Lancer standouts Melissa Bishop and Matt Morencie walked away with the top two prizes as they were awarded the Banner and Olympic Shields, respectively as the University of Windsor Athletes of the Year.
The duo were multiple winners as part of the Evening of Excellence, highlighting the accomplishments of the Windsor Lancers, held at the St. Clair Centre of the Arts.
Bishop, a native of Eganville, Ontario, had a tremendous season on the track as she was named an OUA conference all star in three events and helped lead the Lancers to their second consecutive OUA title.
At Nationals, Melissa was sensational as she was the only triple gold medalist on either the men's or women's side - winning the Women's 600m, 1000m and 4x800m relay to help the Lancers capture the CIS National Championship.
In addition to her tremendous performances on the provincial and national stages, she also led the Lancer Women's 4x800m relay team to a gold medal at the famed Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
To cap it off, Melissa shattered two school records this season, including the Women's 600m - the University of Windsor's oldest remaining record. Incredibly, she broke the mark three different times throughout the year.
Morencie, a native of Windsor, Ontario, had a strong year with the Lancer Football program as he became the first Lancer to ever capture the CIS J.P. Metras award as the CIS Lineman of the Year. He was also named a CIS First Team All-Canadian an OUA First Team All-Star and the OUA Lineman of the Year.
Matt was named the 2009 team MVP for the second straight season and was selected to participate in the East-West Shrine Bowl game in Orlando, Florida. His outstanding career over the past five years cemented his legacy as one of the top offensive lineman in Lancer history.
The DeMarco Awards, presented annually to the top female and male students that best combine academic achievement with athletic prowess, went to Track & Field's Noelle Montcalm for the second straight year, and Men's Basketball's Andre Smyth.
Montcalm, a Windsor native, captured her second straight DeMarco Award after another stellar season both on the track and in the classroom.
She was named the OUA and CIS Female Track MVP after capturing three gold medals and a silver medal at the OUA Championships. At Nationals, she turned in another strong performance in helping her team win the CIS title.
In addition to her performance on the track, Noelle is also a very strong student in the Faculty of Nursing program where she holds an 11.7 GPA. This past fall, she was honoured with one of the most prestigious awards given out by the CIS as she was named to the CIS Academic Top 8 - recognizing the top 8 student-athletes across Canada.
Smyth, also a Windsor native, has been a standout student-athlete with the Lancer Men's Basketball program. A two-time CIS Academic All-Canadian, Andre is considered one of the most skilled and athletic players in the country.
This year, he helped lead his team to an OUA West regular season and playoff championship and was one of the top performers at the CIS National Championships in Ottawa.
Also an outstanding student, Andre holds an amazing 12.0 GPA in Biological Science where he is studying in pre-medicine.
Following a moving tribute to the legendary Lancer coach Gino Fracas, the Lancers announced the Gino Fracas Coach of the Year Award which was presented to Men's Soccer head coach Steve Hart.
In his fourth season at the helm, Coach Hart led the Lancers to their best regular season finish in almost 20 years. The Lancers placed second overall in the OUA with an 8-1-5 record, losing only one regular season game in regulation and earning a bye in the first round of the OUA playoffs.
His leadership running the Lancer Soccer program helped his squad finish the season in the Top Ten in Canada, finishing at #9 nationally.
The female rookie of the year award went to Women's Basketball's Jessica Clemençon, while Josh Collins from Men's Basketball won the male rookie of the year.
Leadership and Development awards went to Andrew Foster of Men's Volleyball and Shavaun Reaney of Women's Basketball. The Super Sophomore awards were awarded to Matt McCready of Men's Hockey and Jaideene Lowe of Women's Track and Field.
“A” Awards, marking major contributions to Lancer Athletics went to Mary Caton from The Windsor Star, and Don Garrod and Dave McGuffin from the Lancer Track & Field coaching staff for over twenty years of service with the program.
The evening, featuring over 100 awards being presented, caps off a very successful season for the Lancers.
The gala ended on a high note with the showing of the annual “Blue and Gold” video. The video highlighted all the Lancers' great moments during the past season, with an unbelievable response coming from all the student-athletes in attendance.
