Mustangs Women's Hockey named OUA Team of the Year at 2015 Honour Awards

WESTERN MUSTANGS WOMEN'S HOCKEY - OUA TEAM OF THE YEAR

It was a season of firsts for the Western Mustangs women’s hockey program: first place in the standings, first OUA championship, first OUA/CIS Coach of the Year award, three first-team OUA All-Stars, one first-team All-Canadian, and their first CIS national championship.

Western spent the majority of the season ranked No. 3 in the CIS Top 10 rankings, the highest ranking that any Mustangs women’s hockey team has ever achieved and finished the regular season with a 20-1-3 record, the best in program history.

The Mustangs entered the OUA playoffs as the No. 1 seed and went a perfect 5-0, to capture their first OUA championship banner in program history.

Despite making their first CIS Women’s Hockey Championship appearance, the Mustangs showed no sign of nerves as they rolled through Moncton,  Montreal and defending champion McGill en route to capturing their first-ever national championship.

Mustangs goalie Kelly Campbell turned in one of the best goaltending seasons in OUA women’s hockey in recent memory and has the accolades to prove it.  Campbell finished first in OUA in wins (16) and save percentage (.954) and second in goals against average (1.23).  She was named an OUA first-team all-star and a first-team all-Canadian.  Campbell allowed only one goal on 94 shots over the three games at the CIS Championships and was named tournament MVP.

Campbell’s teammates were also recognized for their standout performances as Katelyn Gosling was named an OUA first-team all-star and CIS second-team all-Canadian, while Kendra Broad (OUA first-team) and Brianna Iazzolino (OUA second-team) also earned all-star nods.

The 2014-15 Western Mustangs Women’s Hockey team will enter the history books as one of the most successful teams across any sport in the 101-year storied history of athletics at Western University.

KORISSA WILLIAMS - OUA FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY PIONEER ENERGY

In her final season with the Windsor Lancers, guard Korissa Williams made history en route to establishing herself as one of the elite players in the history of OUA women’s basketball.

Williams was truly the complete package for Windsor, shouldering a heavy offensive and defensive burden as the team's top scorer and best defender. She finished second in the conference averaging 19.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.6 steals, while adding seven rebounds per game.

For her efforts, Williams was named an OUA first-team all-star and the OUA defensive player of the year as the Lancers captured their fourth OUA title in the past five seasons.

In Quebec City at the CIS Final 8 championship, Williams was named tournament MVP for the second time in her career as the Lancers captured their record-tying fifth straight national title.

With the victory, Williams, along with teammate Jocelyn LaRocque, became the first players in CIS women’s basketball history to win five national championships.

The Amherstburg, Ont. native’s outstanding performance this season was also recognized at the national level as she garnered CIS first-team all-Canadian and CIS defensive player of the year honours.

Williams was also named the BLG Award winner as the Canadian Interuniversity Sport female athlete of the year for 2014-15.

ROSS PROUDFOOT - OUA MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY PIONEER ENERGY

Ross Proudfoot began the 2014-15 season by capturing the men’s individual gold medal at the OUA cross country championships back in October, leading the Gryphons to a sweep of the top four places. Proudfoot will go down as one of the all-time greats in OUA cross country history with an impressive resume that boasts two individual championships, two second-place finishes, and five team championships.

Proudfoot picked up right where he left off claiming individual gold at the CIS cross country championships in St. John’s, Nfld., as the Gryphons men captured an astonishing ninth straight team title.

His dominance would continue when the season shifted to the track, as Proudfoot swept his individual events, the 1500 and 3000-metre races, at the both the OUA and CIS Track and Field Championships.

He ends his varsity career as a nine-time All-Canadian in cross-country and track and field, a six-time national champion, and with 19 CIS medals to his name (10 team and 9 individual).

Proudfoot capped off an amazing final season by becoming the first Gryphon to win the prestigious BLG Award as Canadian Interuniversity Sport male athlete of the year.

CHRIS CRITELLI - JOHN McMANUS AWARD, PRESENTED BY GAMETAPEXCHANGE

For over 35 years, former Brock Badgers women's basketball head coach Chris Critelli has played a large part in the development and overall growth of women's basketball in Canada both as a player and a coach.

The St. Catharines, Ont. native led her hometown Badgers to the playoffs in 22 of her 25 seasons and retired in April 2009 as the all-time winningest coach in Brock women's basketball history with 393 career victories.

In 2005-06, Critelli established a new Brock single season OUA record with 19 conference wins, on the way to capturing first place in the OUA West Division.

As a player, Critelli had much success on both sides of the border, as she was a three-time All-Canadian and one-time Academic All-American. She is the only individual to ever win both an NCAA and CIAU title, winning two CIAU titles at Laurentian (1976-78) and two NCAA titles with Old Dominion (1978-80).

At the age of 17, Critelli joined the Canadian National Team was a member for seven years including the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Teams. As a member of Team Canada, she won three bronze medals in 1979 at the Pan-Am Games, the World Championships and FISU games.  When her playing days were over, Critelli took on an assistant coaching role with the Canadian National Team, a position she held from 1989-94.

Since retiring from coaching, Critelli has been the Assistant Athletic Director at Brock University and is a vital member of different OUA committees.

CABLE 14 - OUA MEDIA AWARD OF DISTINCTION

Cable 14 has been a longtime supporter of Ontario University Athletics, contributing to the growth of OUA sport through the live broadcasting of a variety of McMaster University sports as well as OUA postseason and CIS Championship events.

The Hamilton based community television station began broadcasting OUA sports on tape delay in the early 2000’s.  In 2008, with the addition of a fibre link to the Ron Joyce Stadium building project, Cable 14 began broadcasting games live on a consistent basis.

Since then, Cable 14 has broadcast a yearly schedule of McMaster football, basketball, volleyball and soccer games.

Throughout the years, McMaster football Cable 14 broadcasts have also been backhauled to air in other OUA markets such as Kingston, Ottawa and Windsor.  Feeds of these games have also been made available to the Toronto Television Operations Centre with highlights appearing on TSN, Sportsnet, CHCH, CFTO, CBC, and CTV.

This past season, Cable 14 also partnered with Ontario University Athletics to broadcast the 2014 OUA Soccer Final Four that aired locally and on OUA.tv.  Later in the fall, Cable 14 once again connected with OUA and McMaster to produce the 107th Yates Cup broadcast.  In addition to being available in hi-definition to subscribers in the local Hamilton area, the game broadcast aired in several other markets across Ontario.

SHAWN CAMP - OUA MALE COACH OF THE YEAR

Behind Shawn Camp’s leadership in 2014-2015, the Gryphons men’s hockey team pulled off one of the most improbable championship runs on the ice, despite almost impossible odds off it.  

With just three wins through their first 16 games of the season, the Gryphons were dealt a devastating blow beyond the rink.

Cole Hamblin, who was set to join the Gryphons for his rookie year, passed away in early November just a few weeks after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.  The Gryphon family would be dealt another devastating blow shortly after as second year defenceman Thomas Kohler, lost his father, Richard, who also passed away from cancer.

With heavy hearts, the Gryphons limped into the winter break last in the division with a 3-10-3 record.

However, Guelph was a completely different team coming out of the break, winning eight of their final 11 games to qualify for the postseason.

Once in the playoffs, Guelph upset four straight higher ranked opponents, including the defending champion Lancers, to claim the school’s first Queen’s Cup since 1997.

At the CIS Championship in Halifax, N.S., the Gryphons would go on to capture a bronze medal capping one of the most unforgettable seasons in OUA men’s hockey history.

CHANTAL VALLEE - OUA FEMALE COACH OF THE YEAR

In her tenth season at the helm of the Windsor Lancers, Chantal Vallée led her squad to an impressive 19-1 conference record before capturing their sixth OUA title in the past seven seasons.

The Lancers led OUA this season in a variety of statistical categories including: points (80.5), FG % (48.4), 3PT % (37.0) and assists (16.0) per game.  Windsor also once again featured one the conferences stingiest defences, allowing only 53.2 points per game.

Under the guidance of Vallée, the Lancers traveled to Quebec City for the Final 8 championship with a chance to make history.  Windsor defeated Laval, Saskatchewan, and McGill to become just the second team in CIS history to claim five consecutive (2011-2015) Bronze Baby trophies as national champions.

Once again this season, the Montreal, Que. native was named the OUA Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year, an award she has captured in the West division in five of the past seven seasons.  She was also named CIS Women's Basketball Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

This is Vallée’s fourth Fox 40 OUA Female Coach of the Year recognition.  She previously won the award in 2009, 2011 and 2013.

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