Wednesday, July 23, 2008

CIS Corner: K-Town is not this WAC-ky

Notes on our players and teams of interest from The 613 ...

Ravens/Gee-Gees: As OttawaFan noted in the comments, Canada's K-4 men's kayak has a uOttawa student, Rhys Hill, and a Carleton undergrad, Angus Mortimer. They are part of an unlikely Olympic foursome.

It would be remiss not to point out that Kristin Gauthier, a K-2 500 paddler, also attends uOttawa.

Gaels: Presumably, Kendra Walker-Roche, one of two women's basketball newbies confirmed yesterday, can look forward to a quiet, normal life with the Gaels after her NCAA D-1 career at Fresno State.

The Brockville native's career at Fresno State was marred by a legal brouhaha that must have been heartbreaking to be associated with, especially for an upperclasswoman. If the mention of Fresno State and women's hoops jogs anyone's memory, it might be because the school was successfully sued for wrongful dismissal/gender discrimination suit by ex-coach Sandy Johnson-Klein. Johnson-Klein was somewhat notorious in hoops circles for her comportment on the sideline -- and after she was awarded $19.1 million US last December, the players spoke out against the award (it was significiantly reduced on appeal). The legal principles notwithstanding, that speaks to what it might have been like around that basketball team.

Walker-Roche, a 3-point shooting specialist, won't have to worry about that kind of distraction in Kingston. Her shooting such help stretch some defences and her team won its conference last season, so she's been around winners. Dave Wilson's not a plunging-neckline kind of guy.

Wilson's other recruit is also a transfer, 5-foot-11 forward Jill Wheat, who averaged 10.3 points and 7.45 rebounds last winter at Red Deer (Alta.) College. It's nice to be able to add experience; Walker-Roche,

Commitments: Two Kingston puck-chasers who got short-shrifted by the Frontenacs, Phil Mangan and Tony Rizzi, are headed for the CIS. Mangan, a Gananoque native who had a good overage season in the QMJHL with the Moncton Wildcats, is headed down East to join the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. Rizzi, who eventually finished his junior career with the Kingston Voyageurs, has signed with the UOIT Ridgebacks.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Also of note from the 613 campus area:

Rhys Hill, a University of Ottawa undergraduate student, has qualified to compete in the 2008 Olympics in men's K-4 flatwater kayaking. (Ottawa Citizen)

OttawaFan

sager said...

One of his mates, Angus Mortimer, is a Carleton student.

I'm blanking on the young woman paddler from Carleton Place who's a student at CU.

Queen's has two current students going: Katie Abbott, who's sailor (what else?) and John-David Burnes in achery.

Four graduates are also in the sailing events -- Ben Remocker and Gordon Cook (49er class) and Oskar Johansson in the Tornado class. Racewalker Tim Berrett also has two master's from the school.

Adam van Koeverden is the flagbearer, huh?

Anonymous said...

Neate

Not sure who the CU paddler is, but Kristin Gauthier; who lists her hometown as Ottawa;is a member of the Rideau Canoe Club, and is a student at uOttawa;is on the Olympic team in a doubles event.

OttawaFan

sager said...

Of course, McGill puts us all to shame...

"Among the current McGill students headed for China is Montrealer Marie-Pierre Gagné (synchronized swimming), Thomas Hall (canoe) of Pointe Claire, Que., and Victoria Poon of Victoria, B.C., who swam for the McGill Martlets in 2006-07."

There's also six McGill grads going to Beijing as athletes (including Andrew Willows of Gananoque/Carleton Place). Their press release, though, had to mention soccer star Amy Walsh — she started at McGill, but transferred out to the University of Nebraska.

Who's the coach there again? Why, it's a Queen'sman, John Walker Jr. ... yeah, we know who's boss.