The University of British Columbia Athletics

VICTORIA (CIS) – Anna Easty, a fifth-year midfielder from York University, was named CIS player of the year in women's field hockey, Wednesday night. 

The Toronto native became only the second member of the Lions to claim the Liz Hoffman Award. Rachel Carpenter was honoured back in 1994. 

Other winners announced at the All-Canadian Awards Banquet held at the Harbour Towers Hotel & Suites in Victoria were Dalhousie defender Samantha Spooner, who captured the Joyce Slipp Award as rookie of the year; UBC's Miranda Mann, who merited the Gail Wilson Award as outstanding contributor; Queen's Mary-Anne Reid, who received the Marina van der Merwe Award as coach of the year; and Keely Dunn, who referees in the Canada West conference and was named umpire of the year.

The 2013 Field Hockey Canada - CIS championship gets under way Thursday at the University of Victoria and culminates Sunday at 3 p.m. Pacific Time with the gold-medal final. All eight matches from the four-team tournament will be webcast live on CIS-SIC.tv.

Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/fh/index 

LIZ HOFFMAN AWARD (player of the year): Anna Easty, York

In her second season with the Lions after transferring from the University of Connecticut, where she played for three years, Easty scored a team-leading three goals in 12 games from her centre midfield position, accounting for a third of York's offensive production in league play. 

The law student and team captain, who was named an OUA all-star for the second straight campaign, was the heart and soul of the Lions and was widely recognized as the best all-around player in the conference.

"Anna has been the foundation of our field hockey team for the past two seasons," said York head coach Zeeshan Minhas. "Her skill and control on the ball make her a threat to opponents and a go-to player for the Lions. Her experience and leadership on and off the field has been vital this season as she led a young team. She is consistent and versatile, and her stick skills rate among the best."

Defenders Rachel Donohoe of UBC and Katherine Koughan of UPEI were the other nominees for CIS MVP honours.

JOYCE SLIPP AWARD (rookie of the year): Samantha Spooner, Dalhousie

Spooner, an arts student from Vancouver, became the first Dalhousie player to claim the Joyce Slipp Award.

The 17-year-old defender was exceptional at both ends of the field in her university debut and chipped in offensively with three goals in 10 regular season games, a performance that earned her a spot on the Atlantic conference (AUFHL) all-star team. 

Spooner moved to the East Coast and joined the Tigers after playing for her high school team, the West Vancouver Field Hockey Club, in the Vancouver Women's Field Hockey League and with the BC Provincial Field Hockey Program, with whom she attended several national championships. 

"Sam came to our team assuming key positions of sweep, striker on our offensive corner and post on the defensive corner with a mature composure, control and confidence," said Dalhousie coach Linda Bonin. "Her patience, excellent stick work, ability to beat players one-on-one, as well as drive the ball out of the backfield to create an attack is bookwork. She is a very reliable player, rock solid."

Defenders Shanella Fernando of York and Sophie Jones of UBC were also in the running for the top freshman award. 

GAIL WILSON AWARD (outstanding contributor): Miranda Mann, UBC

The epitome of the CIS student-athlete, Mann is only the second UBC player to put her hands on the Gail Wilson Award, after Tyla Flexman in 2008.

On the field, the fifth-year defender is a two-time Canada West all-star and two-time second-team all-Canadian. She has already won three CIS titles and is aiming for another this week in Victoria.

Off the field, the kinesiology student works with two autistic children in Vancouver, giving their families a break from the rigors of a challenging environment. Her passion for the sport of field hockey also brings her back to her hometown of Duncan, B.C., every summer, where she runs summer coaching sessions for junior players in the area.

"Miranda is an exceptional human being who is kind, considerate and someone who always puts the needs of her teammates first. Both on and off the field, she treats everyone she meets with respect," said UBC head coach Hash Kanjee. "Miranda has a bright personality, a very positive attitude and her leadership skills which all go towards providing the glue that holds our team together. She leads by example and is dedicated and committed to the Thunderbird team philosophy of hard work and constant improvement. She will leave the Thunderbird tradition in a better place than when she arrived."

UPEI's Eliza MacLauchlan and Queen's Kara Pogue were also nominated for the Gail Wilson Award.

MARINA VAN DER MERWE AWARD (coach of the year): Mary-Anne Reid, Queen's

Reid, a high school teacher and current graduate student in education, is the first Queen's coach to merit the Marina van der Merwe Award.

In her fourth season at the helm, Reid led the Gaels to their first playoff berth in six years thanks to a 3-4-5 record, a significant improvement from a 2-9-1 mark in 2012. This fall, her troops scored 16 goals and allowed 19 in conference action, compared to a 6-44 differential a year ago. Their 1.58 goals against average ranked third in the seven-team OUA conference.

As part of restructuring the entire Gaels program, Reid has placed a significant emphasis on field hockey community development. In particular, she has actively reconnected with Queen's Field Hockey alumni, including the development of the Annual Alumni Homecoming event (now in its fourth year). 

Reid is also highly committed to professional development as a coach, both NCCP and beyond. She makes an on-going effort to work and engage with other high-performance coaches. She was an assistant coach with the Ontario Senior Women's team this past summer and also took her Queen's squad to Northern Ireland and Scotland. 

"We are delighted and proud that Mary-Ann Reid has been recognized as the OUA and CIS field hockey coach of the year," said Leslie Dal Cin, director of athletics and recreation at Queen's. "It is a tremendous honour to be acknowledged by one's coaching peers. This is especially fitting given Mary-Ann's commitment to her sport and her evolution from the playing to coaching ranks. She is a dedicated individual who has committed herself to professional development, mentorship and the development of her team."

UBC's Hash Kanjee and Saint Mary's Sharon Rajaraman were the other nominees for the Marina van der Merwe Award.

UMPIRE OF THE YEAR: Keely Dunn, Canada West

A former University of Calgary player (1991-96), Dunn retired from competitive field hockey in 2000 and quickly turned to umpiring. She earned her FIH badge in 2003, was promoted to the Promising List in 2006 and Grade 1 in 2010. She now has over 100 international umpiring caps to her credit and has also hit the century mark in Canada West matches.

Originally from Calgary, Dunn's career highlights include Junior World Cups in 2005 (Chile) and 2009 (USA), World Cup Qualifier in 2010 (Russia), African Olympic Qualifier in 2011 (Zimbabwe) and Olympic Qualifier in 2012 (Belgium). Her goal is to umpire the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.

Denise Pelletier (OUA) was also in the running for the award.

ALL-CANADIAN TEAM

The all-Canadian team was also announced on Wednesday, with reigning two-time national champion UBC leading the way with three selections.

Joining CIS MVP Anna Easty on the 11-member all-star squad were goalkeeper Kathryn Williams of Toronto, defenders Rachel Donohoe of UBC and Katherine Koughan of UPEI, midfielder/defender Kathleen Leahy of Victoria, midfielders Nikki Burge of Dalhousie, Erin Houle of Guelph and Tegan Stairs of Toronto, as well as forwards Kate Gillis and Hannah Haughn of UBC and Katelynn Roganowicz of Western.

Stairs, Gillis, Haughn and Roganowicz earned all-Canadian status for the second straight season. Stairs was also honoured back in 2010.

2013 CIS WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEY AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS

Liz Hoffman Award (player of the year): Anna Easty, York

Joyce Slipp Award (rookie of the year): Samantha Spooner, Dalhousie

Gail Wilson Award (outstanding contributor): Miranda Mann, UBC

Marina van der Merwe Award (coach of the year): Mary-Anne Reid, Queen's

Umpire of the year: Keely Dunn, Canada West

	All-Canadian Team
Position	Athlete	University	Year	Hometown	Academics
GK	Kathryn Williams	Toronto	5	Burlington, ON	Arts & Science
D	Rachel Donohoe	UBC	2	Vancouver, BC	Kinesiology
D	Katherine Koughan	UPEI	2	Stratford, PEI	Business Admin.
M/D	Kathleen Leahy	Victoria	2	Victoria, BC	Education
M	Nikki Burge	Dalhousie	3	Vancouver, BC	Arts
M	Anna Easty	York	5	Toronto, ON	Law
M	Erin Houle	Guelph	3	Burlington, ON	Architecture
F	Tegan Stairs	Toronto	4	Kitchener, ON	Criminology
F	Kate Gillis	UBC	4	Toronto, ON	Arts
F	Hannah Haughn	UBC	2	West Vancouver, BC	Kinesiology
F	Katelynn Roganowicz	Western	4	Burlington, ON	Health Sciences