Davina, Gurrieri Capture Athlete of the Year
Ngameni Davina and Anthony Gurrieri were named Seneca Sting Athlete of the Year winners for the 2022-2023 season at the first in-person awards banquet in four years on Wednesday night.
Davina (Women's Volleyball) led the Sting to a second place finish in the OCAA East Division and a fourth place finish at the OCAA Championship. Davina was named a CCAA All-Canadian, OCAA East Division Player of the Year and an OCAA East Division First Team All-Star. Liu (Badminton) captured both an OCAA and CCAA championship to cap an undefeated season. Liu was named OCAA Women's Badminton Player of the Year as well as a CCAA All-Canadian while helping the Sting capture the OCAA Women's Badminton team championship.
Gurrieri (Men's Soccer) was the last line of defence for a Sting team which captured an OCAA Championship silver medal and CCAA National Championship silver medal during the outdoor season. Gurrieri backstopped the Sting to an OCAA Championship silver medal during the indoor season. In addition to the team success, Gurrieri was named an OCAA East Division First Team All-Star, CCAA National Championship Most Valuable Player and was twice named Player of the Game at the CCAA National Championship.
The Follett Rookie of the Year distinction went to Brooke Allerston (Women's Volleyball) and Kevin Shah (Badminton). Allerston ran the offense for the Women's Volleyball team. The first year was named OCAA East Division Rookie of the Year, an OCAA East Division First Team All-Star and OCAA Championship All-Star. Shah, along with Anthony Tso captured the OCAA East Regional in men's doubles, silver at the OCAA Championship and bronze at the CCAA National Championship. Shah was also named an OCAA East Divisional All-Star.
Three members of the Men's Soccer team were inducted into the Seneca Sting Hall of Fame. Gurrieri, Atif Ali and Aaron Toniolo played three seasons with the Sting (2019-2023), capturing a pair of OCAA Championship bronze medals in addition to the OCAA Championship silver, CCAA National Championship silver and indoor OCAA Championship silver. Topping Ali's individual accomplishments was being named OCAA East Division Player of the Year (2022) and a CCAA All Canadian (2022). Highlighting Toniolo's accomplishments was being named OCAA Central Division Defensive Player of the Year (2021). All three received numerous all-star designations during their Sting careers.
The banquet saw the return of three long-time staff members who were in attendance to present scholarships named in their honour.
For the first time in person, the Ian 'Mel' Blundy scholarship was awarded to Tyrone Cunningham (Men's Basketball). Ian Blundy was a member of the department's operations staff for more than 30 years in addition to his time as a manager with the Men's Hockey team.
Former Director, Sport & Recreation Linda Stapleton presented the Sting 360 award to Jordan Anderson (Men's Basketball) and Mehak Chawla (Badminton, Newnham Recreation). The Sting 360 is awarded to student-athletes and recreation leaders who best exemplify leadership, character and excellence.
The third member in attendance was Angela James who retired in 2020. James presented the inaugural Angela James scholarship to Ali (Men's Soccer), Jordan Burke (Women's Soccer), Mercy Ayesha Alohan-Eke (Newnham Recreation) and Sadaf Aliahmadi (Dance, Newnham Recreation).
Other awards presented were:
Supreme Service Ring - Joana Lame (Newnham Recreation)
Stephen E. Quinlan Award - Carley Uddenberg (Women's Soccer)
Wayne Norrison Leadership Award - Anshul Mohanani (King Recreation)
President's Awards (Team GPA) - Badminton
Jenna Caira Scholarship - Moti Shams (Badminton)
MBNA Scholarship - Imran Abdulatif (Men's Soccer), Angelina Jahshan (Women's Rugby), Rebekah Lee (Women's Soccer), Justin Walker (Men's Baseball)
Alumni Scholarship - Martina Pannia (Women's Soccer), Aaron Toniolo (Men's Soccer)
Service Award - Martin Bazyl (Photographer)
Team Most Valuable Player Awards:
Badminton - Moti Shams, Anthony Tso, Kevin Shah
Baseball - AJ Rowe
Basketball (Women's) - Emily Balkissoon
Basketball (Men's) - Tafari Black
Cross Country Running - Danny Ghaliyini
Dance - Ginsig Obispo
Indoor Soccer (Women's) - Olivia Lamacchia
Indoor Soccer (Men's) - Aaron Toniolo
Rugby (Women's) - Olivia Hooper
Rugby (Men's) - Simeon Charles
Soccer (Women's) - Jordan Burke
Soccer (Men's) - Anthony Gurrieri
Softball - Cassidy Warner
Volleyball (Women's) - Ngameni Davina
Volleyball (Men's) - Peter Ostranski-Ayles
King Recreation - Anup Patel
Newnham Recreation - Peter Iliescu
Seneca @ York Recreation - Eugenia Chapman
Team Rookie of the Year Awards:
Baseball - Tyler Hill
Basketball (Women's) - Zaneta Ankrah
Basketball (Men's) - Jake Ohana
Cross Country Running - Keith Yau
Dance - Sadaf Aliahmadi
Indoor Soccer (Women's) - Christina Diaco
Indoor Soccer (Men's) - Paiman Sultani
Rugby (Women's) - Angelina Jahshan
Rugby (Men's) - Kyle Moller
Soccer (Women's) - Francesca Famele
Soccer (Men's) - Alex Lewis
Softball - River Johnston
Volleyball (Women's) - Brooke Allerston
Volleyball (Men's) - Josh Pereira
Sting 360 Awards (Recognizing Character, Excellence and Leadership):
Badminton - Mehak Chawla
Baseball - Dan Seguin
Basketball (Women's) - Hannah DeVries
Basketball (Men's) - Jordan Anderson
Cross Country Running - Lily Lu
Dance - Sadaf Aliahmadi
Indoor Soccer (Women's) - Jordan Burke
Indoor Soccer (Men's) - Atif Ali
Rugby (Women's) - Christine Seretis
Rugby (Men's) - Spencer Cleaves
Soccer (Women's) - Carley Uddenberg
Soccer (Men's) - Atif Ali
Softball - Chloe Ferko
Volleyball (Women's) - Stella Dada
Volleyball (Men's) - Sev Libramonte
King Recreation - Anshul Mohanani, Elisha Sanderson
Newnham Recreation - Sadaf Aliahmadi, Joana Lame
Seneca @ York Recreation - Juel Soto Ferreira, Tetiana Hrechana