(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2022 women's rugby major award winners and all-stars as selected by the conference's four head coaches following the regular season.
Fourth-year flanker Brinten Comeau of the UPEI Panthers has been named the Atlantic University Sport most valuable player while STFX fly-half Sierra Wood is the AUS rookie of the year.
This year’s recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award is Molly MacKinnon, a second-year flanker with the Saint Mary’s Huskies.
And in his second season at the helm of the UPEI Panthers rugby program, coach James Voye has been named the AUS coach of the year for the first time in his career.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Atlantic University Sport women’s rugby’s most valuable player for 2022 is Brinten Comeau of the UPEI Panthers. In addition to being named MVP, Comeau was also named to the 2022 AUS all-star team for the third time in her career.
A fifth-year arts student from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Comeau is the second UPEI rugby player to be named the conference MVP, following Shannon Atkins-Gillis who was co-MVP in 2001. She played in all six regular season games for the Panthers, who finished the regular season in second place (4-2) and ranked eighth in U SPORTS standings. UPEI went on to defeat the reigning champion STFX X-Women in the conference semi-final to advance to their first-ever AUS championship final. During the regular season, Comeau scored eight tries for 40 points, bringing her career try tally to 18.
As the AUS MVP, Comeau becomes this year’s Atlantic conference nominee for the U SPORTS most valuable player award. The only AUS player to win the national award was Ghislaine Landry from STFX, who earned the accolade in both 2007 and 2008.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Sierra Wood of the STFX X-Women is the 2022 Atlantic University Sport women’s rugby rookie of the year. This is the 11th time a STFX student-athlete has won this award.
A first-year nursing student from Stirling Ontario, Wood was the starting flyhalf in all six regular season games for the X-Women this season, playing every minute in her freshman campaign and recording one try. Playing in a challenging position on the pitch, Wood had a great defensive season and was an excellent tackler, skilled kicker and possessed great knowledge of the game for the third-place X-Women, who finished 3-3 on the season.
With her AUS rookie of the year win, Wood becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the U SPORTS rookie of the year award. The most recent AUS player to earn the national honour was fellow X-Woman Ghislaine Landry who took home the award in 2006 before being named U SPORTS MVP in 2007 and 2008.
COACH OF THE YEAR
For the first time in his career as head coach of the UPEI Panthers rugby program, James Voye has been chosen by his peers as the Atlantic University Sport women's rugby coach of the year.
In his second season at the helm with UPEI, Voye led his team to a 4-2 record and second-place finish in the regular season, after finishing third at 3-3 in 2021. The Panthers allowed just 42 points against—the fewest in the conference—and scored the most points, with 246. UPEI finished the regular season ranked eighth in the country.
After a well-fought 14-12 win over the defending champion STFX X-Women in the AUS semi-final, this week UPEI heads to their first championship final in program history, where they’ll take on the Acadia Axewomen. The two teams have a 1-1 head-to-head record in regular-season play. The AUS championship appearance also earns the Panthers their first-ever U SPORTS championship berth.
With this nod, Voye becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the Jim Atkinson Award for the U SPORTS coach of the ear. STFX’s Mike Cavanagh was the last AUS coach to win this award when he was honoured in 2001.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
The 2022 student-athlete community service award recipient is Molly MacKinnon of the Saint Mary’s Huskies. She is the fourth Huskies player to win this award since its inception in 2009.
A second-year flanker from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, MacKinnon is a member of the Saint Mary’s squad’s leadership group and plays a key role in executing both off-field development for the team as well as leading community outreach initiatives. With a clear motivation to give back to the sport, she is the driving force behind the Cayley Fox Memorial high school rugby tournament hosted by the Huskies, running event logistics and also organizing breakout skill development sessions for participants. She also volunteers her time leading the next generation of student-athletes as an assistant coach with Dartmouth High’s rugby team.
MacKinnon now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the U SPORTS Student-Athlete Community Service Award. The last person from the AUS to take home the national honour was Acadia’s Kelsey Brumm in 2016.
2022 AUS WOMEN'S RUGBY ALL-STARS
The following players have been named to the 2022 Atlantic University Sport women's rugby all-star team:
Front row/Prop: Frances MacWilliam, UPEI Panthers (5th year—Mill River East, P.E.I.)
Front row/Prop: Emily Duffy, UPEI Panthers (3rd year—Saint John, N.B)
Front row/Hooker: Annie McMullon, STFX X-Women (3rd year—Rothesay, N.B)
Second row/Lock: Claire Avery, SMU Huskies (3rd year—Hammonds Plains, N.S.)
Second row/Lock: Chloe Buckingham, Acadia Axewomen (3rd year—Moncton, N.B.)
Back row/Flanker: Brinten Comeau, UPEI Panthers (4th year—Halifax, N.S.)
Back row/Flanker: Kenzie Cecchetto, Acadia Axewomen (4th year—Newport, N.S.)
Back row/#8: Camryn Kleynhans, STFX X-Women (2nd year—Durban, South Africa)
Scrum Half: Madison Ross, STFX (3rd year—Coldbrook, N.S.)
Fly Half/Stand Off: Katya Dondi, Acadia Axewomen (4th year—Caledon, ON)
Center: Sara Grant, Acadia Axewomen (2nd year—Melrose, N.B.)
Center: Hannah Ellis, STFX X-Women (5th year— Halifax, N.S.)
Winger: Grace Pinch, Acadia Axewomen (2nd year— Port Williams, N.S.)
Winger: Katherine Fairbrother, SMU Huskies (2nd year—Saint John, N.B)
Fullback: Charlotte Branchflower, UPEI Panthers (2nd year—Halifax, N.S)
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The 2022 Subway AUS Rugby Championship final will take place Wednesday, October 26 at 6 pm in Wolfville, N.S. when the Acadia Axewomen host the UPEI Panthers to compete for the Birks Memorial Trophy. The championship final will be webcast live at www.AUStv.ca.
2022 AUS women’s rugby final standings // 2022 AUS women’s rugby final statistics
The Axewomen and Panthers will both compete in the 2022 U SPORTS Women’s Rugby Championship from November 2 through 6 at the University of Victoria. For more information on the national championship, click here.