Top 8 Academic All-Canadians
CIS announces recipients for 2014-15
3,101 CIS student-athletes earn Academic All-Canadian status
(OTTAWA, ONT.) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport proudly announced Wednesday the student-athletes selected as Top Eight Academic All-Canadians for the 2014-2015 season.
The elite group will be honoured in Ottawa on November 16, when his Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, presents the third annual Governor General’s Academic All-Canadian Commendation to the eight recipients during a ceremony at Rideau Hall, his official residence.
Every year, a growing number of CIS student-athletes are recognized as Academic All-Canadians, having maintained an average of 80 per cent or better over the academic year while competing for one - or more - of their university’s varsity teams.
In 2014-15, a record 3,077 students achieved the prestigious status, eclipsing the previous mark of 2,861 set a year ago.
No less than nine CIS member universities – four more than the previous year - had over 100 Academic All-Canadians last year, including Western (145), Alberta (128), Queen’s (125), Laval (110), Calgary (108), Acadia (107), Toronto (104), Waterloo (104) and Manitoba (100). McGill (96) rounded out the national top 10.
Among these outstanding individuals, one female and one male student-athlete from each of the four CIS regional associations are selected annually to make up the Top Eight.
The 2014-15 recipients from Atlantic University Sport (AUS) are Katie Ross (Bedford, N.S.), a two-sport athlete (soccer / basketball) and kinesiology student from Acadia University, and Cole Grbavac (Calgary), a hockey player and business administration student from St. Francis Xavier University.
Representing the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) are University of Montreal’s Katia Forcier (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.), a volleyball player and audiology student, as well as McGill University’s François Bourque (Terrebonne, Que.), a basketball player and accounting major.
The winners from Ontario University Athletics (OUA) are Sasha Gollish (Toronto), a track and field athlete and PHD student from the University of Toronto, and Austin Kennedy (Windsor, Ont.), a football player and business student from the University of Windsor.
Last but not least, the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA) recipients are basketball player Sarah Wierks (Chilliwack, B.C.), a kinesiology student from the University of the Fraser Valley, as well as football player Andrew Buckley (Calgary), also a kinesiology student from the University of Calgary.
“The record number of Academic All-Canadians speaks volume about the quality of our student-athletes, but also our coaches, support staff and our universities,” said Graham Brown, chief executive officer of CIS. “To be selected among 11,500 of their peers is an achievement these exceptional student-athletes should be extremely proud of. They represent the very best of what university sport is all about.”
Following is a profile of the two AUS members of the 2014-15 Top Eight.
ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY SPORT (AUS)
Name: Katie Ross
Hometown: Bedford, N.S.
School: Acadia University
Faculty: Professional Studies
Program: Kinesiology
Sports: Soccer / Basketball
Eligibility in 2014-15: 2nd year
A native of Halifax whose family now resides in Bedford, N.S., two-sport athlete Katie Ross has played in all games for Acadia’s women’s soccer and basketball teams since she joined the Axewomen program in the fall of 2013. In soccer, the center midfielder was named a second-team AUS all-star following a rookie season and, as a sophomore, helped the Axewomen reach the conference championship game. In basketball, she was also a member of the starting lineup each of her first two campaigns.
Academically, Ross has maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average in a demanding kinesiology program. A CIS Academic All-Canadian and member of the Dean’s List in each of her first two years on the Wolfville, N.S., campus, she was also the recipient of the International Baccalaureate Scholarship (2013-2017) and the Class of 1937 Scholarship (2013-2017).
In the community, the 20-year-old is involved with the Junior Axewomen Basketball Program, the Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life, the Valley Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, ENACTUS Wolfville Food Drives, as well as Camp Triumph Door-to-Door Fundraiser, to name only a few. She is also a volunteer soccer coach and referee.
“I count myself very privileged to work with so many great athletes and people at the CIS level while coaching women’s soccer at Acadia. Amongst the many athletes and students I am in contact with, there are few more impressive than Katie with regards to the standards she sets and the variety of roles she takes within the team, at Acadia, and in the greater community,” said Amit Batra.
“Katie is a unique student-athlete and citizen. To say that she is unusually well-rounded would be to dramatically understate. She exhibits a rare capacity for extremely high achievement within several overlapping, intensely-competitive endeavours,” added Acadia women’s basketball head coach Bev Greenlaw.
Name: Cole Grbavac
Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
School: St. Francis Xavier University
Faculty: Business Administration
Program: Accounting (minor in Economics)
Sport: Hockey
Eligibility in 2014-15: 3rd year
Born and raised in Calgary, Cole Grbavac played his junior hockey in the WHL with the Kamloops Blazers and Medicine Hat Tigers, where he was team captain in his final year. After moving out East to join the X-Men in the fall of 2012, the 6-foot-2 forward was named an assistant captain in his third season and went on to contribute 14 points in 24 conference games, before competing at the University Cup national championship in Halifax.
In the classroom, Grbavac has maintained the highest academic average amongst all StFX student-athletes (male or female) in each of his first three years on campus, including an exceptional 95.8% mark in 2014-15 that ranked first amongst the school’s 159 third-year business students. A three-time CIS Academic All-Canadian and member of the Dean’s List, the 24-year-old has received numerous academic awards since he arrived in Antigonish, N.S., including the Danny Gallivan Memorial Scholarship, StFX Athletics’ most prestigious scholarship honouring excellence in academics, athletics and community involvement.
Grbavac’s volunteer work in the community and on campus is also second to none. In 2014-15 alone, he was a member of the Schwartz School of Business Society, vice president of SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Council), coached with the Antigonish Minor Hockey Mentorship Program, graduated from the StFX Leadership Academy, and was a tutor for X-Men hockey teammates and other StFX students.
“Cole has been an outstanding member of our hockey program. He exemplifies what a student-athlete should aspire to be,” said X-Men head coach Brad Peddle. “His work ethic both on the ice and in the classroom has made him a leader on our team, and he has shown a tremendous ability to balance academics, athletics and community service throughout his years at StFX.”
For the complete CIS release, please click here.
Source: CIS Communications