EDMONTON – University of Victoria Vikes head coach
Tracy David was honoured Oct. 31 as the Canada West Coach of the Year. Fifth-year
Brigitte Greig and fourth-year
Jaclyn Sawicki were named conference First Team All-Stars, while
Emma Greig was named to the second team.
Julia Ignacio from the University of Alberta Pandas has won two Canada West women's soccer awards –
Most Valuable Player and the
Student-Athlete Community Service Award.
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Ignacio, in her first conference season, had a league-best 10 goals and 19 points in leading Alberta to a 9-1-2 mark on the season, second in the 13-team division.
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In the community, her soccer contributions include being a Youth Program instructor / coach in St. Albert Impact and Sherwood Park, areas just outside of Edmonton, being involved with the Alberta Mini Stars Program and as a Archbishop O'Leary Soccer Academy practicum student
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Ignacio has volunteered once weekly over the past three year as Volunteer Children's Liturgy Leader as well as Volunteer Lector at St. Charles Parish. She will be a member of Team Canada at the 2013 FISU games in Russia this December, was an assistant coach of NAIT in the ACAC in 2012 and for the Team Alberta U14 team this year, among many other endeavours.
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"If you were to ask for an example of the best of the best in terms of the student-athlete, I would readily say Julia Ignacio," said Pandas head coach Liz Jepsen. "She is talented, inspirational, and conducts herself with a high degree of dedication, grace, and humility. She has impacted the program from the minute she joined the squad and will leave a legacy despite her short time with us. She is a hero in our community by her play, her leadership, and, of equal importance, the fact that she wears her heart on her sleeve."
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On a UBC roster filled with veteran players, first-year forward and
Rookie of the Year Jasmin Dhanda broke into the lineup and scored five times in just nine regular season games to tie two-time Canada West Most Valuable Player Janine Frazao for the team lead in goals.
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Dhanda then scored both goals in UBC's 2-1 quarter-final playoff game against Calgary. She started seven matches for the Thunderbirds, who went 8-1-3 in head coach Andrea Neil's first season, and also led the team in shots. The Surrey, B.C. native joined the T-Birds program as a highly touted recruit from the Vancouver Whitecaps FC system.
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In July, Dhanda and fellow T-Birds Aman Shergill and Jasmine Mander helped the Whitecaps win the Under-19 competition at the Gothia World Youth Cup in Sweden.
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Canada West
Coach of the Year is a long-time Victoria Vikes sideline leader
Tracy David, who wins the honour for her seventh time in her CIS career. David previously won the award four times as head coach of the Alberta program, where she also went on to win CIS Coach of the Year in 1989. This season David guided the Vikes to a 10-2 record to take the top spot in the regular season. The Vikes are currently undefeated, 7-0, on their home field and have been ranked in the CIS top-10 seven times this season. This is David's 12th season as head coach of the Vikes .
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"This is a most deserved recognition for coach David and a strong reflection on the Vikes' strong Canada West conference play to date," said
Clint Hamilton, director of Vikes Athletics and Recreation."
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Winnipeg has won the
Fair Play Award for the 2013 season, marking the first time the Wesmen have won the team distinction since joining the conference in women's soccer.
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Following is a list of 2013 Canada West women's soccer Awards & All-Stars:
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AWARDS
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Most Valuable Player: Julia Ignacio, Alberta
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Rookie of the Year: Jasmin Dhanda, UBC
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Student-Athlete Award: Julia Ignacio, Alberta
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Coach of the Year: Tracy David, Victoria
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Fair Play Award: Winnipeg
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ALL-STARS (alphabetical by position)
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First Team                            Second Team
Goalkeeper                Alyssa Williamson, UBC      Kelti Biggs, Alberta
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Fullbacks                   Jennifer Castillo, TWU          Christina Donnelly, UBC
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Brigitte Greig, Victoria           Jordan Kitagawa, UBC
                                  Shalla Kadima, Alberta          Victoria Saccomani, Alberta
                                  Vanessa Kovacs, TWU          Aman Shergill, UBC
                                  Taryn Lim, UBC                   Colleen Webber, TWU
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Attacking Players      Natalie Boyd, TWU              Meagan Cormier, Regina
                                  Krista Gommeringer, TWU   Jasmin Dhanda, UBC
                                  Julia Ignacio, Alberta             Nikki Furukawa, Calgary
                                  Tessa Miller, Calgary           Â
Emma Greig, Victoria
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Jaclyn Sawicki, Victoria         Jenelle Zapski, Saskatchewan
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2013 All-Stars with previous selections…
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Kelti Biggs: 2010 CW Rookie of the Year & CW 2
nd
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Natalie Boyd: 2012 CIS Tournament All-Star, 2012 CW 1
st, 2011 CW 1
st & CIS 2
nd, 2010 CW 1
st & CIS 2
nd, 2009 CW 2
nd
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Jennifer Castillo: 2012 CIS Tournament MVP & All-Star, 2012 CW 1
st, 2011 CW 1
st, 2011 CW 1
st
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Meagan Cormier: 2012 CW 2
nd All-Star
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Krista Gommeringer: 2012 CW Rookie of the Year, 2012 CW & CIS 1
st
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Brigitte Greig: 2012 CW 1
st
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Emma Greig: 2012 CW 2
nd
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Shalla Kadima: 2012 CW 2
nd, 2011 CW 1
st, 2010 CW 1
st & CIS 2
nd
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Vanessa Kovacs: 2012 CIS Tournament All-Star
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Victoria Saccomani: 2012 CW 2
nd
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Jaclyn Sawicki: 2012 CIS Tournament All-Star, 2012 CW 1
st, 2011 CW 1
st& CIS 2
nd
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Colleen Webber: 2012 CW 1
st, 2011 CW & CIS 1
st, 2009 CIS Tournament All-Star
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Alyssa Williamson: 2011 CW Rookie of the Year, 2011, CW 2
nd
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This weekend the
University of Victoria Vikes host the Canada West Final Four on Friday and Saturday. It's UBC vs. Alberta in one semifinal and Trinity Western at Victoria in the other. Both winners on Friday will also qualify for the national tournament.
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Each game this weekend will have live video and stats broadcast on
http://canadawest.tv.
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Major award winners now become finalists for Canadian Interuniversity Sport national awards, to be handed out at the end of the season. The 2013 CIS women's soccer national championship will be hosted November 7-10 by the University of Toronto.
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About Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, winning 100 CIS national over the last 10 seasons. Comprised of 17 schools from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada West produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games.
canadawest.org / canadawest.tv / @cwuaa on Twitter
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A proud member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).
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