The Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce honoured several members of the UWindsor community Wednesday at the Ciociaro Club during its annual Business Excellence Awards presentations.
Lancer women’s basketball coach Chantal Vallée’s Athena Award and Board of Governors member Fouad Tayfour’s Believe Windsor Essex Award had been announced prior to the formal event.
Lancers Bojana Kovacevic, Miah-Marie Langlois and Jessica Clemençon will suit up together under familiar leadership when they take to the court Saturday for the fifth annual Ontario University Athletics women’s basketball All-Star game: coaching the West team will be Chantal Vallée and Josh Leeman.
Lancers took home more than half the hardware April 19, earning 12 of 23 Windsor-Essex County Sports Person of the Year (WESPY) Awards recognizing local athletes for their contributions to sports. The awards were based on accomplishments during the 2011 calendar year.
Jessica Clemençon brought home the evening’s top award as the female athlete of the year after a tremendous 2010/11 season in which she was named Canadian Interuniversity Sport female athlete of the year and helped lead Lancer women’s basketball to its first CIS championship.
In recognition of her outstanding professionalism, community service, inspiration and mentoring of young athletes -- especially women – the Windsor Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce will confer the 2012 Athena Award on Lancer women’s basketball coach Chantal Vallée during its business excellence awards, April 25 at the Ciociaro Club.
The award honours men and women for business excellence, for community service, and for encouraging women to achieve their leadership potential.
The Lancer women’s basketball team will defend its Canadian Interuniversity Sport title Monday, playing the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds for the Bronze Baby trophy.
Windsor advanced with an 81-71 win Sunday over the host Calgary Dinos. The Lancers’ 48-point margin of victory in a 94-46 drubbing of Acadia on Saturday to open the Final 8 was the second-most lopsided game in the tournament’s history.
When Lancer women’s basketball players triumphed on home court a year ago, they not only captured the first Bronze Baby trophy in school history, they also put an end to 19 years of Western domination of their sport.
If they are to repeat as Canadian Interuniversity Sport champions this weekend, the Lancers will have to do so in Canada West territory, with no fewer than four Western teams leading one of the deepest fields in recent memory.
Iva Peklova says she will be sad when her Lancer career is over, but she doesn’t have time to think about that yet. While the women’s basketball team will play its final game of the regular season Saturday at the St. Denis Centre, Peklova and the rest of the squad plan to enjoy an extended playoff run.
Peklova and co-captain Emily Abbott are both in their fifth and final year of varsity sport. They will be honoured during a ceremony before Saturday’s game against the Western Mustangs; tip-off is at 2 p.m.
Her time at the University of Windsor helped her to become the woman she always envisioned, says Emily Abbott. The Calgary native was one of the Lancer women’s basketball players who spoke at the team’s mimosa breakfast, December 4.
“At the end of five years of being coached by Chantal Vallee . . . one will inevitably become a strong woman, someone who can change things,” said Abbott, a fifth-year guard. “That is all a young woman can ask for.”
Glen Bacarro of GlenTV produced a video of highlights from Sunday’s breakfast. Watch it now:
A champagne and orange juice celebratory breakfast in support of Lancer women's basketball will give fans a chance to meet the players and head coach Chantal Vallée, Sunday, December 4, at 10 a.m. in Ambassador Auditorium.
The event is a fundraiser for the team, which won its first-ever national championship last season.
“The money we raise at the breakfast helps to cover so many costs of competition,” Vallée says. “We count on an excellent showing there to make ends meet.”
Tickets are available in two price categories:
A champagne and orange juice celebratory breakfast in support of Lancer women's basketball will give fans a chance to meet the players and head coach Chantal Vallée, Sunday, December 4, at 10 a.m. in Ambassador Auditorium.
The event is a fundraiser in support of the team, which won its first-ever national championship last season.
Tickets are available in two price categories:
