Oct. 31 - Tonight at the Marriot Courtyard Hotel in Toronto, ON, the 2001 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Women’s Field Hockey All-Canadians and major award winners were announced.

Taking away the coveted Liz Hoffman Player of the Year Award was the University of Victoria’s Andrea Rushton. Also honoured on the evening were the Gail Wilson Outstanding Contributor Award winner, the 2001 CIS Rookie of the Year, and 2001 CIS Coach of the Year.

Rushton, a native of Victoria, helped lead the University of Victoria Vikes to a second place finish in the competitive Canada West conference this season and a number two seeding at this weekend’s CIS national championship. The stellar member of the Vikes strong team defence is also a key member of the penalty corner offensive and defensive units. The fifth year defender is a three-time member of the CIS Tournament XI team, a 2000 CIS Second Team All-Canadian and 2000 CIS Gold Medallist. This season Rushton was a member of the Senior National Team, the World Cup qualifying team and the British Columbia Provincial Team.

The second award of the evening, the Gail Wilson Outstanding Contributor Award, is presented to an individual of outstanding athletic achievement, who also possesses such qualities as putting the team first, dedication, commitment and leadership. The winner was Tara O’Reilley of the Saint Mary’ s Huskies. O’Reilley, a fourth-year Science student at Saint Mary’s, led the Huskies and the AUS in scoring this season with three goals in eight games. While it may not appear to be much, it was in fact 60% of the entire Saint Mary’s offence in the tight-checking AUS. The native of Dartmouth, NS inspires her teammates not only with her play on the field, but also with her dedication and hard work off of it. This commitment to excellence in her daily life has led to a sparkling 3.41 GPA in the classroom.

The next major award of the evening went to the "Joyce Slipp CIS Rookie of the Year". This year, voters faced a difficult choice, as two athletes were neck-and-neck in voting. As a result, the University of Manitoba Bisons’ Christine de Pape and the Guelph Gryphons’ Lindsay Trimble will share the award. De Pape has been playing field hockey since 1998, but has needed to overcome a serious injury to arrive where she is today. A torn ACL suffered at the Canadian Under-18 tryout camp in 1999 put her career and aspirations in serious jeopardy. Following nine months of recovery, which included nine weeks of daily physiotherapy, de Pape returned to the high school field with a vengeance During 2000, she was named her team’s MVP and a nominee for the Myrna Empey award given to the top field hockey player in Calgary high schools. With her family then moving to Winnipeg, the stage was set for de Pape’s breakout season at the University of Manitoba.

De Pape’s co-winner, Lindsay Trimble, from the University of Guelph Gryphons, is a dynamic forward whose explosive speed, aggressiveness and desire to score puts tremendous pressure on the opposing teams’ defence. As a first-year player, she has confidently stepped into the striker role for the Gryphons this season leading the team in scoring with four goals in twelve games.

The final award on the evening went to the "Marina van der Merwe CIS Coach of the Year", and the winner, from the University of Manitoba Bisons, was Gene Muller. With the Bisons having won only one game in the past nine years, Muller started the team back on the road to respectability this season compiling a 1-9-2 record. More importantly the team improved measurably over last year’s 0-12-0 record allowing 27 fewer goals while providing steadier competition for powerhouses UBC and Victoria. With the team’s overall confidence raised, Muller’s talent as a coach has laid the foundation for future Bison success. Recently Muller accepted a three-year contract as the Head Coach of the Senior Canadian Men’s National Field Hockey team.

Below is a list of the entire 2001 CIS Field Hockey Team.

1ST TEAM ALL-CANADIANS
1. Lisa Bonin SMU
2. Carolyn Fitzgerald Calgary
3. Erin Fraser Toronto
4. Jenny Johnson Alberta
5. Robyn Leslie Waterloo
6. Erin Morton Waterloo
7. Julia Morton Waterloo
8. Mo O’Connor UBC
9. Tara O’Reilly SMU
10. Elise Roberts Victoria
11. Andrea Rushton Victoria

2nd TEAM ALL-CANADIANS
1. Alisa Carey UBC
2. Alex Chacinski Toronto
3. Kirsten Currie UPEI
4. Heather Goodland UNB
5. Stephanie Hume UBC
6. Stephanie Jameson UBC
7. Philippa Kedgley Toronto
8. Azelia Liu York
9. Michelle McEvoy Carlton
10. Rachel Peters Victoria
11. Stephanie Quinn UBC

For complete CIS Field Hockey Championship coverage, turn to www.cisport.ca/champs/field_hockey2001/ .