CW Announces Players of the Week

Nov. 21, 2023 – As the Canada West schedule hits mid-November, the action continues to heat up across the four western provinces. In Vancouver, the UBC Thunderbirds won the 2023 Mitchell Bowl with a big effort over AUS champion St. Francis Xavier, booking their spot in the 2023 Vanier Cup next Saturday. The weekend also saw lots of great action at the rink and on the court, including a jaw dropping performance from Manitoba's Raya Surinx, who notched an incredible eight service aces in a single game. Here are your Canada West Players of the Week.

Football Offensive Player of the Week – QB Garrett Rooker (UBC)

The UBC Thunderbirds emerged victorious in the 2023 Mitchell Bowl last weekend, advancing to the Vanier Cup for the first time since 2015 after a decisive 47-17 victory over the AUS Champion St. Francis Xavier X-Men.

At the heart of the victory was another incredible performance from quarterback Garrett Rooker, who was nothing short of spectacular while going 22-of-26 for 303 yards passing, throwing for four touchdowns with no interceptions.

The third-year pivot from League City, Texas was named the Nike Offensive Player of the Game and will lead the T-Birds to the Vanier Cup against Montreal next Saturday in Kingston, Ont.

Football Defensive Player of the Week – LB Jaxon Ciarolo-Brown (UBC)

While UBC's offence was cooking throughout the 2023 Mitchell Bowl, the Thunderbirds defence also came up with timely plays over and over again.

Fourth-year veteran linebacker Jaxon Ciarolo-Brown was named the Nike Defensive Player of the Game after an impressive effort, as the Hamilton, Ont. product held the X-Men offence at bay with eight total tackles and a sack.

Football Special Teams Player of the Week - DB Cesare Rednour-Bruckman (UBC)

The Thunderbirds special teams unit was also key to their Mitchell Bowl victory, highlighted by Cesare Rednour-Bruckman's 60-yard punt return touchdown in the third quarter. The impressive run from the first-year Oakland, CA product gave UBC a commanding 31-10 lead at the time, giving them a quick bit of breathing room and a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Women's Basketball - Jade Belmore (Regina)

A hometown Regina product, Belmore paced the Cougars offence in a pair of convincing road victories over the TRU WolfPack.

She led all scorers with an incredible 30 points in Friday's 77-48 win, and added another 20 points in an 83-56 victory on Saturday. She also added 11 rebounds, six assists and six steals throughout the two games, asserting herself as one of the most complete players in the conference. She now leads Canada West with 19.5 points-per-game.

Men's Basketball - Khari Ojeda-Harvey (Brandon)

Ojeda-Harvey was an unstoppable offensive force for the Bobcats as they secured two hard fought wins over the visiting Calgary Dinos.

The fourth-year guard from Queens, N.Y. had 23 points on 9-15 shooting in a tight 90-87 win on Friday night. He followed that up with 28 points in a 100-95 victory on Saturday. He hit four three pointers in that contest, helping the Bobcats improve to an impressive 5-1 on the early season. Ojeda-Harvey is fifth in the conference with 21 points per game.

Women's Hockey - Abby Soyko (Alberta)

Soyko broke out with a solid offensive performance in two games against Regina, helping the Pandas improve to 10-2-2 with a pair of convincing 4-0 wins.

The second-year forward from Prince Albert, Sask. scored a goal on Friday, then added two goals, an assist and five shots in the Panda's triumph on Saturday.

Men's Hockey - Eric Florchuk (Alberta)

Florchuk led the way offensively as the Golden Bears secured a weekend sweep of the visiting Regina Cougars.

The third-year forward from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. had a goal and two assists in a 7-2 win on Friday, then added another goal and a helper in a 4-2 triumph on Saturday. He now has six goals and 10 assists on the season as a young Golden Bears side has impressed with a 9-4-1 record.

Women's Volleyball - Raya Surinx (Manitoba)

In just her second-year, Bisons left side Raya Surinx has already accomplished a number of incredible feats with the Herd. Last year, she became the first player in 14 years to win national Rookie of the Year for the program, helping the Bisons advance to nationals for the first time since 2014. Now, she's taking an even bigger step forward.

She now leads the conference in kills (122) and kills per set (4.52) after another huge weekend, helping her team pick up two big wins over visiting Mount Royal.

She opened with 18 kills and had just four errors in a 3-0 sweep on Friday, then added 16 more kills and an incredible eight service aces in a 3-2 win Saturday.

Men's Volleyball - Isaac Heslinga (Alberta)

Heslinga earns a repeat nod as Player of the Week after helping the Golden Bears to a pair of wins over a tough Winnipeg Wesmen side.

The third-year outside hitter opened with 14 kills and just one error on Friday, hitting .481 in a dominant straight sets victory. He then collected an impressive 24 kills the following day in a 3-2 victory, committing just two errors over the five sets while hitting .468.

Heslinga leads the conference with 168 kills, and is fifth in kills per set with 4.20.