ANNUAL ATHLETIC AWARDS BANQUET

The Loyalist Lancers celebrated the accomplishments of the 2017-18 season at their annual awards banquet Tuesday night on campus.

With athletes, coaches, staff and dignitaries in attendance, the Lancers handed out 30 team and 15 major awards, including this year's Athletes of the Year.

This year's team award winners are:

In the 2014/15 season, the Athletics Department introduced a new award to recognize this longstanding tradition of academic success. Since then, multiple teams every year have been honoured with the Academic Award of Excellence that recognizes teams that have a combined average of 80% or higher.

This year, three teams received this award. The cross country team boasted an 81 % average, women's basketball earned an 84% and women's rugby topped it off with an impressive 85% average.

Next up was the presentation for CCAA Banners.

The Academic All-Canadian award is the CCAAs most prestigious student-athlete honour. It epitomizes the foundations of the association by recognizing both commitment to academic success and athletic achievement. Honourees must attain academic honours (80%+) in addition to being named to their sport's respective All-Star Team.

Emilie Leneveu & Jenni Thompson earned their banners and have cemented their names in Lancer history. Their banners will hang proudly among some of the finest athletes to have ever worn a Lancer jersey.

Also receiving a banner was Sara Piana Yafu who joined an elite club of Lancer athletes who have been selected as All-Canadian. This award is voted on by coaches from around the league and handed out to the two top players in said league. To date, only 12 other athletes in Lancer history have had this honour bestowed on them –  those athlete's names hang proudly around the gym as constant reminders of their incredible talents. Of the now 13 recipients, Sara became the first female volleyball player to earn this award and will forever be recognized for her impressive career.

Continuing on the celebration of excellence, another special presentation was made to recognize the women's rugby program for the exceptional year that culminated in a bronze medal finish at the OCAA Provincial Championships in November. Assistant Coach Jo-Anne Robinson was honoured for her recently awarded Rugby Canada's Female Coach of the year.

For the first time in Lancer history, the Lancers proudly introduced a new ceremony that honours athletes who have created a legacy through an outstanding career in a Lancer jersey.

The jerseys of two very special athletes who have come to the end of their careers at Loyalist were honoured. These jerseys will be added to the proud history on display throughout the athletics facility and will be a constant reminder of the outstanding careers of these extraordinarily accomplished athletes. Sara Piana Yafu (women's volleyball) & Jenni Thompson (women's basketball) leave incredible legacies behind them as the all-time leading scorers in their sport and have been consistently recognized around the province and country for their talents and abilities on the court.

A series of major awards were handed out (full list of award winners below), capped off with the presentation of Female and Male Athletes of the Year.

Sara Piana Yafu became took home the award for the third year in a row after yet another outstanding year. This year alone, the talented volleyball player lead the OCAA in 5 different stat categories and the CCAA in 1, she was named 1st team All Star, All Canadian, OCAA Women's Volleyball Player of the Year & is the Lancers all time leading scorer.

Male Athlete of the Year, Raymond Yeung had a standout rookie season, having been named OCAA & CCAA Athlete of the Week, an OCAA Academic Award winner, his team's MVP and was honoured as part of the OCAA All- Rookie team. Yeung was a huge part of his team's success throughout the year and lead them with 28 points in the team's remarkable cross over match against the 1st place Redeemer Royals.

Major Award Winners