Wesmen Athletics
Sears, Diboll Named Athletes of the Year
Volleyball Players Lauren Sears and Zack Diboll Were Named The University of Winnipeg's 2011-2012 Athletes of The Year At The Annual Wesmen Awards Banquet..
(Original Release Date - Thurs, March 22, 2012)
The University of Winnipeg is pleased to announce that volleyball players Lauren Sears and Zack Diboll have been chosen as the 2011-2012 University of Winnipeg Wesmen Male and Female Athletes of the Year. The announcement was made this evening at the annual Wesmen Athletics Awards Banquet held at the Radisson Hotel.Female Athlete of the Year - Lauren Sears
Fifth year middle and team captain was named a First Team All-Canadian after helping the Wesmen to an impressive 14-6 record during the regular season. Sears was a starter for all 20 regular season plus four playoff matches during the year and finished in the top ten in several Canada West statistical categories including 1st in points and service aces, 3rd in kills, 8th in hitting percentage and 10th in total blocks. Sears set a Canada West Women’s Volleyball single season record for most service aces in one season with 41, breaking the old mark of 37. She was selected as the Canada West Female Athlete of the Week (January 15, 2012) and was named the lea marc Printing Solutions Wesmen Female Athlete of the Month three times (November 2011, January, February 2012). Sears was also named the Wesmen Pizza Hotline Female Player of the Week on four occasions during the season.
Male Athlete of the Year - Zack Diboll
Diboll in his fifth and final season, was the starting setter for all 20 regular season matches in 2011-2012. He placed in the top ten in the Canada West Conference in assists (9th) and digs (10th). One of the season highlights for Diboll was his season high 52 assists performance against the Regina Cougars in December, 2011. After his steady and consistent play at the 21st Annual Duckworth Challenge, he was named the Wesmen Player of the Game. Zack was named the lea marc Printing Solutions Wesmen Male Athlete of the Month in February and was also named the Wesmen Pizza Hotline Male Player of the Week twice in 2011-2012.
Complete List of Award Winners:
University of Winnipeg Male and Female Athletes of the Year:
Lauren Sears (Women’s Volleyball) – Female Athlete of the Year
Zack Diboll (Men’s Volleyball) – Male Athlete of the Year
Team MVP’s
Amy Ogidan - Women’s Basketball
Mark McNee - Men’s Basketball
Lauren Sears - Women’s Volleyball
Zack Diboll - Men’s Volleyball
Gaetan Infantino - Men’s Soccer
Sheri Hince - Women’s Soccer
Mat Tripple - Men’s Wrestling
Jessica Brenton - Women’s Wrestling
Brittany Boudreau - MCAC Women’s Basketball
Jon Picicci - MCAC Men’s Basketball
Michelle Plett - MCAC Women’s Volleyball
Cam Baydock - MCAC Men’s Volleyball
Keith Cooper Memorial Award (Excellence in Community Services):
Ty Loewen (Men’s Volleyball)
Dave Anderson Award (Outstanding Service in the Advancement of Athletics):
Linda Burndorfer (Owner, Out n About Travel – Official travel agent of the Wesmen)
Tom Kendall Award (Excellence in Academics and Athletics):
Miranda Grayson – (Women’s Volleyball)
Bill Wedlake Most Improved Players Award:
Matt Stubler (Men’s Volleyball)
Yael Kaplan (Women’s Basketball)
Lisa Jitoboh Leadership Award:
(Leadership on court, classroom, team, program, and community)
Travis Krahn (Men’s Basketball)
Radisson Rookies of the Year:
Ozana Nikolic (Women’s Volleyball)
Josh McKay (Men’s Volleyball)
Academic All-Canadians
24 student athletes were recognized as Academic All-Canadians for the 2010-2011 academic year. In order to gain this status a student athlete must finish the academic year with an overall average of 80% or better. The Wesmen athletic department is proud of the fact that 42% of their student athletes earned Academic All-Canadian status. This is more than double the national average.
