Posted: Oct 26, 2012
StFX's Tyson Beukeboom claims third consecutive MVP Award
October 26, 2012 (ANTIGONISH, N.S.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2012 women's rugby major award winners and all-stars as selected by the conference's five head coaches following the regular season.
Fourth-year StFX student-athlete Tyson Beukeboom has been named the Atlantic University Sport most valuable player for the third consecutive season.
Other AUS major award winners announced tonight at the AUS awards banquet hosted by StFX University were Acadia's Maddie MacKenzie of Peterborough, Ont., who was named rookie of the year; St. Thomas Tommies fly half Hannah Davies of Moncton, N.B., who received the student-athlete community service award; and StFX X-Women head coach Mike Cavanagh, who was named the AUS coach of the year for the seventh time in his career.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Tyson Beukeboom, StFX
For the third consecutive season, Atlantic University Sport women's rugby most valuable player is Tyson Beukeboom (Uxbridge, Ont.) of the reigning AUS champions and CIS No. 1-ranked StFX X-Women.
Beukeboom, the 2011-12 AUS nominee for the BLG award as the top female athlete in CIS, finished fourth in AUS scoring to this season after posting a career-high 60 points and 12 tries for the X-Women.
In her fourth season with the StFX program, she has now moved into fifth place overall on the AUS career scoring list with 165 points scored and she ranks third all-time in AUS career tries with 33.
Tyson, a Human Kinetics student, is a two-time CIS all-Canadian, a two-time CIS championship all-star and is now a three-time AUS all-star. She will look to lead the X-Women to their 15th consecutive Atlantic conference title and a return trip to CIS championship gold medal game for the fifth year in a row.
"Tyson has once again been our most dominant player throughout the whole season. Her knowledge of the game makes her a natural leader and every time she walks onto the field she makes our team better," says StFX head coach Mike Cavanagh. “Her athleticism enables her to score from anywhere on the field. She is the main threat from our lineouts and is one of our best defensive players. She is a true all-around player."
Beukeboom will be the Atlantic University Sport nominee for the CIS player of the year for the third time in as many years.
The only Atlantic conference women's rugby player to have ever won this award is former StFX star Ghislaine Landry, who was named the CIS player of the year in 2007 and 2008.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Maddie MacKenzie, Acadia
Maddie MacKenzie of the Acadia Axewomen is the 2012 Atlantic University Sport women's rugby rookie of the year.
A native of Peterborough, Ont., MacKenzie scored seven trys in eight regular season games for the Axewomen, the most of any first year player in the conference. She finished the season tied for second in team scoring and seventh overall in the AUS conference.
"Maddie is an exceptional player with great speed, competitive instinct and she is very coachable," says Acadia head coach Matt Durant. "She is an explosive winger who has great field awareness and became a player we could count on in just her first year".
MacKenzie becomes the second consecutive AUS rookie of year selected from the Acadia Axewomen. Acadia's Deidre Rees was named the conference's top rookie in 2011.
Former StFX standout and CIS Player of the Year Ghislaine Landry is the last Atlantic conference player to be named CIS Rookie of the Year in 2006.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Mike Cavanagh, StFX
For the seventh time in his 14-year career as the head coach of the StFX X-Women program, Mike Cavanagh has been chosen by his peers as the Atlantic University Sport women's rugby coach of the year.
Cavanagh previously won the award in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2011 and was also named the 2001 CIS Coach of the Year.
This season, Cavanagh guided the CIS No. 1-ranked and 14-time defending AUS conference champion X-Women to their eighth consecutive undefeated season (8-0-0) and 11th straight first place finish since the 2002 season. His 2012 StFX squad led the conference in points scored (657), tries scored (109), conversions (56) and while having allowed just three points against in eight regular season games.
Since 2002, Cavanagh's career record now stands at 63-1-2 in AUS regular season play and he has a 79-17-5 overall record including AUS playoff and CIS championship contests.
His X-Women have not lost an AUS conference game dating back to October 16, 2004 and he has never lost an Atlantic University Sport playoff game, sporting a perfect 11-0 record heading into this weekend. He has also guided the X-Women to 14 consecutive CIS championship appearances.
"Mike Cavanagh is one of the most accomplished coaches in Canadian Interuniversity Sport," says Leo MacPherson, StFX Director of Athletics. "Much of his success can be attributed to his focus on the successful recruitment and development of his student-athletes along with ensuring they have a top notch experience as they progress towards and earn their degrees."
Cavanagh is the only AUS head coach to be named CIS Coach of the Year, which he won in 2001.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Hannah Davies, St. Thomas
The 2012 student-athlete community service award recipient is Hannah Davies of the St. Thomas Tommies.
Davies, a fourth-year Arts student from Moncton, N.B., is a team captain with the Tommies, a Dean's List student and is active in the community.
Named an ACAA women's rugby all-star in each of the past two seasons, she has been the recipient of a leadership scholarship recognizing her commitments.
Hannah, the co-President of the St. Thomas University Student Athletic Council (STUSAC), is an active member of the STU athletic community. STUSAC organizes social events for athletes and connects them to opportunities to give back to their community though volunteering. In her role with STUSAC, Hannah not only participates herself, but helps all student-athletes combine their efforts towards positive community volunteer and fundraising efforts.
Through STUSAC Hannah has been actively involved with Trick or Eat, an annual food drive campaign at Halloween. She participates in Best Buddies, a program where students are paired up with people that have intellectual or physical disabilities which picks up on her experience from previously volunteering with the New Brunswick Special Olympics. Hannah has also been a key catalyst in the success of STUSAC's Movember Gala and fundraising campaign.
This past year Hannah participated in Random Acts of Play through the New Brunswick Child and Youth Advocate office and is working to create a Right to Play chapter at St. Thomas University, a legacy that will hopefully live on long past her years at the school.
"Hannah is an extremely committed individual on and off the field and has made a very positive impact in her time at St. Thomas University," says St. Thomas head coach Sherry Doiron. "Her proven leadership ability has been an asset and made her a role model to a young Tommies team. We are proud to have her recognized with the AUS student-athlete community service award."
Davies becomes the first ever St. Thomas player to receive an AUS women's rugby major award.
2012 AUS WOMEN'S RUGBY ALL-STARS
The 2012 Atlantic University Sport women's rugby all-stars were also announced Friday evening. They are as follows:
Front row: Riley Kitchin, Acadia (1st year - Mount Uniacke, N.S.)
Front row: Asya Bartley, StFX (5th year - Ottawa, Ont.)
Front row: Olivia DeMerchant, StFX (4th year - Woodstock, N.B.)
Second row: Lisa McGrath, StFX (5th year - Cole Harbour, N.S.)
Second row: Marley MacInnis, UPEI (2nd year - Souris, P.E.I.)
Back row: Allison Jordan, Acadia (4th year - Fall River, N.S.)
Back row: Emma Taylor, StFX (3rd year - Scotsburn, N.S.)
Back row: Tyson Beukeboom, StFX (4th year - Uxbridge, Ont.)
Scrum half: Jaleesa Villard, UPEI (5th year - Kinkora, P.E.I.)
Fly half: Emilie Chiasson, Acadia (2nd year - Ottawa, Ont.)
Centre: Jean Baker, Saint Mary's (2nd year - Argyle Shore, P.E.I.)
Centre: Sara Kaljuvee, StFX (Ajax, Ont.)
Winger: Amanda Thornborough, StFX (4th year - Brandon, Man.)
Winger: Lisa Gauthier, StFX (4th year - St. Bernadin, Ont.)
Fullback: Magali Harvey, StFX (4th year - Quebec City, Que.)
****************************************************
The 2012 Subway Atlantic University Sport women's rugby championship is taking place this weekend at StFX University in Antigonish, N.S.
The four-team tournament kicks off on Saturday and concludes Sunday at 2:00pm with the championship final.
Competing for the Birks Memorial Trophy at Oland Stadium will be the defending champion StFX X-Women (8-0, first place), the Acadia Axewomen (5-3, second place), the Saint Mary's Huskies (4-4, third place) and the UPEI Panthers (3-5, fourth).
All games of the championship will be available via webcast at www.AUStv.ca.
The Subway AUS women's rugby championship schedule is as follows:
Saturday, October 27th
Semifinal #1: UPEI (4th) vs. StFX (1st), 12:00pm
Semifinal #2: Saint Mary's (3rd) vs. Acadia (2nd), 2:00pm
Sunday, October 28th
Championship: Semifinal Winners, 2:00pm
The 2012 CIS women's rugby championship is scheduled for November 1-4, also hosted by StFX University in Antigonish, N.S. The AUS conference will have two teams participating in the 2012 CIS championship, including the host StFX X-Women.
Related Information:
- 2012 Final AUS women's rugby standings: http://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/womens/rugby/
- 2012 Final AUS women's rugby statistics: http://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/womens/rugby/stats/
- 2012 CIS women's rugby championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wrugby/index