CALGARY (U SPORTS) – Gabriel Mastromatteo, a swimmer from the University of Toronto, has been named the Lois and Doug Mitchell award winner as the U SPORTS men's athlete of the year the 2022-23 season.

The laureates were announced Wednesday night at the McDougall Centre in Calgary. The awards program celebrated its 30^th edition at this year's event, dating back to the launch of the Howard Mackie Awards in 1993. Sarah Gates of the McMaster Marauders women's basketball team won the women's award, marking an OUA sweep for the second straight year.

All eight nominees – one men's and women's athlete from each of the four U SPORTS conferences - received a commemorative gold ring from Baron, the exclusive supplier of commemorative jewellery for U SPORTS. Gates and Mastromatteo were also presented with a trophy and a $5,000 scholarship to attend a Canadian university graduate school.

The winners were selected by the Canadian Athletic Foundation, a not-for-profit board established to administer the Awards and protect the integrity of the selection process.

"We are so proud of the eight nominees this year. They are exceptional student-athletes and citizens," said The Hon. Lois Mitchell. "Sarah and Gabe had outstanding seasons and are excellent recipients of the Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards."

"On behalf of U SPORTS, I wish to congratulate Sarah and Gabe on being named the recipients of the Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards," said Pierre Arsenault, U SPORTS CEO. "We had an exceptional group of nominees this year, with seven Academic All-Canadians and five most outstanding athletes of the year winners in their respective sports. To be recognized like this is a wonderful accomplishment for Sarah and Gabe."

Mastromatteo, who just completed his second year of U SPORTS eligibility, returns home with the Doug Mitchell Trophy. The Kenora, Ont., product is the first men's athlete from U of T to win national athlete-of-the-year honours. Four women, swimmers Kylie Masse (2016) and Liz Warden (2002), track and field standout Foy Williams (1998) and basketball star Justine Ellison (1996) have won the award previously for the Varsity Blues.

The other male nominees were Saint Mary's cross country and track & field runner Andrew Peverill of Lower Sackville, N.S.; McGill swimmer Pablo Collin of Marseille, France; and Alberta volleyball player Jordan Canham of Avonmore, Ont.

Gabriel Mastromatteo
University of Toronto 
Swimmer 
Kenora, Ont. 
Second Year 
Commerce
 
Gabriel Mastromatteo, a second-year swimmer with the Toronto Varsity Blues, is the 2022-23 OUA men's athlete of the year and their nominee for the 2022-23 U SPORTS men's athlete of the year award. He made a splash with every race he swam for the Varsity Blues this past season, earning an impressive collection of hardware along the way for the Toronto men's swimming team, scooping up U SPORTS men's swimmer of the year honours, first team all-Canadian laurels, as well as OUA swimmer of the year and first team all-star awards.
 
He began with a dominant showing at the 2023 OUA swimming championships that saw him reel in six medals across the three days of competition. His four golden outings there came via the 100m breaststroke, 4x50m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay, and the 50m breaststroke. His performance in the latter was good enough to set a new conference record, and he added on a silver (200m breaststroke) and bronze (50m butterfly). 
 
The commerce major from Kenora, Ont., proceeded to the national stage in Victoria, and while the setting was different, the success was similar. He set a pair of U SPORTS records at the championship event, earning top spot and pace-breaking performances in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, respectively. He added silver medals in the 200m breaststroke and 4x100m medley relay. 
 
The 2020 Olympian was an integral part of the Blues capturing their 19th consecutive OUA banner and a fourth-place finish at the U SPORTS championships, and his 2022-23 season will undoubtedly go down as one of the most memorable for the decorated program thus far. 
 
"Gabe is a world class swimmer and showed that with his two meet records at the national championships this season. One was actually a pool record too, which is impressive as the Commonwealth Games were held in this facility," said Byron Macdonald, the head swimming coach at the University of Toronto. "But there are potholes in any adventure and Gabe hit a huge one last year with a heavy COVID hit that kept him out of serious training for several months. With that comes doubt and lots of challenges, so it's a strong support staff and personal drive that has gotten Gabe back to his previous form." 
 
All-time U SPORTS Athlete of the Year award winners.

 Source: U SPORTS