Bielby among 11 ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ bursary winners at Quebec Foundation awards gala
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(STANDING Left to Right: Olivier Bouchard, Marie-Eve Martin, Olivia Grecu, Francoise Charest, Anneth Him-Lazarenko, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Anthony Lukca, Steven Bielby, Jennifer Thomson. MISSING: Thomas Lucas)
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BOUCHERVILLE, Que. - ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ swimmer Steven Bielby of Pointe Claire, Que., hauled in four awards totaling $4,000 and the hockey Martlets were named Quebec women's team of the year at the 24th annual Quebec Foundation for University Athletics gala, held at the Mortagne hotel in Boucherville, Tuesday.
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Bielby, a 20-year-old electrical engineering sophomore who achieved a stellar 3.91 grade-point average (out of 4.0) last year, was one of 10 ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ student-athletes to receive third-party bursaries, also known as Athletic Financial Awards, from the Foundation, which doled out 74 bursaries for a combined total of $148,250.
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Bielby, who last spring won three gold medals at the CIS championships and became only the second ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ freshman ever to receive the Forbes trophy as male athlete of the year, was presented with a pair of cheques for being a finalist for both the academic and athletic excellence categories. He also took home two additional cheques as the winning candidate in both disciplines.
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Volleyball's Jennifer Thomson, a fifth-year All-Canadian power-hitter from Rosemere, Que., received an academic excellence bursary of $1,750.
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Hockey ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Ann-Sophie Bettez, a junior from Sept-Iles, Que., and football defensive back Anthony Lukca, a fifth-year senior from St. Laurent, Que., received athletic excellence awards of $1,500 and $1,250, respectively.
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Three ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ freshmen basketball players were handed recruitment bursaries, including Marie-Eve Martin, a guard from Granby, Que., who was presented with a high-end award of $6,000 to be dispersed over three years. The other two, Quebec City native Francoise Charest and Montrealer Olivier Bouchard, were given $3,000 and $2,000, respectively. Also receiving a $3,000 recruitment bursary was volleyball's Olivia Grecu of Calgary.
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Other ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ians to claim a recruitment award was basketball ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Anneth Him-Lazarenko of Ste. Dorothée, Que., and soccer midfielder Thomas Lucas of Kirkland, Que., both of whom were collecting an installment from previous years.
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The Martlets hockey squad racked up a school record 40-2-0 mark, including an unblemished 36-0 against Canadian university teams, en route to winning their second consecutive CIS national championship.
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Laval led all institutions with 25 bursary recipients, followed by Montreal (18) and ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, which received 11 awards for $25,500. Sherbrooke had the fourth-highest total with eight, followed Concordia (5), Bishop's (3), UQAM 92), UQTR (1) and UQAC (1).
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Athletics & Recreation
514-398-7012