BROWN NAMED OCAA WOMEN'S RUGBY PLAYER OF THE YEAR

TORONTO - Second-year player Rebecca Brown (Richmond, Ont.) is the 2011 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) women's rugby player of the year.

A co-captain of the St. Lawrence-Kingston Vikings, Brown packs an offensive and defensive punch. A student of the game, Brown has played a number of positions, all very well. She is a crafty, strong and deceptive runner, slicing through opponents to set up her centres. On defence, she rarely misses a tackle and orchestrates the defence among her fellow backs. Brown is also an OCAA all-star.

St. Lawrence teammate Mariah Patrick (Napanee, Ont.) is the overall rookie of the year. Patrick tied with three other teammates with 25 points to lead the Vikings. Patrick scored six tries, helped set up several more, and converted on five opportunities. At scrum half, Patrick is the connection between the backs and forward, a pivotal and difficult position for anyone, especially a rookie straight from high school. Patrick is also the top rookie in the East region.

Gary Peacock of Vikings is the OCAA coach of the year. In his third year with the St. Lawrence program, the Vikings went undefeated during the regular season with a 5-0-1 record. This is a significant improvement over last year's team that went 1-3-0 as OCAA conducted its trial season. St. Lawrence led the East region in scoring with 154 points.

Algonquin's Courtney Mastine is the OCAA overall scoring champion. Mastine led all of OCAA with 42 points on four tries, six penalty kicks and two converts. Algonquin had a 4-2-0 regular season record in its first-ever women's rugby season.

A pair of Humber players are also major award winners. Flanker Kelsey Bardy (Caledon, Ont.) is the West region rookie of the year. Bardy scored three tries for the Hawks. Her athletic ability, physical strength and rugby skills make her stand out amongst other rookies. Bardy is also an OCAA all-star. Teammate Brooklyn Craig (Brampton, Ont.) was the scoring champion in the West region. Craig was second overall in OCAA with 39 points, scoring five tries and seven converts.

Other OCAA all-stars include Jenna Crothers (Belleville, Ont.) and Alyssa Palmer (Belleville, Ont.) of Algonquin; Caitlin Martin (Waterloo, Ont.) and Amber Vinandy (Cambridge, Ont.) of Conestoga; Noelle Coughlin (Delaware, Ont.) and Amanda Fitzpatrick (Stratford, Ont.) of Fleming-Lindsay; Humber's Lindsey Bradbury (Utopia, Ont.); Julie Hinchey (Shannonville, Ont.) and Erica Lauzon (Bath, Ont.) of Loyalist; Rebecca Halliwell (Guelph, Ont.) and Raquel Rose of Mohawk; St. Lawrence-Kingston's Dana Darlington (Kingston, Ont.); and Katelyn Carey and Shellee Meigs of Seneca.

2011 OCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S RUGBY MAJOR AWARDS AND ALL-STARS

Women's Rugby Player of the Year
Rebecca Brown, St. Lawrence-Kingston

Women's Rugby Overall Rookie of the Year
Mariah Patrick, St. Lawrence-Kingston

Women's Rugby East Division Rookie of the Year
Mariah Patrick, St. Lawrence-Kingston

Women's Rugby West Division Rookie of the Year
Kelsey Bardy, Humber

Women's Rugby Coach of the Year
Gary Peacock, St. Lawrence-Kingston

Women's Rugby League Scoring Champion
Courtney Mastine, Algonquin

Women's Rugby East Division Scoring Champion
Courtney Mastine, Algonquin

Women's Rugby West Division Scoring Champion
Brooklyn Craig, Humber

Women's Rugby All-Stars
Jenna Crothers, Algonquin
Alyssa Palmer, Algonquin
Caitlin Martin, Conestoga
Amber Vinandy, Conestoga
Noelle Coughlin, Fleming-Lindsay
Amanda Fitzpatrick, Fleming-Lindsay
Kelsey Bardy, Humber
Lindsey Bradbury, Humber
Julie Hinchey, Loyalist
Erica Lauzon, Loyalist
Rebecca Halliwell, Mohawk
Raquel Rose, Mohawk
Rebecca Brown, St. Lawrence-Kingston
Dana Darlington, St. Lawrence-Kingston
Katelyn Carey, Seneca
Shellee Meigs, Seneca

- OCAA -

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The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 31 members sponsoring 16 league and tournament championships.

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Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
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E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com