VANCOUVER – The 2018 Big Block awards and hall of fame banquet took place on Wednesday, April 4 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, continuing it's more than 90-year tradition of honouring the best that UBC Thunderbirds varsity athletics has to offer.
  
Bobby Gaul Award (graduating male athlete)
 
Winner: Fifth-year basketball player Phil Jalalpoor, a Canada West second team all-star, UBC record-holder for three-pointers in a single game and three-time Academic All-Canadian.


 
May Brown Trophy (graduating female athlete)
 
Winner: Fifth-year swimmer Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, a Canada West Gold Medalist and first team all-star. A four-time U SPORTS National Champion and first team All-Canadian. A Recipient of the U SPORTS Super Grand Slam Award for a five-year repeat Gold performance in the 200-m IM and most recently winning a Bronze medal for Canada in the 200-m individual medley at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.


 
Bus Phillips Memorial Trophy (top male athlete)
 
Co-winners: Byron Keturakis, Volleyball & John Gay, Track and Field.
 
Keturakis was a Canada West Bronze medalist and first team all-star as well as a first team All-Canadian and national championship MVP.
 
Gay is the number one ranked steeplechaser in all North American collegiate sport categories. The fourth-year has also been named an All-American and is a NAIA national champion.


 
Marilyn Pomfret Trophy (top female athlete)
 
Winner: Kat Kennedy, Golf. Kennedy is a conference champion, Player of the Year award winner and All-Tournament team member. Kennedy is a NAIA Player of the Year and Golf Canada All-Tournament team member.


 
Du Vivier Trophy (team of the year)
 
Co-winners: Men's Track and Field, Men's Volleyball.
 
The Men's Track and Field team won their first-ever NAIA national championship while earning the majority of their points in endurance events.
 
The Men's Volleyball team won their first U SPORTS title in 35 years after a decisive three-set sweep of the rival Trinity Western Spartans in the Gold Medal match.


 
Thunderbird Male Rookie of the Year Award
 
Winner: Grant Shephard, Basketball. Canada West Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie Team member. 2017 U-19 Basketball world champion and member of Canada's basketball team taking part in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.


 
Thunderbird Female Rookie of the Year Award
 
Winner: Keira Van Ryk, Volleyball. Canada West silver medalist, first team all-star, all-rookie team member and rookie of the year. U SPORTS Bronze medalist, second team ALL-Canadian, all-rookie team member and rookie of the year who tied for the most kills overall in U SPORTS.


 
Carolyn Dobie-Smith Award (top team trainer)
 
Winner: Devan Hawes, Women's Soccer. Devan has shown all the qualities you would want in a student athletic trainer and in her two years with women's soccer has become a key part of the team. In addition to her role as a trainer, Devan is a mentor, manager, leader, and key member of the team's staff.


 
Kay Brearley Service Award (service to women's athletics)
 
Winner: Marilyn Pomfret. Marilyn has had a profound influence on athletics at UBC. In 1953 as a third-year student she was elected president of the Women's Athletic Directorate where she took on the responsibility of creating and organizing women's sporting events. Post-graduation, while teaching and coaching, Marilyn assumed the responsibilities of Director of Women's Athletics for UBC and during her tenure was instrumental in the introduction of women's participation in sports, including hockey, soccer and rowing.


 
Arthur Delamont Service Award (individual or group emulating a perennial freshman spirit)
 
Winner: Ian Robertson. Ian has been an amazing supporter of UBC athletics and the university as a whole for many years. An alumnus of UBC and a former Thunderbird varsity swimmer, Ian was recently recognized at the 2017 UBC alumni achievement awards with the volunteer leadership award, an honour bestowed upon him as a result of his dedication to UBC Athletics.
 
Ian's support has allowed for the creation of the Ian Robertson swimming endowment fund which has been a cornerstone investment supporting the success of student-athletes competing in the pool. Ian has been a great mentor and has always been available to talk with student-athletes when approached. He remains heavily engaged in the program despite currently pursuing his PHD in responsible investing at Oxford.


 
Buzz Moore Leadership Award
 
Co-Winners: Sophie Jones, Field Hockey. Isabella Cina, Women's Rowing.
 
Sophie Jones has been representing the Thunderbirds for five years as a fearless competitor, leading the team to victory as co-captain while also impacting others within the community. Sophie has been a Thunderbird Athlete Council member for many years, participated in Storm the Wall with Special Olympics, and is a coach for both junior club and touring field hockey teams. Sophie is also involved in many other volunteer opportunities and has been a team lead in a supervisory role with UBC Athletics.
 
Isabella Cina has been a leader within women's rowing as the team co-captain for the past three years. In 2016, Isabella was a National Rowing Championships volunteer coordinator. Isabella has also been a volunteer at Vancouver General Hospital for the past two years where she worked with patients in the emergency room and has been a SAMHI mental health representative at UBC for 2 years.


 
Thunderbird Athletes Council Performance Award
 
Winner: John Gay, Men's Track and Field.
 
John has helped lead the track and cross-country teams to their first-ever national titles. In track, John won the 3000m steeple-chase and was named an All-American in the 5000m, receiving the most individual points out of everyone on the UBC team. Additionally, John qualified for the World University Games representing Canada, where he placed eighth as well as the Francophone games where he placed fourth overall. With Cross Country, John ran to a fifth place overall performance at the NAIA national meet. His performance at Canadian nationals qualified him for the Pan American cross country championships where he finished 14th overall and third among Canadians.


 
The Big Block club first formed in 1929 and now boasts a membership of more than 10,000 strong. It's an incredibly accomplished group that proudly wear their signature dark blue sweaters.