WATERLOO, Ont. - Women's golfer Vanessa Lin and men's curler Sam Mooibroek were named the recipients of the 2022-23 President's Award at the Wilfrid Laurier Athletics and Recreation Athletic Banquet, presented by RBC, on Monday night.

The President's Award, presented annually to the most outstanding athletic performance from a male and female athlete over the past year, was one of 13 major awards handed out.

Lin, from Ancaster, Ont., became the first women's golf student-athlete to take home the President's Award after first-place finishes at the McMaster Invitational and Brock Invitationals. She also placed sixth at the UW-WLU Invitational and had a 16th place result at the OUA Championships. 

The third-year business major led the women's team to an incredible three tournament gold medals overall this year as they will head into the Canadian University/College Championship, presented by BDO, in late May.

Meanwhile, Mooibroek, a native of Kitchener, Ont., became the second curler in as many years to win the award after Emma MacKenzie was named the recipient in 2022, and the second men's curler in program history to win the award following Aaron Squires in 2015.

The second-year arts major skipped the Golden Hawks to a U SPORTS Championship. He finished third in cumulative percentage throughout the championship week, shooting 75%, earning a +4 rating. 

He continued his tremendous play into the playoffs where he shot 76% in both the semi-final against Queen's and the gold medal game vs Dalhousie. Based on these statistics Sam earned the first-team All-Canadian skip award.

The Glenn Carroll Team of the Year Award, presented by RBC, was awarded to men's curling after they repeated as OUA and U SPORTS Champions this season. The Golden Hawks posted an 12-1 record during the invitational season before taking home another provincial and national championship. At the OUA Championships in Peterborough Laurier went 7-0 to capture their 12th provincial title. They followed that up with an 8-1 record at the U SPORTS/Curling Canada Championships in Sudbury, to win their third national championship in the past six years.

The Rich Newbrough Rookie of the Year Award, handed out annually for the most outstanding athletic performance from a female and male rookie, was awarded to women's basketball forward Kate White of Bolton, Ont., and men's golfer Matt Whitehead of Cambridge, Ont.

White started all the 20 games she played this season, good for second-most on the team and the highest total among rookies. The biology major also finished in the top five among all Golden Hawks for her per game average in points, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, rebounds, assists, and minutes played.

Whitehead became the first men's golfer to win the award. The kinesiology and physical education major was an OUA first-team all-star for the men's golf team this season, including a fifth-place individual finish in his first OUA Championship. He also had a fourth-place finish at the UW-WLU Invitational and seventh-place finishes at the Brock and Windsor Invitationals.

The Luke Fusco Academic Athletic Achievement Award, which honours the male and female athlete who best combines academic and athletic achievement, was awarded to Cassidy Hirtle from women's basketball and Andra Neptune of men's soccer - both for the second straight year. Both student-athletes had a fall 2022 GPA of 12.0 and overall score of 11.87.

The Fred Nichols Community Service Leadership Award, recognizing the male and female student-athlete or student-leader who gives back to the community through volunteer commitments and/or fundraising efforts, was handed out to women's golfer Samantha Zulian and men's rugby's Adam McNee and Dylan Di Girolamo.

Zulian, who received the award for a second consecutive year, was the president of the Golden Hawk Council and reignited the student-athlete community involvement post-COVID. She began the group's partnership with Big Brother & Big Sisters, was a student-athlete Academic Coach, and regularly volunteered for incoming first-year programming.

This pair of men's rugby student-athletes led the team in collecting food, clothing, monetary donations, and raised awareness of Optimism Place - a woman's shelter that offers a wide range of free and confidential support services and programs. The duo also organized the team's annual Movember campaign, raise awareness of men's physical and mental health issues and prevention.

Laurier Athletics and Recreation also recognized seven individuals for their contributions to the department and varsity teams. 

The Marty Wamsley Student Trainer of the Year Award was awarded to Sadia Kurani from the men's basketball team. 

The Earl C. Shelley Unsung Hero Award, awarded to someone within the Laurier community who unselfishly gives time and effort to supporting the success of the athletics program, was presented to the Wilfrid Laurier University Students' Union and the Graduate Students Association.

The Tuffy Knight Award, which recognizes a person not affiliated with the university, for their untiring efforts over an extended period of time, was presented to Laurier alum and former football student-athlete, Hugh Lawson.

The Chuck Classen Volunteer Coach of the Year award was presented to men's basketball assistant coach Jody Brown.

The Dean E. Brandon Award, awarded to the female contributing most to Athletics, went to Kendel Winter, who did an exceptional job overseeing the basketball scorers table this season.

The Bill Haggstrom Trophy, awarded to the male contributing most to Athletics, was given to Sam Bellerose, who has worked as Communications Assistant and Student Leader over the past two years.

The new Ultimate Iron Hawk Award, presented to a male and female student-athlete who leads by example in the high-performance training area, went to women's hockey goaltender Acadia Carlson and men's basketball guard Isaiah Fisher.

A new Student-Performance Coach award recognizing exceptional dedication, hard work, and commitment to Laurier's High-Performance Strength & Conditioning Program was presented to Ethan Duggan.

Also honoured over the course of the week were each team's Most Valuable Players and Rookies of the Year.

Most Valuable Players

Baseball – Jack Symington
Women's Basketball - Miranda Campbell
Men's Basketball - Taye Donald
Cheerleading - Morgan Brown
Women's Cross Country - Nicole Beach
Men's Cross Country - Rahil Kachalia
Women's Curling - Jamie Smith
Men's Curling - Wyatt Small
Football - Ethan Jordan
Women's Golf - Vanessa Lin
Men's Golf - Jonathan Cramton
Women's Hockey - Hayley Szymanowski
Men's Hockey - Christian Propp
Women's Indoor Track - Dominique Nedd
Men's Indoor Track - Eric Hill
Women's Lacrosse - Rayne Blasutti
Women's Rugby - Shannon Bellamy
Men's Rugby - Dylan Di Girolamo
Women's Soccer - Hope Windebank
Men's Soccer - Ethan Golias & Samir Ghouli
Women's Swimming - Abby Marshall
Men's Swimming - Kent Goni Avila
 

Rookie's of the Year

Baseball – Julian Russell
Women's Basketball - Kate White
Men's Basketball - Isaiah Fisher
Cheerleading - Eleanor Aling
Women's Cross Country - Sabrina Arena
Men's Cross Country - Joel Duff
Women's Curling - Scotia Maltman
Men's Curling - Wyatt Wright
Football - Darion Bacik-Hadden
Men's Golf - Matthew Whitehead
Women's Hockey - Claire Robinson
Men's Hockey - Colin Campbell
Women's Indoor Track - Jenna Schroder
Men's Indoor Track - Tyriq Quayson
Women's Lacrosse - Madison Snyder
Women's Rugby - Janeen Burke
Men's Rugby - Sivan Dubinsky 
Women's Soccer - Tara Isama
Men's Soccer - Divraj Sandhu & Leonardo Takahashi
Women's Swimming - Abby Marshall
Men's Swimming - Kent Goni Avila