OSHAWA, Ont. – The Ontario Tech athletic department celebrated a record 80 student-athlete academic award winners on Tuesday morning at the Ridgebacks' annual Academic Award Brunch presented by the Office of the Provost.
 
The 80 award winners for the 2020-21 academic year top the total of 72 award winners in 2019-20. Record numbers of OUA and U SPORTS award winners were also achieved with 56 and 40 recipients respectively.
 
"This level of success is a true testament to the level of dedication our student-athletes have to not only their respective sports, but their academics," said Scott Barker, Ontario Tech director of athletics. "Between our students, staff, coaches, advisors and administration on campus, it's a complete team effort to ensure our students have success in the classroom at Ontario Tech. To be able to achieve that, while competing as a varsity student-athlete, is something special."
 
On top of the OUA and U SPORTS recognition, the awards presented include Ontario Tech all-academic awards, top GPA by sport and the prestigious Bob and Sallie Baun Varsity Scholarship.
 
This year, the number of recipients of the Bob and Sallie Baun Varsity Scholarship included six student-athletes. These are presented to a student-athlete returning to full-time studies, with a prior year GPA of 3.7. This student-athlete must be a member in good standing on a varsity team and an engaged member of the athletics community. They must have demonstrated athletic excellence in a high-performance setting while also exhibiting strong leadership qualities.
 
The 2020-21 female recipients included Emmeline Meens Miller of the rowing team, Natalie Wozney of the hockey team and Ashlynne Koly of the soccer team.
 
On the men's side, JC Thivierge of the hockey team, Praveen Manickavel of the badminton team and Quintyn Walcott of the soccer team were the recipients.
 
Of note, Matthew Mepstead (men's curling) and Justin Posteraro (golf) had their team's top GPA for the third straight year.

AWARDS LIST
BOB AND SALLIE BAUN VARSITY SCHOLARSHIP
Female: Emmeline Meens Miller, Natalie Wozney, Ashlynne Koly
Male: JC Thivierge, Praveen Manickavel, Quintyn Walcott
 
U SPORTS ACADEMIC ALL-CANADIANS
Women's Basketball
Mackenzi Chapman (Madoc, Ont.)
 
Women's Hockey
Natalie Wozney (Whitby, Ont.)
Kassidy Ford (Gananoque, Ont.)
Mia Rogers (Keswick, Ont.)
Katie Heath (Elora, Ont.)
Blaire Allison (Pickering, Ont.)
Jamie Bulleid (Waterdown, Ont.)
Brooke Vial (Port Moody, B.C.)
Brooklyn Duff (Smithville, Ont.)
Madeline Schroder (Kitchener, Ont.)
Emily Davis-Tope (Bendigo, Australia)
Baie Marcantonio (New Westminster, B.C.)
Kayla Welk (Barrie, Ont.)
Nicole Zabel (Palmerston, Ont.)
Sophia Christopherson (Langley, B.C.)
Celine Tessier (Chapleau, Ont.)
 
Men's Hockey
JC Thivierge (Welland, Ont.)
Kari Belec (Sudbury, Ont.)
Andrew Suriyuth (Kingston, Ont.)
Tyson McConnell (Pilot Mount, Man.)
Matthieu Gomercic (Winnipeg, Man.)
Michael Bullion (Anchorage, Alaska)
Brennan Roy (Iroquois Falls, Ont.)
 
Women's Soccer
Olivia Tierney (King City, Ont.)
Ashlynne Koly (Vancouver, B.C.)
Brogyn Tracey (Milton, Ont.)
Christina Coroado (Bolton, Ont.)
Leah Storms (Dunrobin, Ont.)
Marlene Siwula (Mississauga, Ont.)
Stephanie Viviano (Mississauga, Ont.)
Madison O'Donnell (Bolton, Ont.)
Alyssa Nikkel (Toronto, Ont.)
 
Men's Soccer
Jordan Melo (Mississauga, Ont.)
Nicholas Miller (Oshawa, Ont.)
Quintyn Walcott (Bridgetown, Barbados)
Mateo Marques (Burlington, Ont.)
Jacob Begley (Markham, Ont.)
Elijah Lorenc-Clarke (Scarborough, Ont.)
Nathaniel Sadler (Ajax, Ont.)
Matthew Mattila (Pickering, Ont.)

OUA ALL-ACADEMIC AWARDS
Badminton
Praveen Manickavel (Stouffville, Ont.)
Brittney Yiu (Pickering, Ont.)
Nicholas Magee (Beeton, Ont.)
Roy Wales (Everett, Ont.)
 
Women's Basketball
Mackenzi Chapman (Madoc, Ont.)
 
Golf
Justin Posteraro (Courtice, Ont.)
 
Women's Hockey
Natalie Wozney (Whitby, Ont.)
Kassidy Ford (Gananoque, Ont.)
Mia Rogers (Keswick, Ont.)
Katie Heath (Elora, Ont.)
Blaire Allison (Pickering, Ont.)
Jamie Bulleid (Waterdown, Ont.)
Brooke Vial (Port Moody, B.C.)
Brooklyn Duff (Smithville, Ont.)
Madeline Schroder (Kitchener, Ont.)
Emily Davis-Tope (Bendigo, Australia)
Baie Marcantonio (New Westminster, B.C.)
Kayla Welk (Barrie, Ont.)
Nicole Zabel (Palmerston, Ont.)
Sophia Christopherson (Langley, B.C.)
Celine Tessier (Chapleau, Ont.)
 
Men's Hockey
JC Thivierge (Welland, Ont.)
Kari Belec (Sudbury, Ont.)
Andrew Suriyuth (Kingston, Ont.)
Tyson McConnell (Pilot Mount, Man.)
Matthieu Gomercic (Winnipeg, Man.)
Michael Bullion (Anchorage, Alaska)
Brennan Roy (Iroquois Falls, Ont.)
 
Women's Field Lacrosse
April Sabatini (Keswick, Ont.)
Brooklyn Parlane (Amherstview, Ont.)
Molly Howe (Oshawa, Ont.)
Anna Twohey (Port Perry, Ont.)
 
Women's Rowing
Taylor Ruzgys (Amherstburg, Ont.)
Kennedy Latour (St. Andrews West, Ont.)
Kierstyn Hawke (Oshawa, Ont.)
Emmeline Meens Miller (Courtice, Ont.)
Jessica Leishman (Burlington, Ont.)
Laura England (Whitby, Ont.)
Tara Black (Peterborough, Ont.)
 
Women's Soccer
Olivia Tierney (King City, Ont.)
Ashlynne Koly (Vancouver, B.C.)
Brogyn Tracey (Milton, Ont.)
Christina Coroado (Bolton, Ont.)
Leah Storms (Dunrobin, Ont.)
Marlene Siwula (Mississauga, Ont.)
Stephanie Viviano (Mississauga, Ont.)
Madison O'Donnell (Bolton, Ont.)
Alyssa Nikkel (Toronto, Ont.)

Men's Soccer
Jordan Melo (Mississauga, Ont.)
Nicholas Miller (Oshawa, Ont.)
Quintyn Walcott (Bridgetown, Barbados)
Mateo Marques (Burlington, Ont.)
Jacob Begley (Markham, Ont.)
Elijah Lorenc-Clarke (Scarborough, Ont.)
Nathaniel Sadler (Ajax, Ont.)
Matthew Mattila (Pickering, Ont.)
 
TOP GPA ACADEMIC AWARDS (BY SPORT)
Women's Badminton: Brittney Yiu
Men's Badminton: Nicholas Magee
Men's Basketball: Ammar Hassan
Women's Basketball: Sara Esongola Biango
Men's Curling: Robert Anderson
Dance: Natalie Bates
Golf: Justin Posteraro
Women's Hockey: Kayla Welk
Men's Hockey: Tyson McConnell
Women's Lacrosse: Molly Howe
Women's Rowing: Emmeline Meens-Miller
Men's Rowing: Adam Stone
Women's Soccer: Leah Storms
Men's Soccer: Mateo Marques
 
ONTARIO TECH ALL-ACADEMIC AWARDS
Badminton
Praveen Manickavel (Stouffville, Ont.)
Ashley Sun (Ottawa, Ont.)
Brittney Yiu (Pickering, Ont.)
Nicholas Magee (Beeton, Ont.)
Roy Wales (Everett, Ont.)
  
Women's Basketball
Sara Esongola Biango (Montreal, Que.)
Mackenzi Chapman (Madoc, Ont.)
 
Men's Basketball
Ammar Hassan (London, Ont.)
 
Men's Curling
Robert Anderson (Burlington, Ont.)
Matthew Mepstead (Pontypool, Ont.)
 
Dance
Brianna Chung-Kelly (Pickering, Ont.)
Katrina McIntosh (Pickering, Ont.)
Natalie Bates (Bowmanville, Ont.)
Sahana Miller (Whitby, Ont.)
Sam Latta (Whitby, Ont.)

Golf
Justin Posteraro (Courtice, Ont.)
 
Women's Hockey
Natalie Wozney (Whitby, Ont.)
Kassidy Ford (Gananoque, Ont.)
Mia Rogers (Keswick, Ont.)
Katie Heath (Elora, Ont.)
Jillian Banks (Barrie, Ont.)
Blaire Allison (Pickering, Ont.)
Jamie Bulleid (Waterdown, Ont.)
Brooke Vial (Port Moody, B.C.)
Megan Johnston (Goderich, Ont.)
Erin Ross (Lucan, Ont.)
Brooklyn Duff (Smithville, Ont.)
Madeline Schroder (Kitchener, Ont.)
Emily Davis-Tope (Bendigo, Australia)
Baie Marcantonio (New Westminster, B.C.)
Kayla Welk (Barrie, Ont.)
Nicole Zabel (Palmerston, Ont.)
Sophia Christopherson (Langley, B.C.)
Celine Tessier (Chapleau, Ont.)

Men's Hockey
JC Thivierge (Welland, Ont.)
Kari Belec (Sudbury, Ont.)
Andrew Suriyuth (Kingston, Ont.)
Tyson McConnell (Pilot Mount, Man.)
Matthieu Gomercic (Winnipeg, Man.)
Michael Bullion (Anchorage, Alaska)
Brennan Roy (Iroquois Falls, Ont.)
 
Women's Lacrosse
Sydney Wisniewski (Oshawa, Ont.)
April Sabatini (Keswick, Ont.)
Brooklyn Parlane (Amherstview, Ont.)
Victoria Solti (Bowmanville, Ont.)
Abigail Giesbrecht (Oshawa, Ont.)
Molly Howe (Oshawa, Ont.)
Anna Twohey (Port Perry, Ont.)
 
Women's Rowing
Taylor Ruzgys (Amherstburg, Ont.)
Kennedy Latour (St. Andrews West, Ont.)
Kierstyn Hawke (Oshawa, Ont.)
Emmeline Meens Miller (Courtice, Ont.)
Cristina Chung (Panama City, Panama)
Jessica Leishman (Burlington, Ont.)
Laura England (Whitby, Ont.)
Tara Black (Peterborough, Ont.)
 
Men's Rowing
Adam Stone (Toronto, Ont.)
 
Women's Soccer
Olivia Tierney (King City, Ont.)
Sarah Foster (Oshawa, Ont.)
Melanie Hoekstra (Bowmanville, Ont.)
Ashlynne Koly (Vancouver, B.C.)
Brogyn Tracey (Milton, Ont.)
Christina Coroado (Bolton, Ont.)
Leah Storms (Dunrobin, Ont.)
Marlene Siwula (Mississauga, Ont.)
Stephanie Viviano (Mississauga, Ont.)
Tatum Pearce (Ottawa, Ont.)
Mya Parr (Etobicoke, Ont.)
Madison O'Donnell (Bolton, Ont.)
Alyssa Nikkel (Toronto, Ont.)

Men's Soccer
Jordan Melo (Mississauga, Ont.)
Nicholas Miller (Oshawa, Ont.)
Quintyn Walcott (Bridgetown, Barbados)
Mateo Marques (Burlington, Ont.)
Jacob Begley (Markham, Ont.)
Elijah Lorenc-Clarke (Scarborough, Ont.)
Nathaniel Sadler (Ajax, Ont.)