ST. LAWRENCE'S ARSENAULT HEADLINES OCAA WOMEN'S RUGBY SEVENS AWARDS

TORONTO - Allesha Arsenault (Kingston) of St. Lawrence College is the 2024 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Women's Rugby Sevens Player of the Year.

The fourth-year scrum half was the OCAA Scoring Champion, eclipsing a pair of regular season records. Arsenault's 274 total points surpassed the previous record mark of 180 set by Humber's Christina Branch in 2017. Arsenault's 40 tries surpassed the previous league high of 34 set by Emily Cooper of Durham in 2022. Arsenault's 37 converts was three shy of yet another regular season record. Arsenault also tied single game records with five tries and 30 points in separate matches. Arsenault headlines the OCAA League All-Stars.

Amber Edgerton (Uxbridge) of Durham College is the OCAA Rookie of the Year. The back was among the elite offensive players in the league, as well as being one of the top defenders. Edgerton was second among all OCAA players in tries with 25, and was third in overall points with 125. Edgerton headlines the OCAA All-Rookie Team.

Kate Pasic of St. Lawrence is the OCAA Coach of the Year. The Surge had their best regular season record in program history at 13-1, highlighted by a 21-17 win over the Lords on Sept. 21 which ended Durham's record OCAA winning streak at 40 games. St. Lawrence had a record of 5-12-1 just two seasons ago. St. Lawrence was the Best Defensive Team allowing a league-best 54 points against.

Danika Johnston (Courtice) of Durham is the OCAA Defensive Player of the Year. The fourth-year back is viewed by many to be the best tackler in the OCAA. The Lords won the regular season championship in large part due to averaging just 3.9 points against per match during the regular season.

Joining Arsenault as OCAA All-Stars are Nicolle Boeyenga (Brantford) and Sydney Seymour (Cornwall) of Algonquin College; Abbey Anderson (Waterford) of Conestoga College; Maya Austin (Ajax), Shay Morris (Ajax) and Camryn Wood (Uxbridge) of Durham; Julia Kata (Hastings) of Fleming College; Mary Adarkwa (Toronto) and Meghan Aucoin (Port Perry) of Humber Polytechnic; Ryan Fitzgerald (Trenton) of Loyalist College; Paige Bean (Kinburn) and Georgia Meban De-groot (Kingston) of St. Lawrence; and Angelina Jahshan (East Gwillimbury) of Seneca Polytechnic.



In addition to Edgerton, members of the OCAA All-Rookie Team include Algonquin's Faiza Faucher-Ahmed (Ottawa); Conestoga's Anita Ben (Cambridge); Durham's Amber Edgerton (Uxbridge); Fleming's Kata; Humber's Aliza Shahzad (Toronto); Loyalist's Faith Ayres (Belleville); St. Lawrence's Melissa Raymond (Ottawa); and Seneca's Avery Carruthers (Stouffville).

2024 OCAA WOMEN'S RUGBY SEVENS AWARDS

OCAA Women's Rugby Sevens Player of the Year

Allesha Arsenault, St. Lawrence

OCAA Women's Rugby Sevens Rookie of the Year

Amber Edgerton, Durham

OCAA Women's Rugby Sevens Coach of the Year

Kate Pasic, St. Lawrence

OCAA Women's Rugby Sevens Scoring Champion

Allesha Arsenault, St. Lawrence

OCAA Women's Rugby Sevens Defensive Player of the Year

Danika Johnston, Durham

OCAA Women's Rugby Sevens League Champions

Durham Lords

OCAA Women's Rugby Sevens Best Defensive Team

St. Lawrence Surge

OCAA Women's Rugby Sevens League All-Stars

Mary Adarkwa, Humber

Abbey Anderson, Conestoga

Allesha Arsenault, St. Lawrence

Meghan Aucoin, Humber

Maya Austin, Durham

Paige Bean, St. Lawrence

Nicolle Boeyenga, Algonquin

Ryan Fitzgerald, Loyalist

Angelina Jahshan, Seneca

Julia Kata, Fleming

Georgia Meban De-groot, St. Lawrence

Shay Morris, Durham

Sydney Seymour, Algonquin

Camryn Wood, Durham

OCAA Women's Rugby Sevens League All-Rookie Team
Faith Ayres, Loyalist

Anita Ben, Conestoga

Avery Carruthers, Seneca

Amber Edgerton, Durham

Faiza Faucher-Ahmed, Algonquin

Julia Kata, Fleming

Melissa Raymond, St. Lawrence

Aliza Shahzad, Humber

- OCAA -

ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

For over 50 years, the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association has been a dedicated leader in amateur athletics through the provision of quality varsity and recreational athletic opportunities at the collegiate level.

For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com