This past year has been very difficult for all our student-athletes, with no competitive sport seasons and the majority of academic program delivery moving online. It was an adjustment for everyone, but a challenge our Huskies took head on and did not let impact their pathways to graduation. Despite being unable to host an annual Athletic Banquet to celebrate our student-athletes this season, we still wanted to take a special opportunity to honour our 2021 graduates for all their hard work and the contributions they brought to Husky Nation during their time with us.
Once a Husky, always a Husky!
*Note to readers - due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no official OCAA sport seasons or reportable statistics for the 2020-21 academic year.
|
|
Anh Hoang, Badminton 2017-2021 Hoang has been a staple for the Badminton program since joining the Husky squad in 2017. She was the perfect example of what it means to be a student-athlete. As an athlete, she was a force at both the provincial and national level in Women’s Singles, capturing three straight OCAA medals (two golds and one silver) since 2018, while also earning three straight CCAA national medals (silver in 2018 and 2019, bronze in 2020). As a student, Hoang found similar success where she was an OCAA All-Academic as well as a recipient of the prestigious CCAA Academic All-Canadian award on the three occasions for which she was nominated.
|
|
|
Yang Jin, Badminton 2016-2018, 2019-2021 Since arriving to George Brown College in 2016, Jin brought in an amazing work ethic and leadership to the program. A transfer student-athlete from Ryerson University, that experience and those characteristics helped carve a new path for the badminton program and contributed to setting the foundation for success that came in the years to follow. He competed in numerous tournaments throughout his career, but his best results came during the 2017-2018 season. Jin and partner Alex Chao claimed the gold medal at the OCAA East Regional Championship in Men's Doubles. The pair followed it up with a bronze medal performance two weeks later at the OCAA Provincial Championship. Their performance on that stage helped the squad claim the OCAA Men's Team title.
|
|
|
Spencer Bond, Baseball 2019-2021 Bond was selected to the Huskies Men's Baseball program in the 2019 season. Appearing on the roster in all 17 Huskies' games, the outfielder was a pillar for hard work with the team's success always top of mind. He is only the second Husky student-athlete since 2015 to graduate from the highly specialized Hearing Instrument Specialist diploma program. |
|
|
Joseph Giansante, Baseball 2018-2021 Giansante was recruited to the Men's Baseball program in 2018. During his two seasons, he was a utility pitcher for the squad. He started five games and made eight relief appearances while posting an overall 2-4 record with a 5.80 earned runs average in 35 innings pitched in his Huskies career. He was second on the team in strikeouts in the 2019 season.
|
|
|
Matthew Pasquale, Baseball 2019-2021 Pasquale joined the Husky team heading into the 2019 season. The infielder played a few positions on the field, including first base, second base and shortstop, and dressed in 17 of the team’s 18 games during the 2019 campaign. During that season he recorded nine hits, one home run, six runs batted in and drew a team-leading nine walks. He was also tied for second on the Huskies in extra-base hits, and tied for third in plate appearances.
|
|
|
Bell was brought into the program as walk-on back in 2019, after competing for the George Brown Extramural Men's Basketball team. He red-shirted his first season, and unfortunately due to the pandemic was not able to play for the Huskies in a competitive season in 2020-21. Despite that, he continuously put in the work on the court, in the classroom and virtually, achieving honors status in his engineering program in Fall 2020 with a GPA of 3.87.
|
|
|
Victoria Lawrence, Women’s Basketball 2019-2021 Lawrence was nothing short of stellar after transferring from Algonquin College of the OCAA in 2019. She averaged a career-high 16.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game in her lone season for the Huskies. She was only one of two players to rank in the Top 10 in all three of those categories provincially. The 2020 OCAA East Division all-star was a catalyst for the squad finishing with the second-best record in the East Division at 13-3, while also qualifying for the OCAA Championship. Lawrence has committed to the Brock University Badgers of the OUA in 2021-22 to further pursue an undergraduate degree.
|
|
|
Sauve transferred from Langara College of the PacWest to join the Huskies Women's Basketball program in 2018. In two seasons with the team, the 6’1 forward averaged 8.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and one steal across 28 games. During those seasons the team posted a combined 27-6 regular-season record. She was a great leader during her time at George Brown and helped shape the program for years to come. An OCAA All-Academic, Sauve’s success in the classroom also led her to earning a position as the Recreation Coordinator for the Fraser Valley Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).
|
|
|
Rachel Steer, Women’s Basketball 2019-2021 Steer came to the Huskies program in 2019 after graduating from the Fitness and Health Promotion program at St. Lawrence College of the OCAA. In 13 games with the team, she averaged 6.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game during the 2019-2020 season. Her best game came against Georgian College when the guard drilled a season-high 17 points. The team finished second in the East Division with a 13-3 record and qualified for the OCAA Championship that season.
|
|
|
Mathew DaSilva, Men’s Soccer, 2018-2021 DaSilva joined the soccer program in 2018. In 14 matches, he tallied a pair of goals and allowed the Huskies to have one of the best all-around midfielder groups in the province. It was no different during the indoor soccer seasons, where he was a member of the squad that claimed the OCAA Championship in 2019. In 2020, he was instrumental in the indoor team going 26-2-2 while outscoring their opponents 111 to 26 during the season. The Huskies had earned a spot in the semi-finals of the OCAA Championship before it was canceled due to the pandemic, where DaSilva was named OCAA Athlete of the Week.
|
|
|
Since joining the Huskies in 2016, Mohamed was a dominant playmaker in both indoor and outdoor soccer. He posted six goals in 26 career matches in the span of four outdoor seasons. George Brown qualified for the OCAA playoffs in three of the four seasons, while claiming the bronze medal in 2016. During his time on the indoor soccer team, the fast-footed striker was part of many championship runs. The Huskies claimed the OCAA championship in 2017 and 2019, while finishing second in 2018. In 2020, the team was primed to claim a third title in four years when they made the semi-finals of the OCAA Championship before it was cancelled due to the pandemic. Mohamed has been a member of the Huskies program for all five years of his OCAA career.
|
|
|
Jacob ‘Kwame’ Yankey, Men’s Soccer, 2016-2021 Yankey was an all-round contributing player. He was a perfect edition to the Huskies soccer program since arriving in 2016. In the outdoor season, the midfielder posted three goals in 34 matches. George Brown qualified for the OCAA playoffs in three of the four seasons, while claiming the bronze medal in 2016. He was a part of many championship teams during the indoor seasons. The Huskies claimed the OCAA championship in 2017 and 2019, while finishing second in 2018. In 2020, the team was primed to claim a third title in four years when they made the semi-finals of the OCAA Championship before it was cancelled due to the pandemic. Yankey has been a member of the Huskies program for all five years of his OCAA career.
|
|
|
Cynthia Pellegrino, Women's Soccer, 2016-2021
Pellegrino was brought into the Huskies program in 2016. Right from the get go, the midfielder was a critical piece in turning around the outdoor and indoor soccer program. The Mississauga, Ont., native helped anchor the middle of field and affected matches on both sides of the ball. During her Huskies career, she has played in 36 outdoor matches, while registering three goals in that span. In many ways, her overall impact on matches and the soccer program isn’t seen on the score sheet. She did extraordinary well in 2018 and was named an OCAA All-Star in the outdoor season.
|
|
|
Mariacristina Nalli, Women’s Soccer, 2019-2021 Nalli was brought on board the Huskies Women's Soccer program in 2019. She was a part of the outdoor soccer team that compiled five wins in nine matches, the most victories by the program in the last seven seasons. It marked the first time the team qualified for the OCAA playoffs in that span, falling on the road to the Sheridan Bruins in the cross-over match. In the lone campaign the defender was a part of the indoor soccer team, Nalli also spent time between the goal posts and contributed significantly to the team surrendering more than two goals in only three of 22 matches, while qualifying for the OCAA Championship.
|
|
|
Sam Delgado, Men’s Volleyball, 2019-2021 Delgado earned a spot on the Huskies roster as a walk-on following open tryouts in 2019. He was solid in every facet of the game and offered a noticeable boost whenever called upon. His hard work on the court was also matched in the classroom, where he was also an OCAA All-Academic award winner. The left side hitter averaged 1.7 kills and 1.16 digs per set in 17 matches, and helped the program achieve a 9-9 record to earn a spot in an OCAA crossover playoff contest.
|
|
|
Vivek Mathimakki, Men’s Volleyball, 2018-2021 After joining the Men's Volleyball program as a red-shirt in 2017-18, his hard work and dedication as a development player paid off in a big way, for both Mathimakki personally and for the Huskies. As soon as he officially joined the roster in 2018, Mathimakki made an immediate impact. He led the Huskies in almost every offensive category and was an unstoppable force against opposing teams. In 36 career matches, he averged 3.7 points and 2.96 kills per set, while adding 1.13 digs per set. He had one of his most impressive individual performances during the 2019-2020 season when he was one of only four OCAA players to post 29 or more points in a single match, registering a career-high 29 points on 21 kills, seven blocks and an ace against Centennial in January of 2020. He was also named an OCAA Star of the Week that month for his consistently strong play. During his impressive career, the outside hitter was named a second-team East Division All-Star in back-to-back years. |
|
|
Vezina has been on the volleyball roster since the second semester of the 2018-19 season. While he had a quiet his first season for the Huskies on the stat sheet, he showed off his versatility during the 2019-2020 campaign. The outside hitter ranked third on the team with 1.69 kills and 2.1 points per set, while leading the squad in digs with 1.60 per set in 16 matches. The OCAA All-Academic award winner was the perfect complimentary player that impacted the match in a variety of ways. The team went 9-9 and earned a spot in an OCAA crossover playoff contest.
|
|
|
Vilches joined the Huskies in the summer of 2018 and assisted in the recent overall turnaround of the Women's Volleyball program. In 24 career matches, the middle blocker averaged 3.0 points per set with 2.04 kills, 0.45 blocks and 0.55 aces per set. She was one of the top offensive players in those two years for George Brown and also received provincial accolades in her rookie season, being named to the OCAA All Rookie Team. In both seasons Vilches was on the roster the Huskies made program history. In 2019, they qualified for their first crossover playoff berth since the program was inaugurated in 2006-2007 and the following season the team posted the program’s best regular season at 11-7 while hosting their first ever home crossover playoff match.
|
