Akwaima Akpan named U SPORTS women's rugby rookie of the year

Savannah Bauder named most valuable player in U SPORTS women's rugby

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. – QUEBEC (U SPORTS) – Savannah Bauder of the UBC Thunderbrds been named the 2023 U SPORTS women's rugby player of the year. The announcement was made on Thursday evening at the All-Canadian awards ceremony in Quebec City, host of the 2023 U SPORTS Women's Field Hockey Championship.

Other major award winners include Akwaima Akpan of StFX, who was named rookie of the year; Soleil Brooks of Victoria, who won the student-athlete community service award; and François Vachon-Marceau of Laval, who was named the Fox40 Coach of the Year. In addition to the major award winners, the first and second team All-Canadians were announced. A list of those honorees is included at the end of this release.

The 2023 U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championship resumes on Friday at the Stade Telus-Université Laval. Consolation semifinals are set for 1 and 3 p.m., with the championship semifinals following at 5 and 7 p.m. Tickets for the event are currently on sale at https://www.reservatech.net/events/13357, and the entire championship can be viewed on CBC Sports digital platforms in English, and RadioCanada.ca/Sports and usports.ca in French.

Player of the year – Savannah Bauder, UBC

Bauder was simply unstoppable again this season, playing an instrumental role in helping lead the T-Birds to an undefeated season and the Canada West championship. The fourth-year fly half led the conference in scoring with 70 points during the regular season, including seven tries, an impressive 16 converts, and the first drop goal in several years anywhere in U SPORTS. She also put forth a monster performance at the 2023 conference championship, scoring three tries in the T-Birds' 52-5 win over Lethbridge in the semifinals. In a tightly contested gold medal game against Victoria, Bauder scored all of her team's points in a 10-0 win to secure a fourth consecutive UBC conference title.

Other nominees: Sara Grant (Acadia), Laura Guay (Laval), Paige DeNeve (Brock).

Rookie of the Year  – Akwaima Akpan, StFX

Akpan, a human kinetics student from Halifax, played in all six games for the X-Women who finished the regular season with a 4-1-1 record and won the AUS championship. She scored a league-leading seven tries this regular season—placing her second in team scoring and fourth in conference scoring with 35 points. Akpan also scored a try for STFX in last week's AUS championship game and was named the playoff most valuable player.

Other nominees: Leila Bourgeaud-Pedelucq (Montréal), Samantha Hessels (Laurier), Adia Pye (UBC).

Student-Athlete Community Service Award – Soleil Brooks, Victoria

Since Soleil Brooks, a third-year prop, joined the Vikes, she has continually given back to the rugby community and strived to make her university a better place. She was named the Lt Col. W.D.C Holmes Award recipient at the 2022 U SPORTS Championships for her volunteer efforts and has continued those tremendous efforts into this season.

Soleil started the UVIC Collective for BIPOC Student Athletes, a group that aims to give Varsity student athletes of colour a space to connect and create change on campus, with the goal of the group to also build a mentorship program with young black athletes in the Victoria area. Brooks also leads educational sessions regarding racism and Black History Month with other Vikes varsity teams.

Brooks is heavily involved with BC Grassroots Rugby, a non-profit that brings rugby across Vancouver, as well as Thunder Rugby, a non-profit that connects Indigenous youth with rugby and their culture. She has also given back by coaching the Westshore RFC Minis.

Her coaches describe Soleil as an extremely passionate and hard-working student-athlete who is always striving to making herself and those around her better. Her athletic goal is to play for the Canadian National team and this summer she was selected to the U20 Canada team.

Other nominees: Katherine Culligan (StFX), Anicha Anli (Concordia), Lily Freiburger (Brock).

Fox 40 coach of the year – François Vachon-Marceau, Laval

Since taking over the reins of the Rouge et Or in 2022, Vachon-Marceau has posted a nearly-perfect record. In his two seasons in charge, he has posted a combined 18-1 record between regular season, playoffs and U SPORTS championship play – including winning last year's national title in Victoria. The only blemish came with an upset loss to Ottawa in the RSEQ final last month. This year, the Rouge et Or posted a 6-0 regular season record, scoring 354 points (second only to the Queen's 387) and allowing only 22 – the fewest of any team playing six games. After edging Ottawa 14-12 in the RSEQ season opener on Sept. 2, Laval went nearly a month without conceding a point, until Lindsay Roy of Bishop's scored a penalty goal on Oct. 1. Vachon-Marceau's squad includes five All-Canadians, led by RSEQ player of the year, Laura Guay.

Other nominees: James Voye (UPEI), Chris Jones (McMaster), Dean Murten (UBC).

The U SPORTS first and second team All-Canadians were also announced Thursday and are as follows.

2023 U SPORTS WOMEN'S RUGBY AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS

Player of the year: Savannah Bauder, UBC
Rookie of the year: Akwaima Akpan, StFX
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Soleil Brookes, Victoria
Jim Atkinson Award - Fox40 Coach of the year: François Vachon-Marceau, Laval

First Team All-Canadians

Second Team All-Canadians

"Back row": Flanker / No. 8
"Back three": Winger / Fullback
* - 2022 First Team All-Canadian
** - 2022 Second Team All-Canadian