鶹ý

 

An Academic All‑Canadian high

- November 20, 2008

Basketball player Alex Legge is one of 80 student athletes at 鶹ý who have earned Academic All-Canadian status for excellence in sports and academics. (Nick Pearce Photo)

鶹ý is home to more Academic all-Canadians than any other university in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) with 80 student-athletes earning the recognition.

Recently Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) named the Desjardins Top 8 Academic All-Canadians, and for the fourth consecutive year, a 鶹ý student-athlete received this honour.

Niklas Rademacher graduated from 鶹ý’s management program last spring and was a 6’10” left side hitter for the men’s volleyball program. He was on the Dean’s List and an Academic All-Canadian each of his four years and received many awards during his time here. Among them: AUS player of the year, first-team CIS All-Canadian (three times), and winner of the Dale Iwanoczko Award as the most outstanding student-athlete in CIS men’s volleyball. Now he caps off his university experience by adding Desjardins top 8 Academic All-Canadian honours to his list of accomplishments.

To qualify as an Academic All-Canadian, a student-athlete must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 80 per cent or better over the academic year while competing in a varsity sport. Only one male and one female student-athlete from each of four regional conferences are selected as a Desjardins Top 8 Academic All-Canadian.

There are so many interesting individuals that make up this accomplished group of 鶹ý student-athletes. Among those who have returned to Dal to compete for another year is stand-out Alex Legge, a member of the women’s basketball team and in her third year at 鶹ý, studying neuroscience. In 2007-08, Ms. Legge achieved 4.24 GPA in the fall term and a 4.30 GPA in the winter term. She hopes to continue on to medical school once she completes her undergraduate studies.

A native of Mahone Bay, N.S., Ms. Legge chose to come to 鶹ý because of its strong academic and athletic reputation. She has not regretted her decision: “So far my experience at 鶹ý has been amazing. I love the academic program I’ve chosen and I truly enjoy my classes. My first two seasons of basketball have been great too. I couldn’t ask for better teammates. It’s a lot of hard work, but we’re all in it together working towards a common goal.”

Ms Legge has been a starter for her team since she came to 鶹ý. This, combined with her academic performance, is proof that she is a motivated young woman.

“My parents are both really hard workers and their success in life is truly self-made. That’s where I get my determination and work ethic from. They have been my inspiration and they are extremely supportive of my goals.

“At the same time they have never pressured me to succeed—I am truly self-motivated and all my goals are ones I have set for myself. I’ve always been a goal setter and right now as far as basketball goes I’m really focused on the AUS championship at the end of this year. Personally, my major goal right now is medical school, which I’ll start applying for next year.”

Although she recently suffered a knee injury that has taken her out of the line-up, she’s contributing to the team’s success from the sidelines.

“Alex is a great basketball player who has a high basketball IQ. She knows every position's job for every play we run,” says Carolyn Savoy, head coach of women’s basketball. “She has a critical eye … she is always assisting her teammates with information to help them perform better. Her information is always succinct and accurate.”

The women’s basketball team is entering the regular season ranked fifth in the country and that makes Ms. Legge even more eager to return to play: “We have it all this year—size, quickness, depth, experience. There’s no excuse for us not to win an AUS banner in my opinion. I think we could be a real contender at the CIS championship as well.”

Karen Moore, acting director of 鶹ý’s Department of Athletics and Recreational Services, is impressed by the accomplishments of all 80 standout individuals.

“We are very proud of our Academic All-Canadians at 鶹ý. They are model students who commit hour upon hour to their sport while also excelling in the classroom,” she says. “To have 30 per cent of our athletes achieve this honour is quite an accomplishment and we thank them for the sacrifices they have made in order to achieve excellence in both athletics and academics.”

鶹ý's Academic All-Canadians

Danielle Adam, swimming, kinesiology
Kathleen Archibald, swimming, arts
Heather Armstrong, soccer, mechanical engineering
Stephen Babcock, soccer, computer science
Shea Balish, basketball, kinesiology
John Ballantyne, soccer, neuroscience
Michael Bawol, track and field, kinesiology
Meagan Beaton, soccer, kinesiology
Theresa Benison, swimming, arts
Anthony Bernard, track and field, kinesiology
Simon Boilard, swimming, chemical engineering
Michelle Bryant, track and field, architecture
Katie Campbell, track and field, environmental engineering
Russell Christie, cross country, pharmacy
Jennifer Conrad, soccer, nursing
Noel Coultice, hockey, management
Alan Dalton, soccer, kinesiology
Andrew Dalziel, soccer, science
Amy Dickson, soccer, pharmacy
Alicia Dobranowski, track and field, recreation management
Sarah Dobrawolski, track and field, medicine
Margot Doucet, hockey, engineering
Tyler Dyck, hockey, engineering
Rebecca Easton, swimming, management
Emelie Ederfors, hockey, kinesiology
Meghan Edwards, hockey, arts
Sarah Farquharson, soccer, physiotherapy
Stephanie Flynn, swimming, science
Ross Hagen, soccer, commerce
Rachael Harrison, basketball, arts
Rebecca Harrison, swimming, commerce
Catherine Hart, track and field, science
Chris Haughn, soccer, chemistry
Joanna Heathcote, track and field, international development studies
Graeme Higgins, volleyball, kinesiology
Tomas Hofmann, soccer, computer science
Rebecca Hohm, soccer, science
Katherine Hollinshead, soccer, biology
Adam Hotchkiss, volleyball, science
Jeanette Huck, soccer, commerce
Leanne Huck, soccer, track and field, kinesiology
Tonya Huck, soccer, physiotherapy

Kja Isaacson, track and field, English
Ryan Kiros, cross country, track and field, mathematics
Corey Knickle, swimming, science
Kristen Ladouceur, hockey, kinesiology
Jeffrey Larsh, hockey, kinesiology
Erin Leckie, track and field, arts
Alexandra Legge, basketball, neuroscience
Aaron Lewicki, hockey, political science
Mary-Frances Lynch, track and field, environmental studies
Justin Marchand, track and field, history
Leslie Marcotte, cross country, track and field, nursing
Alexis Marshall, swimming, nursing
Caroline McInnes, cross country, track and field, law
Kathleen McNeil, basketball, biology
Emily Meisner, cross country, track and field, kinesiology
Eric Negulic, soccer, Earth sciences
Joshua O’Hagan, track and field, MHSA
Brianna Orr, basketball, business administration
Alicia Profit, swimming, science
Jessica Puddister, basketball, management
Niklas Rademacher, volleyball, management
Hussein Rajan, soccer, commerce
Samantha Richard, hockey, science
Paul Richer, volleyball, kinesiology
Michael Ruus, volleyball, management
Evan Schmid, swimming, science
James Sharpe, track and field, science
Susan Sobey, track and field, kinesiology
Katya Sodamin, hockey, management
Drew Stratton, basketball, kinesiology
Andrew Sullivan, basketball, environmental engineering
Brittany Sullivan, basketball, arts
Brooke Sullivan, basketball, commerce
Patrick Sweeney, hockey, commerce
Bryceton Tung, swimming, kinesiology
Rebecca Walker, cross country, track and field, physiotherapy
Jason Wang, basketball, commerce
Maria Zacharuk, volleyball, psychology