McMaster’s Nelles named CIS women’s rugby player of the year

KINGSTON, Ont. (CIS) – Cindy Nelles, a fourth-year number eight from McMaster University, was named the CIS player of the year in women's rugby, Wednesday night.

Nelles, a native of Belleville, Ont., became the first Marauders standout to merit national MVP honours since the sport made its CIS debut back in 1998.

Other winners announced during the All-Canadian Banquet held at the Days Inn and Conference Centre Kingston were Victoria number eight Gabrielle Senft, who was named rookie of the year; UPEI number eight Lauren Chamberlain, who received the Student-Athlete Community Service Award; and Guelph head coach Colette McAuley, who earned the Jim Atkinson Award for the second time in her career.

The 2015 CIS championship kicks off Thursday at Queen's University's Nixon Field and concludes on Sunday with the gold-medal final at 3 p.m. All 11 games from the eight-team tournament will be webcast live on CIS-SIC.tv.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Cindy Nelles, McMaster

Nelles had already made Marauders history in 2011 when she became the first player from the program to earn CIS rookie-of-the-year honours. Her selection as an all-Canadian this season is her third in as many years, to go with four OUA all-star nods in as many university campaigns.

The civil engineering student, who has represented Canada on the international stage including a silver medal-winning performance at the 2014 World Cup, has been one of the key pieces of the Marauders' transformation since taking over the captaincy. After guiding her troops to their first-ever OUA title a year ago, she picked up where she left off this fall, scoring a team-leading seven tries in five regular season contests before adding five in three playoff games to help McMaster repeat as conference champion.

Her versatility makes her an ideal eight man, able to lead her team on both the offensive and defensive ends.

"Cindy has had a tremendous career at McMaster but this season she has taken her play to a completely new level," said head coach Shaun Allen. "She has been able to take her experiences with the senior national team and has made huge strides in her ability to do effective work clearing out and in the post-tackle contact area. This improvement has made her a much more complete rugby player, and have complimented her already outstanding ability to carry and tackle."

StFX prop Joanna Alphonso, Concordia outside centre Frédérique Rajotte and Victoria fly-half Jess Neilson were the other nominees.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Gabrielle Senft, Victoria

Senft became the first UVic player to win a CIS major award in women's rugby.

The fine arts student from Regina entered her first Canada West season with experience after suiting up for the Canadian under-20 team this past summer. She went on to score three tries in four league contests before adding two in two games at the conference championship tournament to help the Vikes claim their first-ever title.

Following the CIS championship, Senft, who is a regular starter for Victoria at the eight man position and is also the team's jumper, will be one of three Vikes to join the Canadian Maple Leafs on a tour in England.

"Gabby has been one of our top try scorers this season," said Vikes head coach Brittany Waters. "She is very dynamic and a strong ball carrier. She has one of the highest work rates on defence and has been a key part of our success this season. Gabby is most deserving of this award and I am confident her strengths will only continue to grow in the coming years."

UPEI flanker Anneke Dykerman, Montreal flanker Ngalula Fuamba and Guelph fly-half Julia Schell were also in the running.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Lauren Chamberlain, UPEI

Chamberlain follows in the footsteps of teammate Shanda Mosher-Gallant, who merited the CIS student-athlete community service award a year ago.

A fourth-year doctor of veterinary medicine student from Fall River, N.S., Chamberlain is the UPEI coordinator for the Get REAL program, which she single-handedly brought to the university. Get REAL is a movement of university students across Canada who speak to high school students about unlearning LGBTQ discrimination and bullying, and creating an inclusive environment for every student.

In addition to her work with Get REAL, 5-foot-9 number eight is on the committee for Bringing Back the Bystander, a group bringing awareness to sexual assault and encouraging those who know of or witness potential incidences to speak out.

Furthermore, Chamberlain is the class of 2019 sports and athletic representative for the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC), the representative for Let's Talk Science for the AVC, and a surgical assistant for the Cat Action Team – a coalition to aid feral cats in P.E.I.

"Lauren has always been a high achiever," said Panthers head coach Shannon Atkins. "She attacks all that she does, and 2015 was no different. She volunteers for many great causes, and lives life to the fullest all the time."

Kim Patenaude of Sherbrooke, Rina Charalampis of McMaster and Shannon Fitzpatrick of Victoria were also nominated.

JIM ATKINSON AWARD (coach of the year): Colette McAuley, Guelph

McAuley, who was previously honoured by her CIS peers in 2008, joins StFX's Mike Cavanagh (2012, 2001) and Concordia's Graeme McGravie (2010, 2007) as two-time winners of the Jim Atkinson Award.

In her ninth season at the helm, McAuley led the Gryphons to an eighth straight undefeated regular season as the team outscored its opponents 439-10 in five contests, reaching the top of the CIS rankings along the way. Guelph then opened the playoffs with a conference record 140-point performance against Brock in the quarter-final round, before eventually settling for OUA silver following a hard-fought final versus nationally third-ranked McMaster.

Several of McAuley's players received individual accolades in 2015, also serving as true testaments of her ability to develop players and provide an incredible learning environment. For one, Daria Keane went from an undersized first-year winger to a Shiels Division MVP at the eight man position.

Since being named head coach in 2007, McAuley has taken the U of G program to new heights, including a CIS title in 2011 and five straight OUA crowns from 2008 to 2012. A former senior national team player who competed at the 2002 World Cup, she currently serves as backs coach with the Canadian senior 15 squad and helped the program capture silver at the 2014 World Cup.

"Colette is very deserving of this award. She is the consummate professional and a great role model for student-athletes who will aspire to be like her," said athletic director Tom Kendall. "The Department of Athletics is extremely proud of Colette and her team and we are always certain that they will represent the University of Guelph with class."

StFX's Mike Cavanagh, Ottawa's Jennifer Boyd and Victoria's Brittany Waters were named coach of the year in the other CIS conferences this season.

ALL-CANADIAN TEAM

Two all-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday, up from a single squad in previous years.

Joining CIS player of the year Cindy Nelles and conference MVPs Joanna Alphonso, Frédérique Rajotte and Jess Neilson on the first 15-member unit were prop DaLeaka Menin and wing Elysa Sandron of Calgary, number eight Daria Keane and wing Alexandra King of Guelph, scrum-half Erin van Gulik and fullback Irene Patrinos of Ottawa, hooker Gillian Pegg of Queen's, lock Veronique Russell of Acadia, lock Camille Provençal-Aubé of Laval, flanker Gillian Boag of UBC and inside centre Alex Tessier of Concordia.

Joining CIS top freshman Gabrielle Senft on the second squad were lock Sara Haring, scrum-half Amanda Smith and inside centre Julia Goss of Alberta, hooker Catharine MacKeigan and fly-half Sabrina McDaid of StFX, prop Holly Jones and fullback Alysha Corrigan of UPEI, prop Simone Savary of Ottawa, lock Brittany Kassil of Guelph, flanker Katie Svoboda of McMaster, flanker Ngalula Fuamba of Montreal, outside centre Maddie MacKenzie of Acadia, wing Nicole Ronsky of Lethbridge and wing Nikki Case of Western.

Like Nelles, Menin, Pegg, Provençal-Aubé and Tessier had also been honoured in 2014.

2015 CIS WOMEN'S RUGBY AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS

Player of the year: Cindy Nelles, McMaster
Rookie of the year: Gabrielle Senft, Victoria
Student-Athlete Community Service award: Lauren Chamberlain, UPEI
Jim Atkinson Award (coach of the year): Colette McAuley, Guelph

First Team

Pos. - Athlete - University - Year - Hometown - Academic Program

P - Joanna Alphonso - StFX - 2 - Ajax, Ont. - Arts
P - DaLeaka Menin - Calgary - 3 - Vulcan, Alta. - Arts
H - Gillian Pegg - Queen's - 4 - Oro-Medonte, Ont. - P&H Education
L - Veronique Russell - Acadia - 5 - Markham, Ont. - Arts
L - Camille Provençal-Aubé - Laval - 2 - Sherbrooke, Que. - Nursing
F - Gillian Boag - UBC - 3 - Calgary, Alta. - Applied Science
No. 8 - Cindy Nelles - McMaster - 4 - Belleville, Ont. - Civil Engineering
No. 8 - Daria Keane - Guelph - 5 - Sarnia, Ont. - Sociology
SH - Erin van Gulik - Ottawa - 5 - Gloucester, Ont. - Human Kinetics
FH - Jess Neilson - Victoria - 2 - North Vancouver, B.C. - Social Sciences
IC - Alex Tessier - Concordia - 3 - Ste-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que. - Math & Statistics
OC - Frédérique Rajotte - Concordia - 3 - Markham, Ont. - Communications
W - Elysa Sandron - Calgary - 2 - Winnipeg, Man. - Science
W - Alexandra King - Guelph - 4 - Ottawa, Ont. - Zoology
FB - Irene Patrinos - Ottawa - 5 - Mississauga, Ont. - Biology

Second Team

P - Simone Savary - Ottawa - 4 - Brampton, Ont. - Health Sciences
P - Holly Jones - UPEI - 4 - Riverview, N.B. - Science
H - Catharine MacKeigan - StFX - 4 - Toronto, Ont. - Human Kinetics
L - Brittany Kassil - Guelph - 5 - Guelph, Ont. - Adult Development
L - Sara Haring - Alberta - 4 - Edmonton, Alta. - Education
F - Katie Svoboda - McMaster - 2 - Belleville, Ont. - Kinesiology
F - Ngalula Fuamba - Montreal - 1 - Kinshasa, DRC - Industrial Engineering
No. 8 - Gabrielle Senft - Victoria - 1 - Regina, Sask. - Fine Arts
SH - Amanda Smith - Alberta - 4 - Sherwood Park, Alta. - Education
FH - Sabrina McDaid - StFX - 4 - Scarborough, Ont. - Arts
IC - Julia Goss - Alberta - 4 - Edmonton, Alta. - Arts
OC - Maddie MacKenzie - Acadia - 3 - Peterborough, Ont. - Science
W - Nicole Ronsky - Lethbridge - 4 - Calgary, Alta. - Management
W - Nikki Case - Western - 2 - Toronto, Ont. - Sciences
FB - Alysha Corrigan - UPEI - 2 - Charlottetown, P.E.I. - Business Admin.