Taking place on Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. at Ron Joyce Stadium, this exhibition between the McMaster Marauders and the Saskatchewan Huskies involves similar storylines for both. Each will want to show the ability to contend on a national scale despite coaching changes.
The Marauders team continues to set their sights high with the Vanier Cup being the end-goal. While it is easy to get caught up in immediate results, the priority and gameplan will continue to be consistent success set up by phenomenal recruiting. One finals appearance will not be good enough.
“[Head coach] Greg Knox has now gotten through the interim year, and he’s done a great job with recruiting class … ranked second in the nation, so that’s good news,” said Glen Grunwald, Director of Athletics and Recreation.
Despite a 6-2 record last season and a narrow loss to Laurier in the OUA semifinals, an extensive amount of changes were made to the staff in order to better contend for the national championship.
On Quinlan specifically, Grunwald noted how he is able to serve a multi-purpose role and undertake the full responsibility of the job.
“He’s obviously a legend, and that helps with recruiting as well as coaching existing student athletes. I think he’s got the whole package, and we’re happy and very thankful that he’s back where he belongs.”
Knox also noted that the new structure and changes means that the full-time staff has doubled.
For this team, the expectations should be high despite the growing pains that may be needed to introduce faces new and old to the program.
On the other side of this game, the Huskies are looking to start a new era. Coming off a 5-3 season and a loss in the Canada West semi-finals, their storyline is mostly based off of a single staffing adjustment.
The departure of head coach Brian Towriss, having lead the team for 33 seasons, the national record in wins by a university football coach at 196, nine Vanier Cup appearances and three championships, left an attractive spot open.
The new coach, Scott Flory, played with the team during three Vanier Cup appearances and two championships from 1994 to 1998 before a 14 year career in the CFL. He then served as the elected president of the Canadian Football League Players’ Association.
“I knew early in my professional career that I wanted to be a coach and get into coaching. To come back here and have the opportunity to do it here is definitely a dream come true,” said Flory back in March.
Both teams have something to prove and questions to answer. While it may not be a regular season game, it will represent the off-season’s progress and serve as the first indicator for each teams’ long-term success or failure.
May 31 – Women’s lacrosse
Brandan Sweeney, who served as an assistant coach with the McMaster men’s lacrosse team since 2011, was named the head coach of the women’s lacrosse team.
He formerly served as the head coach of Queen’s team starting in 2004 while completing his master’s degree. Winning the OUA Coach of the Year award in 2005, the first Gaels coach to win the honour, his success continued for multiple years there and for a season with the University of Washington.
After obtaining his PhD from Queen’s in 2010, he returned to McMaster in 2011.
“It’s been a decade since my last head coaching post at the OUA level, and I’m looking forward to the unique challenge that it brings,” said Sweeney.
His priority and mindset seems to be centered on creating a positive student-athlete environment for his team to succeed in no matter what success might mean to them.
“For some, it’s winning, and winning is ideal. But why do many people play? They play for the team-building and to learn and develop, and for many, that’s part of their learning alongside their studies. We want to build a successful program where we learn how to be competitive and how to work hard, but also how to work as a team and develop those relationships and leadership capabilities.”
He will also serve as the head coach of the Hamilton Bengals U19 girls field program.
June 12 – Men’s volleyball
The men’s volleyball team, defending OUA champions, added two new names to their staff. The first is Ian Eibbitt, who has served twice as the head coach of the Team Ontario U18 program and returns to the provincial staff in 2017 for the Canada Games. The second is Aytac Kilic, former Turkish national team player, who has nearly two decades of experience as a player and a coach.
“We continue to provide tremendous resources to help develop our student-athletes and help them reach their potential,” said head coach Dave Preston.
June 19 – Women’s basketball
It was announced that the women’s basketball team would be participating in the Buddha Light International Association Cup tournament from July 25 to 30 at the Kaoshiung Arena in Taiwan.
Organized by the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, the tournament features eight women’s teams and eight men’s teams with representatives from the USA, Australia, France, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and China.
“Being exposed to very different styles of play from all the different countries will be exciting. I believe that as much as they will gain from the on-court experience, our team will also gain so much from the trip itself and being exposed to a different culture,” said head coach Theresa Burns.
This comes one year after the men’s basketball team participated in the men’s tournament there and achieved first place.
June 23 – Nike
Glen Grunwald, the Director of Athletics and Recreation, announced a new partnership agreement for McMaster athletics with Nike. This comes after the five year exclusivity deal signed in 2012 that made McMaster the first Nike school in Canada. Local distributor T. Litzen Sports in Dundas will continue to be the main servicer of the agreement.
“It is crucial that we have the support of great corporate partners, and it doesn’t get much bigger than Nike. We have done some amazing things over the life of this partnership, and I am confident even more is on the horizon,” said Grunwald.
In addition, T. Litzen Sports is donating a new scoreboard with video capability for the Burridge Gymnasium. It will be installed in the fall in time for the start of the 2017-18 varsity sports season.
June 27 – Men’s volleyball
It was announced that the men’s volleyball team would welcome the Ohio State Buckeyes team for two matches on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22. The last time they played was in Burridge Gym on Dec. 30, 2016 where the Marauders won the single match 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 32-30).
Ohio State has won the last two NCAA national championships, and the Marauders have won the last five OUA titles. Since McMaster’s first trip to Columbus in 2014, they have won three of the five matches played.
“I can’t think of a better way to help prepare ourselves to compete for a National Championship in our own gym next March,” said head coach Dave Preston.
Special thanks to Fraser Caldwell, Sports Information Director, Bill Malley, Media Coordinator, and the rest of the staff at the Department of Athletics and Recreation for the information and quotes for all of the dates featured.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
The results speak for themselves. After being added as an assistant coach in 2010 to the Ryerson Rams, the team achieved consistent Ontario University Athletics Final Four and Quarter-Finals appearances. The Rams continued to surpass high expectations when he served as interim head coach in 2015-16 to win the Rams’ first Wilson Cup title as OUA champions.
U SPORTS, known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport at the time, awarded him the Stu Aberdeen Trophy as Coach of the Year. Tatham is the only Ryerson coach in its program’s history to be awarded the honour.
He then took a professional development leave from Ryerson for the 2016-17 season to become an assistant coach with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League, affiliated with the Boston Celtics. They reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in its short history before losing to the eventual champions, the Raptors 905.
While McMaster has had a successful program in the past, Tatham’s hiring brings a new hope to return to the upper echelon of Canadian men’s basketball programs.
“Patrick has established himself as one of the rising stars among all Canadian basketball coaches and we are looking forward to his building on the great tradition of McMaster Marauder basketball,” said McMaster Director of Athletics and Recreation Glen Grunwald.
This tradition and established history of the program at McMaster is something that Tatham mentioned is on the forefront of his mind.
“I think that anytime you get an opportunity you get an opportunity to leave your mark on a program, especially one like Mac, it’s a no brainer. I can’t even use excited anymore, I’m so elated.”
Tatham also cited Joe Raso, who served the Marauders as the coach from 1992 to 2010 and achieved 12 national championship tournament placements, as a source of inspiration.
Since then, Amos Connolly led the team to a 151-66 record over his seven-year tenure as Head Coach, and received the OUA West Coach of the Year award in 2014 after leading McMaster to a third place finish in the conference. He will remain in the program as a Recruiting Coordinator and Player Development Specialist.
“Changing roles, while it may be unconventional, provides me the opportunity to stay connected to this great program in a way that lines up with my strengths and goals as a coach,” said Connolly.
This ability to recruit is evident when looking back at what he helped accomplish for the program. First-year players Adam Presutti and Rohan Boney won OUA West Rookie of the Year honours in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Presutti also won the Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy as U SPORTS Rookie of the Year as McMaster’s first-ever winner of the award.
“Hands down, there’s an OUA championship or at least an OUA final four birth in the next three years. There’s no ifs, ands or buts, that’s a must.”
Patrick Tatham
Head coach
Men's basketball
Though the team had a disappointing season last year, they finished with an 8-11 conference record, became plagued with injuries to top players and failed to make the OUA Final Four, Tatham acknowledged the positives he has to work with.
“The foundation of the men’s basketball program is rock solid…. I think it’s all set up in the right way now.”
Connor Gilmore, who earned a spot on the OUA First-Team All-Star list, and David McCulloch, the team’s minutes leader and a model of consistency, will both return for their fourth years. Tatham steps into his role with a young roster that wants to succeed on a provincial and national level.
Tatham’s resume, the program’s former pedigree and the current state of the team should come with high expectations. Though the team has not achieved an OUA final four since the 2013-14 season, Tatham responded with enthusiasm when asked about his expectations over the next three years.
“Hands down, there’s an OUA championship or at least an OUA final four birth in the next three years. There’s no ifs, ands or buts, that’s a must.”
Moving forward, Tatham will also be working with Canada Basketball as the assistant coach for the Cadet Men’s National Team over the next two summers.
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
Correction: Connor Gilmore announced in late April that he will be transferring to the University of Ottawa.
Say goodbye to the CIS.
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is no more, as the league has rebranded to U Sports following a press conference on Oct. 20, 2016.
Under new CEO Graham Brown, the rebrand aims to revive what is a stale product.
“We’ve been working really hard to get in front of corporate Canada,” Brown said in an interview with the Toronto Star. “They’re passionate about university sport. We just have to convince them that we’re a good opportunity for marketing [and] for promotion.”
A lack of funding has plagued Canadian university sports for years, and it should not be a surprise to see dollars and cents as the reason for the change. Currently, U Sports has around a budget of approximately $3.25 million, according to recent statements from Brown. He wants to push that budget to nearly $10 million in three years.
The rebrand is supposed to reengage corporate sponsors, though how that happens is not clear. U Sports officials say that a governance structure overhaul should allow the organization to bring in more sponsorships with less restrictions.
The larger questions revolve around the return of investment for corporate sponsors. Undergrads are a covetable marketing demographic, but generally speaking student engagement with university athletics is weak, and this has kept sponsors and broadcasters away.
Sportsnet dropped weekly Ontario University Athletics football coverage in 2014, citing high production costs and low viewership numbers. In that same year, Sportsnet created “Super Championship Weekend.” The event featured men’s and women’s basketball and hockey championships broadcasted nation-wide.
The broadcaster was generally happy with the event, as per the debrief found in the 2015 CIS Annual General Meeting report, but said “atmosphere and general attendance need to be addressed.” Do sponsors want to be supporting events that do not have good attendance? Given the current state of university athletics in Canada, the answer is “no.”
Weekly university football returned in 2016, with Sportsnet partnering with City TV to broadcast games. The first game was full of potential: Queen’s hosted Western, one of the oldest rivalries in the country, and Queen’s was opening their new stadium. Despite this, the game had lots of empty seats. The event did not draw well on television either, as only 18,000 tuned in to watch. That number is lower than the 28,000 the OUA was getting before Rogers nixed the broadcast deal.
Sportsnet is not the only media outlet to take a step back from university athletics coverage. Due to shrinking budgets, mainstream media cannot allocate resources to a product so niche. The Hamilton Spectator used to have significantly more McMaster Marauders coverage, but the Sports department has shrunk in recent years and university coverage is few and far between.
Based on viewership numbers, attendance and media coverage, leadership is right: the CIS brand was stale and something needed to change. The press conference and media release were full of platitudes and light on details for how this happens. It has not been a smooth launch, either.
Brown touted U Sports’ ability to be relevant in the digital landscape. They launched usports.ca after the announcement, but the main website for all information is still going to be CIS-SIC.ca until early 2017. Why would you rebrand as something more adaptable to the digital landscape, but still point people to a website littered with your old brand? It is a confusing decision.
The name change is a positive step. However, without a real strategy for engaging students and corporate sponsors, the rebrand will be a costly and ineffective endeavor. With the rollout of U Sports, the organization could have laid out the path for the future and given people a reason to believe in the change.
Instead, they spoke in generalities and left people with more questions than answers. There is reason to believe in Brown because of his experience growing Rugby Canada into a multi-million dollar organization, but if you feel skeptical, you are not alone.
McMaster football is taking a trip to the Donut Box.
On May 3, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced a Labour Day Weekend daylong football experience hosted at Tim Hortons Field. McMaster will open the Monday, Sept. 5th event with a noon kick-off against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Following the OUA match-up, Supercrawl, the annual Hamilton arts festival, will host a concert with artists to be named later. At 6:30 p.m., the Tiger-Cats take centre stage with the Labour Day Classic against the Toronto Argonauts.
“Hamilton is a football town, and working with the Tiger-Cats to put together a gameday at Tim Hortons Field full of entertaining events for the fans is exciting,” said Glen Grunwald, McMaster’s Director of Athletics & Recreation in a press release. “This is a truly unique experience for our students, student-athletes and alumni.”
Part of that unique experience: alcohol. At Ron Joyce Stadium, liquor is not allowed in the stands. Tim Hortons Field is a licensed venue and McMaster Athletics and Recreation confirmed there will be alcohol for sale along with full concession options.
The event could also pay dividends for the team. Tim Hortons Field will host the 2016 and 2017 Vanier Cup and getting a game under their belt could help the football team feel a bit more comfortable should they make it back to the championship game.
This is the second home game of the season for the Marauders. While the game falls at the end of Welcome Week, the annual first-year game will be the Aug. 28 match-up against the Carleton Ravens.
Tickets for the McMaster game are $20 and only the East stands will be open for the game. Marauder season-seat holders get access to the game as part of their season tickets.
[feather_share show="twitter, google_plus, facebook, reddit, tumblr" hide="pinterest, linkedin, mail"]
For as long as McMaster Basketball guard Troy Joseph can remember, he has had two loves: basketball and music.
Starting to play basketball at the age of 10, the friendships he made through the sport were one of the biggest reasons he loved it so much. The same guys he played with in the front yard or in the school gym became long-time friends. Now, they either play alongside him or in different leagues all around the world. Still, basketball was that glue that kept a lot of his friendships together.
With his final year of eligibility up this season, Joseph hangs up his university jersey with McMaster. But Hamilton was not always home for him. Before making a name for himself in the Steel City, the Ajax native spent two seasons playing for the Long Island University Blackbirds in Brooklyn, NY. While playing Division I gave him the NCAA March Madness experience and championship trophies, the return for Joseph was a natural fit.
While the coaches, practices, programs and structures were a bit different, Joseph came to McMaster with a bit of his past playing alongside him. Aaron Redpath and Leon Alexander, both players on the McMaster Men’s Basketball Team have been long-time friends with Joseph and have gone from court to court with him.
While the end has come for Joseph at McMaster, he is looking to play professionally. In talks with agents, he is working towards making the best possible decision for his future.
“I didn’t notice the importance of sports until now looking back at the friendships, the connections and challenges you go through.”
Whether it’ll be solely about basketball or music or a mesh of both is completely up to him.
“I’m not going to chase it just to chase it, it has to make sense to me,” said Joseph.
While music and basketball help inspire Joseph, he also contributes to his community through charity and is in the works of creating opportunities for children to play sports.
“I want to help single parents with kids who play sports. I know what it’s like to be in a single parent household trying to play sports. It’s expensive,” said Joseph.
Family has always been a huge support for Joseph and has inspired him to reach new heights.
“My mom stayed in Brooklyn just to watch my games. My dad pushed me to learn through sport and to give back,” said Joseph of his parents.
Seniors Night, the last home game at the Burridge Gym to celebrate the senior athletes, was a special one for Joseph.
“It was a good experience, especially with Leon and Aaron, it felt good being out there with them,” said Joseph.
Looking back, Joseph is proud of the way he ended his eligibility. He was named a Second Team All-Star for his efforts this season and was the second highest scorer this season for the McMaster Men’s Basketball team. Starting this season came with more minutes for Joseph that allowed him to produce efficiently and helped him grow into a leader on and off the court.
“I didn’t notice the importance of sports until now looking back at the friendships, the connections and challenges you go through,” said Joseph.
Whether it’s because of his talent on the court or through his verses, Marauders can expect to hear more from Troy Joseph.
Photo Credit: Jon White/ Photo Editor
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
[feather_share show="twitter, google_plus, facebook, reddit, tumblr" hide="pinterest, linkedin, mail"]
If you head west on the 403 from Hamilton, you’ll discover a gem nestled on the western part of the Golden Horseshoe. It’s a stone’s throw from McMaster and might as well be considered the university’s backyard. Welcome to Ancaster, ON, home to Lauren Mastroluisi.
Mastroluisi went to Ancaster High from 2007-2011 and was a multisport athlete who played basketball, water polo, badminton and tennis in addition to volleyball. She played club for Burlington’s Defensa and won club nationals in 2011.
Head Coach Tim Louks heavily recruited Mastroluisi since grade nine. She received high interest from Guelph, Laurier and even got some notice from the NCAA’s Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green. But when the time came to choose, Mastroluisi went with what she knew her whole life.
Her entire family went to McMaster.
“My parents and my brothers went here. My brother played football for Mac and my dad played hockey for Mac. It’s a Mac family,” said Mastroluisi. “My parents always told me I could go wherever I wanted, but something pulled me here because I knew how much everyone in my family loved it.”
As a student-athlete, nothing says welcome to the university level like playing in front of a roaring home crowd. One of her favorite memories came from her rookie season when McMaster hosted the Women’s CIS Championships.
“We played No. 1 Alberta in the quarterfinal and we were ranked No. 8. We walk into the gym and the roar of the crowd was insane. There were so many people there,” said Mastroluisi. “I had an adrenaline rush for the next two weeks. I was shaking. It was the most fun and we took a set off them, which was hype. Taylor (Brisebois), Mira (Krunic) and I started that game, which was huge because we were little first years. It was wild.”
In her career, Mastroluisi made two CIS Championship appearances (2012, 2014) and won an OUA banner in 2014. She was named to the CIS and OUA All-Rookie team in 2011 in addition to being named McMaster’s team MVP and OUA First Team All-Star in 2015.
Her fourth year was her best one yet.
“I think that, physically, it was my best year all-around. I was in my best shape. I started to understand the game more,” Mastroluisi said. “Instead of just hitting the ball I would start hitting shots. I would see the court better.”
It was in those senior years that she developed her biggest skill at Mac.
“Playing for Mac taught me patience. Coach has really pushed the concept of patience on us. Slow it down, take a breath, see and know what you’re doing,” said Mastroluisi. “When you’re in a game you can get caught up with the crowd and everything, but taking a breath and being patient has been huge.”
On the topic of patience, Mastroluisi is in a season of life that requires just that. When volleyball has been life for 11 years, it takes some time to transition into your next step. Upon graduation, she hopes to go to teacher’s college. Her passion to invest in kids’ lives can be traced back to her time volunteering at the Hamilton Boys and Girls Club.
“Community outreach has been big for me. I’ve been involved with Mac Athletes Care since first year. You just hangout with kids and help them with anything they need,” Mastroluisi said. “It’s like being a big sister.”
Her desire to invest in the next generation stretches from the court to the classroom. She cited her Defensa coach, Rob Fernley, as her inspiration.
“He puts so much effort into making sure that his athletes are the best that they can be. I think six out of the 10 girls on my club team played NCAA Division I and did well,” Mastroluisi said. “He was into developing potential. I want to be the type of coach that sees something in a kid and trusts my instincts on their potential.”
McMaster teammates Ina Onat and Rebecca Steckle think Mastroluisi is a natural when it comes to identifying the best in others. From the testimony of her friends, teaching and coaching seem to be the perfect fit for her.
“She sees the potential in those around her and encourages them to be their best selves, whether it be in volleyball or in life. She is full of life and has left her mark on each one of us,” said Onat.
“She is the life of the team on the court. I would argue that there are very few people who are able to truly make others believe in themselves, but Lo is one of them. She has the uncanny ability to allow you to be yourself and have complete confidence in who you are and what you bring to the team,” said Steckle.
“Although Lo has been influential on the court for the past five years, it is her friendship and love for people that will continue to change lives, like it has mine. She is a rare breed.”
As she transitions into the next season of her life, Mastroluisi walks away from McMaster bleeding the only color she has known: maroon.
Photo Credit: Yousif Haddad
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
[feather_share show="twitter, google_plus, facebook, reddit, tumblr" hide="pinterest, linkedin, mail"]
“I think it’s great here. When you’re an athlete here, you just become friends with other athletes easier. Everyone is a bit more welcoming because they understand your situation and lifestyle. It’s just fun at Mac. As the years went on, I fell more and more in love with Mac, the people here and everything it had to offer. When it comes down to it, I think it’s about whom you’re experiencing things with and not necessarily where you are. It’s about the people and I met great people at Mac.”
Taylor Brisebois
McMaster Women’s Volleyball
“It has been the best experience ever. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Everyone in my family went to Mac. I’m glad I went here because I knew how much everyone in my family loved it .”
Lauren Mastroluisi
McMaster Women’s Volleyball
“A Marauder is someone who competes, sacrifices and overcomes obstacles on the endless pursuit to success.”
Aaron Redpath
McMaster Men’s Basketball
“Being a leader. Being a team player. Holding yourself accountable on and off the court.”
Troy Joseph
McMaster Men’s Basketball
“As a Marauder, you get out of the sport exactly what you put into it. When you are training, when you are competing, the playing field is equal. You are not judged based on the colour of your skin or the commas in your bank account and that’s what I love.”
Rina Charalampis
McMaster Women’s Rugby
“I feel privileged to be at Mac and play on a team at this high-calibre level. Right when I got the offer from Mac I knew I was coming here. I went to camps here in high school and fell in love with the atmosphere. Nowhere else I looked compared to Mac. I love Mac.”
Alex Elliott
McMaster Men’s Volleyball
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
[feather_share show="twitter, google_plus, facebook, reddit, tumblr" hide="pinterest, linkedin, mail"]
She wore the No. 1 because she’s tall and lanky.
Head Coach Tim Louks says that when some recruits ask to play for Mac, one of the first things he asks them is, “Can you block like Taylor Brisebois?”
The six-foot-two middle has been a staple for McMaster volleyball since arriving on campus in Fall 2011.
A product of The Hill Academy — a prep school located in Vaughan, ON — Brisebois’ decision to go maroon was an easy one. Former McMaster Volleyball player Emily Dennis played club volleyball with Brisebois with the Aurora Storm and played a big role in getting her to commit to Mac. Brisebois received offers from Toronto and Queen’s, but didn’t even take her visits because she was so sold on Mac.
Brisebois played in 85 matches over her five-year career, steadily improving as time went on. She has been team captain for the past two seasons.
“I was lucky enough to start in my first year, but I really broke out in my third year. I really peaked in my fourth and fifth years, though,” said Brisebois.
The numbers back her up.
In her fourth year with McMaster she tallied 135 kills in 19 matches, a respectable .285 hitting percentage and 68 blocks. This season, in her fifth and final year, Brisebois racked up 154 kills in 19 matches, a steady .283 hitting percentage and 54 blocks. She averaged 3.5 points per set and accounted for 82 digs — both career highs. Brisebois has been named to OUA All Star teams four out of her five seasons here making Second Team in 2016 and 2014, First Team in 2015, and All-Rookie Team in 2012. She made two appearances at CIS Nationals in 2012 and 2014 and won an OUA banner in 2014.
Louks has had a huge impact on her.
“He has always had a lot of faith in me. That has enabled me to take risks. He trusts me. If I make an error, I know he won’t just take me off. He trusts me to figure things out,” Brisebois said.
Her easygoing personality and love for both the game and the people around her make her presence that much easier to miss. One distinctive quality about her is her happy-go-lucky persona on the court that shouldn’t be mistaken for carelessness. Rather, it magnifies a quality she admires in herself.
“When I make mistakes I’ll think about it and try and make the next play better, but I’m not going to let it shut me down. My defense mechanism when I make mistakes is to kind of laugh it off,” said Brisebois. “Others will look at me and think that I’m not taking it seriously. I like that about myself, but others might not.”
A career moment that stands out to her comes from McMaster’s OUA bronze medal loss against Western earlier this month.
“I really felt like I shut down Kelsey Veltman in the fifth set. That was really fun,” said Brisebois.
Fellow graduating captain Lauren Mastroluisi knows how good her teammate is.
“I’ve seen Taylor transform into one of the best middles in the OUA,” said Mastroluisi. “I’m so proud of her.”
Brisebois’ volleyball inspiration came from former Marauder Shannon McRobert and current teammate Maicee Sorensen.
“I looked up to Shannon in my first and second year and then Maicee for the rest. They both shaped the way I played volleyball and were great leaders,” Brisebois said.
“When I make mistakes I’ll think about it and try and make the next play better, but I’m not going to let it shut me down.”
Sorensen thinks very highly of her graduating teammate.
“Taylor doesn’t know this, but I’ve been watching her play long before I came to Mac. She was the player I wanted to be. She has set the standards around here really high, whether it has to do with volleyball itself, or just being a great person,” said Sorensen. “I hope that when my time here comes to an end I can leave half the mark she has.”
Second-year outside middle Ina Onat will miss her teammate dearly.
“Taylor is the most positive and encouraging person I know. She made it her goal to cultivate our team into a positive and inclusive space and that is what it is today,” said Onat. “Her love and commitment to our team has been unconditional. Taylor has definitely left her mark on each one of us and we will miss her very much.”
It’s not easy to replace someone like her.
Brisebois will graduate with a double major in Sociology and Labour Studies. She wants to possibly pursue a career in Human Resources and is open to possibly coaching boys’ volleyball in the future. Playing professional volleyball is another option, but she is very home and family-oriented so that’s not her priority.
Thinking about the future is scary, but for the moment she’s enjoying her last few weeks at the school that became her home the past half-decade.
“You kind of feel like a celebrity playing volleyball at Mac. You get interviews and pictures taken of you. Kids and teams come in to watch you play,” said Brisebois. “You’re kind of put on a high pedestal so you want to do well and represent your school and community. I’ll miss that stage. I fell more and more in love with Mac as the years went on.”
Photo Credit: Yousif Haddad
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
[feather_share show="twitter, google_plus, facebook, reddit, tumblr" hide="pinterest, linkedin, mail"]
WOMEN’S RUGBY
McMaster Women’s Rugby played some of their best rugby this year. With four wins and one loss in the regular season, the team was prepared for defend their OUA title. After defeating the Guelph Gryphons 12-3, the team became back-to-back OUA Champions. Gaining their second consecutive OUA title this year, the team went on to take it all as they defeated the host Queen’s Gaels 27-3. The program claimed their first CIS title in history. After a strong season, captain Cindy Nelles was named Most Valuable Player and Rina Charalampis was awarded the Community Service Award. Nelles, Colleen Irowa, Emily Ricketts, Katie Svoboda and Abi Moody were named All-Stars for their work on the field.
Photo Credit: Ian McAlpine
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
For the fourth consecutive year, the McMaster Men’s Volleyball team were named OUA Champions. Well known for the strong volleyball program that has been built under the leadership of Head Coach Dave Preston, the Marauders hosted the championship game and dominated for the banner. In a straight three-set victory over the Ryerson Rams, the Marauders further cemented the greatness they have created. The team has been playing behind veteran leadership from Stephen Maar who was named OUA MVP. Danny Demyanenko and Andrew Kocur joined Maar as OUA First-Team All-Stars. Libero Pawel Jedrzejewski was named a member of the Second-Team.
Photo Credit: Jon White/ Photo Editor
[thesil_related_posts_sc]Related Posts[/thesil_related_posts_sc]
