Day four of six: varsityblues.ca will highlight the nominees of U of T’s major awards – Male & female rookie of the year, George M. Biggs trophy, Dr. Clara Benson award, as well as the male & female T Holders’ athletes of the year - to be awarded at the 2012 intercollegiate athletic banquet on Thursday, April 5 at Chestnut Residence Ballroom.
The following Varsity Blues athletes were nominated by their coaches and chosen through the awards selection process as finalists for the Clara Benson award, given annually to the female student-athlete, in her graduating year, for outstanding ability in athletics, scholarship and values interfaculty and community involvement (in alpha order):
Nav Deol - Soccer
A fifth-year veteran and team captain, Nav Deol quickly established herself as one of the top defenders in the OUA after earning first team all-star status in her rookie year. She helped lead the team to a post-season berth in each of her five seasons, highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the 2009 CIS championship. She won the 2011-12 T-Holder’s association award and has been a youth soccer coach in the Greater Toronto Area. She is a Varsity Board representative and is also a WAA Trustee committee member.
Alison Doyle - Fencing
A three-time OUA all-star and two-time OUA champion, Alison Doyle has succeeded both on and off the piste during her time with the Varsity Blues women’s fencing team. She has taken home two OUA sabre individual gold medals, as well as an unprecedented four team titles. She is a three-time women’s sabre sabre team captain and was Toronto’s overall captain this season. She won the 2011 Dave O’Donnell Trophy for skill, style and sportsmanship. Doyle dedicates her time to both her artistic and academic pursuits as well as aiming to secure a position on the national women’s sabre team. She won both the Bloor Lands and T-Holder’s scholarships, as well as the Maitre Ken Wood award. Doyle has worked as a Camp U of T instructor, as well as the lead instructor for the Junior Blues fencing program, and was the team journalist for the past two seasons.
Hannah Tighe - Field Hockey
A three-year captain of the Varsity Blues field hockey team, Hannah Tighe is a four-time OUA all-star and three-time CIS all-Canadian. She has been a dominant midfielder over the past five years, helping her team to three OUA silver medals, two OUA banners and two CIS championship titles. Off the field, Tighe volunteers at the Blues field hockey academy, coaching and mentoring local high school athletes. She is a lead instructor at Camp U of T’s field hockey camp and is also a volunteer referee at the annual June Collard school girls high school tournament, and a technical table administrator with Field Hockey Ontario.
Karolina Urban - Hockey
Only the fifth player in team history to become a three-year captain of the Varsity Blues women’s hockey team, Karolina Urban has led her team from a sixth-place standing in 2010-11 to a third-place finish and No. 10 national ranking this season. Urban scored 41 goals and 46 assists for 87 points in her five-year career at Toronto. Her leadership skills have been instrumental not only on the ice, but also with her new coaching staff and members of the Varsity Blues intercollegiate office. She won the 2007-08 Larry and Judy Tanenbaum entrance scholarship and the 2011 David and Sheryl Kerr award. The 2010-11 CIS academic all-Canadian has volunteered as a student ambassador at many University of Toronto events, including the U of T Sports Hall of Fame, and is always the first to volunteer for community outreach initiatives. She has previously volunteered with Mexico Caravan Missions.
For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite U of T athletes and teams, please visit www.varsityblues.ca. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Facebook for the latest and greatest in Varsity Blues intercollegiate athletics.
