Lancers eleven again gather together to celebrate successes of past year

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After two seasons on the sidelines, the University of Windsor Lancers were finally able to once again gather and celebrate the successes of a year.

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The Lancers gathered at the Capitol Theater for the Lancers’ Evening of Excellence for the first time since 2019.

“We had to pivot pretty quickly in 2020 from a live presentation to a virtual presentation because of COVID,” Lancers’ athletic director Mike Havey said. “It’s been two full years and we’re excited to be able to go back to a face-to-face live presentation.”

University athletics were wiped out a year ago by the pandemic and even Tuesday’s event came with some modifications. Usually a banquet for up to 600 people, the program was reworked to 90 minutes of awards with masks required throughout with the exception of photos for the winners.

“At some point, we’d like to return to that (banquet) format,” Havey said.

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It was a challenging year for the Lancers with several teams having to deal with COVID-19 outbreaks along with a shorter season and modified schedules.

“I would say it was a year full of promises,” Havey said. “There were challenges to overcome, and for the most part we did, but there are plenty of reasons to be excited for the future.”

Men’s hockey picked up a pair of major awards with Mason Kohn being named the Banner Shield winner as male athlete of the year while Kevin Hamlin was named the Gino Fracas coach of the year. Sydney Pattison, who competed in cross country and track and field, was the Olympic Shield winner as female athlete of the year.

The 24-year-old Kohn joined the Lancers as a grad transfer from Queen’s University to attend law school.

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Kohn collected 20 points in 16 games to finish sixth in OUA scoring. He was named MVP of the Western Conference and was also a first all-star team selection in the OUA and a U SPORTS All-Canadian selection.

Hamlin guided his squad into the national rankings as the team earned a Far West Division title and posted the best record in the Western Conference at 12-3-1.

Another transfer, Pattison came to the Lancers from Laurier University to attend teachers college. She was 39th at the OUA cross-country championships. In track and field, she won a silver medal in the women’s 3,000 meters at the OUA championships and a bronze medal in the 1,500 meters before earning bronze medals in the 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters at the U SPORTS championships.

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Dami Alalade, from the men’s volleyball team, was the male winner of the DeMarco Award, which combines athletic and academic achievement, while the award on the female side went to Brooke Davis from the women’s volleyball team.

Football coach Randy Beardy captured the Eddi Chittaro Award as the top assistant coach.

The Captain’s Trophy, which is awarded to the male and female captain that best demonstrates outstanding leadership both in competition and outside of competition, went to Thomas Kennedy, from the men’s basketball team, along with Jade Samping, from the women’s soccer team, and Jillian Holland-Penney, from the fastpitch team.

Samara Quanz, who had a top 10 finish at the OUA cross-country championship, was named female rookie of the year. Ben Tilson, who was a silver medal in the 300 meters at the U SPORTS track and field championships, and defensive lineman Demir Tagani, who was an OUA all-rookie team selection, won on the men’s side.

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Maggi DeWolf-Russ, from the women’s hockey team, and Steven Abrams, from the men’s volleyball team, were named Super Sophomore Awards winners.

“Men’s hockey had a great year,” Havey said. “That team is very talented and will be next year and the women also had a great year. Track and field is start to put up some good performances by young athletes.

“The men’s volleyball team won a home playoff game and gave (OUA champion) McMaster a run (losing in five sets). Football might have played the toughest schedule in the country and beat two nationally ranked teams. It’s another program pointed in the right direction.”

The “A” award, marking major contributions to Lancer athletics, went to Laura Strathdee and Amber Robins from the COVID response and stabilization team.

Sandra Aversa was the Richard Peddie Leadership Award winner for significant contributions to the overall success of Lancer athletics while the women’s volleyball squad was named the Moriarty academic team of the year.

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