Canadore Awards

Canadore College Athletics held its 38th Annual Awards Banquet March 15th at the Best Western on Lakeshore. Award winners were honoured for their achievements and dedication to Panther Athletics in the 2006/07 school year.

Athlete of Year recognized the outstanding achievements of rookie women’s volleyball player Ève Thibault. Hailing from Rouyn-Noranda, Thibault came to Canadore College to study English as a Second Language. She was an instant triple threat: a natural-born leader, killer athletic ability and achieving academic excellence throughout the season. Beyond all of that, she also had an exceptional one game performance where she shattered two OCAA records: most kills scored in a game and most points scored in a game, 31 and 36 respectively.

She helped improve the Panthers record from 0-14 (3 sets won, 42 sets lost) in the 2005-2006 season to 2-12 (9 sets won, 38 sets lost) in the 2006-2007 season. On the court she accumulated 160 kills, 23 service aces, and 9 stuff blocks for a combined 192 points. She led the team with a 3.40 kills per game average, and finished second in total scoring with 4.09 points per game average. Finally, Ève’s efforts were also recognized by the OCAA, being named athlete of the week October 30, 2006. She was also named as a 1st team all-star for the West/Central West team and the OCAA Rookie of the Year.

As one of the team’s captains, Thibault’s contribution was far greater than just numbers. At any team event, her presence was profound. From leading team warm-ups to being vocal on the court and being one of the most sparkling personalities on the team, all of athletics benefited from her presence in the department.

“Ève is a special athlete and wonderful person. It’s not very often when an individual leads through their play on the court and leadership off the court. It has been an absolute pleasure to have coached her this year we look forward to her continued success,” stated head coach Joey Rainer.

Ève also received the MVP Award for women’s volleyball. She was a Canadore Panther scholarship recipient, and named to the Panther “4.0 Club”.

The Club Player of the Year honours went to Panther Men’s Hockey Player Glenn McNabb. McNabb is originally from Mattawa, and is in his final year in the Corrections Program at Canadore College. McNabb is also an excellent example of a well-rounded, multi-dimensional athlete.

Glen is an excellent example of a two-way player: the defensively minded forward. His unselfish attitude is reflected in his ability to always consider his teammates, and put them unselfishly ahead of himself. The veteran forward has become someone that his head coach Glen Gravelle has relied on heavily,

“He is a guy that is always there when you need him. He leads by example, and is the type of player a coach loves to have on his team.” During his time as a Panther, he won MVP at a college recreation tournament, and was always near the top of the team in points.

Finally, McNabb was an easy selection for the Men’s Hockey team Coaches award for Dedication and Leadership.

Submitted to BayToday.ca