons and a CIS tournament all-star in 2007, in addition to guiding her team to the CIS podium on four occasions, including the 2007 McCrae Cup triumph.

O'Hara is a veteran of 31 international caps with the Canadian national team and has represented Canada at the 2008 Olympic Qualifier, the 2008 and 2007 South Africa Tours, and the 2007 Pan American Games.

"Cailie is a fierce competitor with an innate ability to raise the intensity of her teammates. Through her work ethic and dedication to the game, Cailie has become a fierce competitor that always wants to win," said U of T head coach John De Souza.

Walkey is the second Gryphon in four years and the third in history to claim CIS rookie-of-the-year honours. Current teammate Kristine Wishart won the Joyce Slipp Award in 2005, while Lindsay Trimble was a co-recipient in 2001.

The 5-foot-8 midfielder was the highest-scoring freshman in the nation this fall with eight goals in 13 conference outings, good for a tie for sixth in Ontario and seventh in the country. She was part of a Guelph side that led CIS with 65 goals in the regular season en route to a 10-1-3 mark, and reached the OUA final for the second straight year. Her performances earned her first-team all-star status in the OUA and a spot on the second all-Canadian squad.

Walkey, a human kinetics student, came to the Gryphons after guiding her high school team to back-to-back OFSSA titles.

"Jessalyn bestows a speed, strength and explosiveness which make her a lethal threat to any opposition's defence, not only from the forward position, but the midfield, as well," said Guelph head coach Michelle Turley. "She is a thrill to watch. Her stick handling and elimination skills are impressive as well as her ability to find an open teammate. She has the flexibility to play anywhere on the field."

Flexman is the first Thunderbird to receive the Gail Wilson Outstanding Contributor Award since the trophy was first presented in 1995.

The UBC captain led the T-Birds to the Canada West championship in her fifth and final year of CIS eligibility, receiving conference all-star and second-team all-Canadian honours along the way. A member of the junior national team program from 2003-2005, the 22-year-old was also a second-team CIS all-star in 2006.

Off the pitch, the human kinetics major, who has earned multiple Academic All-Canadian nods, is a member of the Thunderbird Athletic Council, is involved in outreach programs such as 'I'm Going to UBC' and 'Young Readers', and was an organizer of 'Hampers for the Needy'. She is also a co-founder and volunteer at the recently formed East Side Women's Gym that offers health and fitness training to some of Vancouver's most disadvantaged citizens.

Flexman has also given back to her sport and is a well regarded and accomplished junior coach. She has spent the last few springs and summers coaching with B.C. Field Hockey's regional and high performance programs.

"Tyla is very special young lady. She is a wonderful role model that other young field hockey players could and should aspire to be like and an absolutely brilliant ambassador for our sport," said UBC head coach Hash Kanjee.

A Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) native, Kanjee was first named CIS coach of the year in 1998 after taking his team to its first national banner since 1990 and then again in 2003 after his squad brought home its fourth championship in six years.

In his 15th season at the helm of the UBC program, Kanjee led the Thunderbirds to an 8-2-2 record and a 10th Canada West title since his appointment in 1994. Under his guidance, the 'Birds have missed the CIS championship only once and have captured six McCrae Cups and 10 national medals.

The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday.

The nine players joining O'Hara and Flexman on the first CIS squad are Western Ontario defender Lakae Dill of Hamilton Parish, Bermuda, UBC defender / midfielder Laura Dowling of Kanata, Ont., UPEI forward Mikaela Ellis of Sherwood, P.E.I., Alberta forward Bunny Hughes of Victoria, Victoria midfielder / defender Alexandra Lee of Victoria, UBC forward Kathryn MacPherson of New Westminster, B.C., York midfielder Effie Petrou of Oakville, Ont., Western Ontario forward Michelle Weber of Ilderton, Ont., as well as Guelph forward Kristine Wishart of Hamilton.

Lee was the CIS player of the year in 2005 and rookie of the year in 2004, while Petrou (2006) and Wishart (2005) are also former CIS rookies of the year.

Joining Walkey on the second CIS team are Saint Mary's defender Maria Barreiro of Dartmouth, N.S., York goalkeeper Brittney Blount of Ottawa, Calgary midfielder Courtney Campbell of Calgary, Victoria midfielder / defender Perri Espeseth of Duncan, B.C., Guelph midfielder Angela Lancaster of Burlington, Ont., Alberta midfielder Erin Mason of Kelowna, B.C., Toronto defender Kristen Shier of North Vancouver, B.C., Guelph forward Brienne Stairs of Kitchener, Ont., Victoria defender Katie Tittler of Richmond, B.C., and Toronto defender Kaelan Watson of Richmond, B.C.

Championship web site: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_fieldhockey/2008




2008 CIS WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEY AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS

Liz Hoffman Award (player of the year): Cailie O'Hara, University of Toronto
Joyce Slipp Award (rookie of the year): Jessalyn Walkey, University of Guelph
Gail Wilson Award (outstanding contributor): Tyla Flexman, University of British Columbia
Marina van der Merwe Award (coach of the year): Hash Kanjee, University of British Columbia

First Team

Position - Athlete - University - Year - Hometown - Faculty

Defence Lakae Dill Western 3 Bermudes Kinesiology
Def. / Mid. Laura Dowling UBC 4 Kanata, Ont. Arts
Forward Mikaela Ellis UPEI 4 Sherwood, P.E.I. BBA
Midfielder Tyla Flexman UBC 5 Vancouver, B.C. Human Kinetics
Forward Bunny Hughes Alberta 4 Victoria, B.C. Education
Mid. / Def. Alexandra Lee Victoria 5 Victoria, B.C. Science
Forward Kathryn MacPherson UBC 5 New Westminster, B.C. Physical Therapy
Mid. / Forward Cailie O'Hara Toronto 5 Oakville, Ont. Criminology
Midfielder Effie Petrou York 3 Oakville, Ont. Kinesiology & Health Science
Forward Michelle Weber Western 4 Ilderton, Ont. Kinesiology
Forward Kristine Wishart Guelph 4 Hamilton, Ont. BA - Mathematics

Second Team

Defence Maria Barreiro Saint Mary's 5 Dartmouth, N.S. Psychology
Goalkeeper Brittney Blount York 4 Ottawa, Ont. Sociology
Midfielder Courtney Campbell Calgary 2 Calgary, Alta. Nursing
Mid. / Def. Perri Espeseth Victoria 3 Duncan, B.C. Fine Arts
Midfielder Angela Lancaster Guelph 4 Burlington, Ont. BA - Psychology
Midfielder Erin Mason Alberta 5 Kelowna, B.C. Engineering
Defence Kristen Shier Toronto 4 North Vancouver, B.C. Geography
Forward Brienne Stairs Guelph 2 Kitchener, Ont. B.Sc. Biomedical Science
Defence Katie Tittler Victoria 4 Richmond, B.C. Social Sciences
Midfielder Jessalyn Walkey Guelph 1 Rockwood, Ont. S. Sc. Human Kinetics
Defence Kaelan Watson Toronto 1 Ri