2009 AUS women's rugby awards announced

HALIFAX, NS - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2009 women's rugby major award winners as selected by the conference's head coaches following the regular season.

StFX's Ghislaine Landry, the two-time reigning CIS Player of the Year, has been named the Atlantic University Sport Most Outstanding Player for the fourth year in a row.

Ghislaine, already the AUS career leader in scoring, added another 16 tries and 80 points in six games this year to her already stellar career totals. Her 16 tries were the most scored by any player in CIS regular season play this season.

A captain with the No. 3 ranked X-Women, Landry also holds the AUS record for points and tries scored in a single game and in a single season. In four seasons with the StFX program, Landry has now scored at least one try in all 24 regular season games in which she's played.

In 2006 she was the first player to be honoured as both the Atlantic University Sport women's rugby Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season, and has been named a CIS all-Canadian in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

"Ghislaine continues to provide great leadership as a captain on the team and is an invaluable contributor on both offence and defense. She has unbelievable natural ability and talent in the sport of rugby. She makes all of her teammates better players and instils a sense of confidence in those around her," says head coach Mike Cavanagh.

Landry is a fourth year Human Kinetics student from Toronto, ON and will again be the conference's nominee for the CIS Player of the Year. She is the only Atlantic conference women's rugby player to have ever won this award.

Amanda Thornborough of the No. 3 ranked StFX X-Women has been chosen as the Atlantic conference Rookie of the Year.

Thornborough, a first year Arts student from Brandon, MB, and a member of the National Under 20 team, finished fifth in overall league scoring this season with seven tries and 35 points. Amanda, who was also named a 2009 AUS conference all-star earlier this week, led all first-year players in scoring.

According to head coach Mike Cavanagh, "Coming into the X-Women lineup as a first year player, Amanda's speed and athletic ability have allowed her to lead the country in tries scored by a freshman. She has been key in allowing us to shut down opposing team's offensive threats and continues to improve with every game."

Thornborough's team-mate Ghislaine Landry is the last Atlantic conference player to be named CIS Rookie of the Year.

First year Saint Mary's head coach Dawn MacDonald has been chosen by her peers as the Atlantic University Sport Coach of the Year. In Dawn's first year with the Huskies program, she complied a 4-2-0 regular season record and added a semi-final win last weekend against Acadia to advance to the Subway AUS Women's Rugby Championship this Saturday at StFX.

Dawn is a former member of Canada's national women's rugby team and a three-time Atlantic conference all-star. She was a standout member of the St. Thomas rugby team from 1998-2001 and received the team MVP honours twice.

MacDonald is the first Saint Mary's women's rugby coach to be named AUS Coach of the Year. StFX's Mike Cavanagh is the only Atlantic conference head coach to have been named the CIS Coach of Year in 2001.

"As a first year coach here at Saint Mary's, Dawn has already made a huge impact with the players and our program," said Steve Sarty, Director of Athletics at Saint Mary's. "Her passion and commitment are obvious and we're proud she has been selected by her peers to receive this award."

The 2009 Student-Athlete and Community Service Award recipient is Elizabeth Mooney of the Saint Mary's Huskies.

Mooney is in her fifth year at Saint Mary's and plans to go on and do graduate studies. She balances two jobs, school, volunteering and rugby. Her volunteer work includes helping with a women's shelter in the North End of Halifax.

"Liz is always there for a teammate and willing to do whatever is asked or needed of her," says head coach Dawn MacDonald. " She is a true player, a great role-model and a valuable member of the community."

The 2009 Subway Atlantic University Sport Women's Rugby Championship game is being held this Saturday, October 31st in Antigonish, NS at 1pm. The championship game features the No. 3 ranked StFX X-Women hosting the Saint Mary's Huskies with the winner advancing to the CIS Women's Rugby Championship being hosted by the University of British Columbia, November 5-8.

Saturday's championship game at StFX will be available via webcast. Visit www.goxgo.ca for more information.

Source:

John Keefe
Communications Manager
Atlantic University Sport