Stinger could be named CIS Athlete of the Year
Concordia Stinger wrestler David Tremblay is a finalist for the prestigious 21st annual BLG Awards honouring the top male and female athletes from universities affiliated with Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
CIS and national law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) announced the eight finalists today.
The four male finalists are: Tremblay; hockey player Lucas Bloodoff from Saint Mary’s University; quarterback Kyle Quinlan from McMaster University; and soccer player Gagan Dosanjh, from University of British Columbia.
The female nominees are: Justine Colley, a basketball player from Saint Mary’s; hockey player Mélodie Daoust from McGill University; rugby player Britt Ben from University of Guelph; and Shanice Marcelle, a volleyball player from UBC.
This is the sixth time Concordia has had an athlete nominated for the awards. Previous finalists include Emerson Thomas (basketball), Corinne Swirsky (hockey), Patrick Donovan (football) and Martine Dugrenier (wrestling). Swirsky was a finalist on two occasions and won the award in 1999.
On Monday, April 29, the eight national nominees will be honoured at the John Bassett Theatre, in the Toronto Metro Convention Centre. One female and one male winner will receive a $10,000 post-graduate scholarship, while all finalists will return home with a commemorative gold ring.
The BLG Awards are based on athletic accomplishments, outstanding sportsmanship and leadership. Each of the 54 CIS schools selects one female and one male athlete of the year. From these, nominees are chosen within each of the four regional associations: Atlantic University Sport, Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec, Ontario University Athletics and Canada West Universities Athletic Association.
David Tremblay
If there is such a thing as perfection, Olympian David Tremblay became one of the few CIS student athletes to achieve it in 2012-13 as he wrote the final chapter of his exceptional career at Concordia University.
Competing in his fifth and final year of eligibility, the native of Windsor, Ont., who calls neighbouring Stoney Point home, became only the fifth wrestler in history – and the third male – to claim a fifth individual gold medal in as many appearances at the CIS championship when he dominated Alberta’s Dylan Williams 7-0 and 9-2 in the final of the 61-kilogram division. Following the national meet, Tremblay was named CIS’s most outstanding male wrestler for the second time, four years after he merited the honour as a freshman.
Thanks to this latest triumph, the arts student completed his varsity career with an unblemished record of 80-0 in Canadian university meets, including a 10-0 mark over a reduced schedule in his final season due to intense training and multiple commitments associated with the London Olympics. In 2011 and 2012, his performances also helped the Concordia men capture back-to-back CIS team championships.
Making his final CIS tournament even more special this winter was the fact that two of Tremblay’s siblings, younger brother Noel and younger sister Josée, were also competing in the event. Noel finished sixth in his weight category for the Stingers, while Josée claimed silver at 48 kg for the Calgary Dinos. No doubt they all made David Sr., a well-known wrestling coach in the Windsor area, very proud.
Unfortunately for David Jr., his Olympic dream didn’t last as long as he had hoped last summer as he dropped a heartbreaking 1-0, 1-1 decision against Turkey’s Ahmet Peker in the opening round of the 55-kilogram tournament. The 25-year-old had punched his ticket for the games thanks to a dominating showing at the FILA Pan American qualifying tourney in Florida, where he defeated a rival from Colombia and an opponent from Honduras by combined scores of 24-0.
“I’ve coached David for seven years and he’s the ideal student athlete,” says Concordia head coach Victor Zilberman. “He is committed, highly coachable and leads both on and off the mat. He mentors younger wrestlers, either here at Concordia or at the national training centre, providing them with encouragement and advice. He is a true ambassador for the sport of wrestling and university sport in particular.”
Related links:
• Stingers.ca
• Official BLG Awards website