Exceptional athleticism and superior intellect added up to a record haul for the UNBC Timberwolves’ class of 2021-22.
Twenty-nine UNBC student-athletes at UNBC won Academic All-Canadian awards and they were officially recognized for their achievements Wednesday afternoon at the Cranbrook Hill campus.
All 29 T-wolves achieved a Grade Point Average of 3.67 or better (on a scale of 4.00) in their program of study. They represent 40 per cent of all Timberwolves athletes in the 2021-22 school year.
“We couldn’t be more proud of our student-athletes who continue to excel on and off the court and pitch,” said Loralyn Murdoch, UNBC’s director of athletics/recreation. “The time management and commitment it takes to excel in this way is incredible. Our Timberwolves continue to raise the bar, and I am thrilled for our Academic All-Canadians.”
The T-wolves women’s basketball team scored a collective 3.75 GPA – the highest grade of the four UNBC varsity teams.
In 2020-21, when there were no varsity games played in the Canada West Conference due to pandemic-related restrictions which cancelled the basketball and soccer seasons, 38 Timberwolves made the grade as Academic All-Canadians.
During that year, none of the T-wolves had to use a year of U SPORTS eligibility and that resulted in 36 more athletes becoming eligible for the academic award.
The previous high for Academic All-Canadians awards at UNBC during a non-pandemic school year was 20, set in 2017-18 and 2019-20.
“This achievement is shared with the office of finance and business operations and the vice president academic and provost office,” said Murdoch.
“They provide the funding and support for our peer tutor leaders for each varsity team. Our peer tutor leaders have been critical in the bar being continually raised for the academic success of all our Timberwolves athletes. You can see the success and impact of the program grow every year, and we are so excited by that.”
Men’s soccer striker Michael Henman, who tied the Canada West record for most goals in a season (19) was selected last week to the U SPORT All-Canadian team, based on his on-field performance.
The 2021-22 list of Academic All-Canadians at UNBC is as follows:
Women’s basketball
Taylor Blais, Laura Garmendia Garcia, Lucy Guan, Sarah Kuklisin, Rebecca Landry, Alina Shakirova, Adaiah Tupas-Singh.
Women’s soccer
Mikaela Cadorette, Kenzie Chilcott, Grace Gillman, Morgan Holyk, Kalista Kirkness, Hallie Nystedt, Haley Taylor, Claire Turner, Tabia Ziemke, Robyn Zinkan, Sarah Zuccaro.
Men’s soccer
Noah Ballinger, Julian Daduica, Jake Dziwenka, Joseph Giesbrecht, Connor Lewis, Mitch Linley, Anthony Preston, Daniel Zadravec.
Men’s basketball
Daniel Kopf, Jackson Netzel, Chris Ross.
