SCHUETZE BECOMES FIRST WOLFPACK EVER ON CIS ALL ROOKIE WBB TEAM
For release 630 pm PST March 5, 2009
Regina, Sask—For the first time in their history, the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack has had a player named to the CIS All Rookie team in Women’s Basketball. Diane Schuetze (1st year, post, Vernon, BC) was named to the team at the CIS Final Four Awards Banquet last nite in Regina, Saskatchewan.
“I was totally shocked when I learned I was named to the team. “ stated the Bachelor of Tourism Management student. She played in 21 Canada West league games in her first campaign, making 66 of 174 field goals. “ I must have made a good impression on all the coaches this year, “ she added. “ I didn’t realize that all the coaches voted on this.”
The 19 year old was 50 per cent (4 for 8) from the three point arc. She added 42 offensive and 79 defensive rebounds and 17 steals.
Schuetze, who played on the BC Under 16 and Under 17 teams while attending Vernon Secondary, felt her first year in the CIS was an adjustment. “Playing against the older girls was very challenging. It was great that I came to a young program like Thompson Rivers, I got to play a lot.” she stated.
Says WolfPack Head Coach Scott Reeves: “It's great for our program and for Diane personally to make the CIS all rookie team. Diane was a highly recruited player by a number of Canada West and NCAA teams but that doesn't guarantee her anything in the CIS. Diane needed to bring a CIS effort every day to practice and show up for every game. Her numbers speak for herself and only scratch the surface of what kind of player she can be in Canada. As much as Diane produced on the court she was just as much an All Canadian off the court; demonstrated by her work in the classroom and her lifestyle on campus.”
Schuetze expects to garner more attention in her sophomore campaign. She looks back at this season and said her best play came near the end of the season in road games against Alberta and Saskatchewan in January (30-31). Against the Huskies, she scored 18 points.
Here are the other CIS Award Winners in Women’s Basketball For 2008-09:
Third-year Victoria post Kayla Dykstra is the Canadian Interuniversity Sport women's basketball player of the year.
The Calgary native is the fifth Vike to capture the Nan Copp award since the inception of the trophy in 1979-80, and the first UVic recipient since Lori Clarke in 1986-87. Dykstra became the 12th straight player from the Canada West conference - including the defunct GPAC - to receive the distinction.
Other CIS major award winners announced Thursday night at the Casino Regina Show Lounge were UBC's Leanne Evans (Port Moody, B.C.), who was named the nation's top defensive player; Laval's Chanelle St-Amour (Montreal), who received the Kathy Shields award as rookie of the year; Saskatchewan's Lisa Thomaidis, who captured the Peter Ennis award as coach of the year; Simon Fraser Courtney Gerwing (Port Coquitlam, B.C.), who received the Sylvia Sweeney award recognizing her excellence in basketball, academics and community involvement; and Victoria's Vanessa Forstbauer (Chilliwack, B.C.), who claimed the Tracy MacLeod award recognizing determination and perseverance.
NAN COPP AWARD: Kyla Dykstra, Victoria
Dykstra led the Canada West conference in field-goal percentage, scoring and rebounding during the regular season connecting on 61.4 percent of her attempts and averaging 18.6 points and 11.2 boards per game, totals that were good for first, second and third place in the nation, respectively. Her conference-leading rebounding average set a new team single-season record.
The six-foot-two education student, who also finished sixth in the Canada West with 1.4 blocks per outing, racked up 15 double-doubles over the 23-game conference schedule while leading the Vikes in scoring 18 times. She put her stamp on an MVP campaign in the final two weeks of conference play as she went over the 20-point mark in each of Victoria's last five duels and had career highs with 23 rebounds and eight blocks in the regular-season finale against Thompson Rivers.
Dykstra's defensive play helped the Vikes keep opponents to a Canada West-low 54.8 points per contest and finish with a 17-6 mark, the team's best regular-season record since 2000-01.
Cape Breton guard Kelly Hodgson of Fredericton, Western Ontario forward Elizabeth Lennox of Ottawa, and St-Amour were the other nominees for the 2008-09 Nan Copp award.
DEFENSIVE MVP: Leanne Evans, UBC
Evans is the second Thunderbird to be named the nation's top defensive player since the inception of the award in 2000-01. Former T-Bird all-star Carrie Watson was honoured in 2003-04.
The six-foot-two post, in her third campaign at UBC after spending her rookie season with Southeast Missouri State, led the nation with 2.8 blocks per game and finished second in the Canada West and fourth in the country with 10.3 rebounds per contest, with 7.1 of those coming on the defensive end. She bettered her own UBC single-season record with 238 boards.
The second-team Canada West all-star also chipped in offensively as she led the T-Birds with 11.2 points per game and made the top 10 in field-goal percentage (.463). A former member of the U-21 national team, Evans represented Canada at the 2007 Summer Universiade in Bangkok, Thailand, and helped UBC capture the Bronze Baby trophy as CIS champion in 2007-08.
The other nominees for CIS defensive MVP were St. Francis Xavier guard Ashley Stephen of Scarborough, Ont., McGill guard Nathifa Weekes of Montreal, and Wilfrid Laurier post Renata Adamczyk of Dundas, Ont.
KATHY SHIELDS AWARD: Chanelle St-Amour, Laval
St-Amour is the third Laval player to earn rookie-of-the-year honours, and the first since Josée Lalonde in 2000-01.
A graduate of Cegep de Ste-Foy in Quebec City, the five-foot-six freshman moved to point guard for the first time in her career in her first season with the Rouge et Or and quickly proved she was up to the challenge.
St-Amour finished third in the Quebec scoring race averaging 12.9 points per game, topped the QSSF with 4.8 assists per contest (sixth in Canada), tied for first place with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.4, finished second in three-point shooting at 38.5 percent, and was the second most utilized player in the conference with 32.1 minutes of court time per game.
A teammate of Evans on Canada's Universiade team in 2007 when she was still in Cegep, St-Amour was named QSSF MVP as a rookie and became one of the rare freshmen selected to the first CIS all-Canadian team. She helped the Rouge et Or capture the Quebec title and qualify for the CIS championship for the fifth straight year.
Memorial post Alexandria Forsey of St. John's, Guelph forward Samantha Russell of Paradise Valley, Arizona, and Alberta guard Nicole Clarke of Calgary were also in the running for CIS top-rookie honours.
PETER ENNIS AWARD: Lisa Thomaidis, Saskatchewan
A three-time Canada West coach of the year, Thomaidis is the first Saskatchewan sideline boss to be honoured at the CIS level since the Peter Ennis award was first presented in 1977-78.
In her 11th season at the helm, Thomaidis guided the Huskies to an 18-4 mark and first place in the Central Division, to an appearance at the Canada West Final Four and a berth at the CIS championship, an impressive turnaround for a team that finished 9-13 a year ago. Saskatchewan enjoyed at 13-game winning streak, the longest in team history, and was ranked no lower than fifth in all 14 national coaches polls.
The Huskies have elevated themselves among the nation's elite over the last few years making the playoffs seven straight seasons, claiming the first Canada West title in program history in 2005-06 and advancing to the CIS tournament three of the past four campaigns.
As a player, Thomaidis was a three-time OUA all-star in five seasons with the McMaster Marauders.
Memorial's Doug Partridge, Laval's Linda Marquis and Windsor's Chantal Vallée were the other coaches nominated.
SYLVIA SWEENEY AWARD: Courtney Gerwing, Simon Fraser
Gerwing is the first Simon Fraser student-athlete to receive the Sylvia Sweeney award for excellence in basketball, academics and community involvement.
The fifth-year forward led the Canada West in her final university season with a 6.4 assist-per-game average and was second in the league with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. She also averaged 11.0 points per contest for the best offensive team in Canada (82.1 points per game) and lifted SFU to a CIS-best 22-1 conference mark and the Canada West championship.
Gerwing, an arts student, has been an Academic All-Canadian each of her first four years at Simon Fraser. She has a GPA of over 3.80 and received the prestigious Shrum Scholarship from SFU.
In her senior year, she has acted as a research assistant for SFU's Close Relationships Lab, has volunteered with Hoops for Hope, helped run a joint SFU-Special Olympics clinic for Special Olympics athletes, and volunteered at the Terry Fox run, with the Raise a Reader program at an elementary school and at a fair trade store in Coquitlam called Ten Thousand Villages.
Gerwing also helped to organize 'Balding for Dollars', where she and three of her SFU teammates shaved their heads following a game against Fraser Valley to raise money for Cancer Research. The initiative helped to raise over $18,000 for the B.C. Cancer Foundation.
The other finalists for the Sylvia Sweeney award were Memorial guard Kelly Himmelman of Pleasantville, N.S., Bishop's forward Laure Pitfield of Ottawa, and Laurentian forward Amanda McConnell of Regina.
TRACY MacLEOD AWARD: Vanessa Forstbauer, Victoria
Forstbauer became the first Vike to receive the Tracy MacLeod award.
The third-year forward and education student made her return to the UVic roster this year after missing the entire 2007-08 campaign.
She played two seasons for the Vikes before an undiagnosed heart condition came to the forefront. The diagnosis took 12 months to come and it was determined she had Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT) disease, described as an extra electrical tissue in her heart - or a short circuit. In March 2008 a procedure was done that froze that tissue, making it dormant and thus preventing any more palpitations and allowing her to return to the team.
Forstbauer played each of the Vikes' 23 conference games in 2008-09, starting 22 of them. She finished second on the team with over 29 minutes of court time per contest, and averaged 8.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per outing.
Pitfield, UNB point guard Tashina Van Vlack of Golden, B.C., Guelph guard Ali Dzikowski of Brantford, Ont., and Laurentian forward Christi Bauck of Glengarry, Ont., were the other finalists.
ALL-CANADIAN TEAMS
The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Thursday.
Joining Dykstra and St-Amour on the first CIS squad were Hodgson, Lennox and Saskatchewan guard Kimberley Tulloch of Regina.
Hodgson led the nation in scoring this season averaging 25.8 points a game. A member of the second team a year ago, she is the first Caper in history to make the first CIS squad.
Lennox is the first Mustang named to the first team since Michele Vesprini in 1995-96.
The second all-Canadian team is comprised of Memorial forward Victoria Thistle of St. John's, Simon Fraser forward Robyn Buna of Kelowna, B.C., Toronto guard Alaine Hutton of Hamilton, Simon Fraser post Laurelle Weigl of Stony Plain, Alta., and Laval post Marie-Michelle Genois of Quebec City.
Genois has been named an all-Canadian each of her first three university seasons, including a first-team nod in 2007-08.
Clarke, Forsey, McGill forward Anneth Him-Lazarenko of Ste-Dorothée, Que., and Thompson Rivers post Diane Schuetze of Vernon, B.C., join St-Amour on the CIS all-rookie squad.
2008-09 CIS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
Nan Copp award (player of the year): Kayla Dykstra, Victoria Vikes
Defensive player of the year: Leanne Evans, UBC Thunderbirds
Kathy Shields award (rookie of the year): Chanelle St-Amour, Laval Rouge et Or
Peter Ennis award (coach of the year): Lisa Thomaidis, Saskatchewan Huskies
Sylvia Sweeney award (outstanding student-athlete): Courtney Gerwing, Simon Fraser Clan
Tracy MacLeod award: Vanessa Forstbauer, Victoria Vikes
First Team
Position Athlete University Year Hometown Faculty
Post Kayla Dykstra Victoria 3 Calgary, Alta. Education
Guard Kelsey Hodgson Cape Breton 4 Fredericton, N.B. BA
Forward Elizabeth Lennox Western 4 Ottawa, Ont. Social Sciences
Guard Chanelle St-Amour Laval 1 Montreal, Que. English
Guard Kimberley Tulloch Saskatchewan 3 Regina, Sask. Arts & Science
Second Team
Forward Victoria Thistle Memorial 3 St. John's, Nfld. Kinesiology
Forward Robyn Buna Simon Fraser 3 Kelowna, B.C. Kinesiology
Guard Alaine Hutton Toronto 4 Hamilton, Ont. Arts & Science
Post Laurelle Weigl Simon Fraser 3 Stony Plain, Alta. Arts
Post / Forward Marie-Michelle Genois Laval 3 Quebec City, Que. Biochemistry
All-Rookie Team
Guard Chanelle St-Amour Laval 1 Montreal, Que. English
Guard Nicole Clarke Alberta 1 Calgary, Alta. Science
Forward Anneth Him-Lazarenko McGill 1 Ste-Dorothée, Que. Social Sciences
Post Alexandria Forsey Memorial 1 St. John's, Nfld. Undecided
Post Diane Schuetze Thompson Rivers 1 Vernon, B.C. Tourism
(with assistance from the -CIS-)