Zilberman, Poirier named top athletes at banquet

dan plouffe

A record crowd of 425 guests was on hand for this year’s athletics banquet to see wrestler David Zilberman and soccer player Melanie Poirier take home the top male and female athlete-of-the-year awards.

“We get a really incredible amount of support from the whole university in terms of enthusiasm, and even advice and good counsel,” said Director of Recreation and Athletics Katie Sheahan after the April 7 dinner.

“Tonight, we got the opportunity to share all those great academic and athletic exploits with [the Concordia community] and it was a great opportunity for us to really showcase the ambassadorship that athletics can be for the university.”

There are surely no better ambassadors for Concordia and the Stingers athletic program than Zilberman and Poirier.

Zilberman’s crowning achievement this year was winning the heavyweight division at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport National Championships, and doing so without having a single point scored against him in any of his four matches.

“I was surprised I was the one going up; I thought maybe Tyler Marghetis might get [the award] because it was his third year in a row,” Zilberman said.

His teammate Marghetis was also National Champion in his weight class and four other Concordia wrestlers medalled. “It was a big surprise — the whole night was a big surprise.”

Zilberman, who is coached by his father Victor, the CIS Men’s Wrestling Coach of the Year, enjoyed an undefeated season on the university circuit.

He also found success on the international stage in the past year. He represented Canada at the World University Games in Turkey last summer, and also at several European meets, including one he won in Sombo, France.

Poirier is unquestionably one of the hardest-working athletes in Canadian university sport. The third-year midfielder from Laval is known as much for her tremendous leadership qualities as her soccer skills, which produced five goals this year, a tie for the team lead.

“She’s a great leader; she’s very composed,” Sheahan said. “She’s somebody who can communicate very well with the team on and off the field. She’s been a very strong captain and her athletics have been recognized not locally, not provincially, but nationally.”

Poirier was named a second-team All-Canadian this season, and a Quebec conference All-Star for the third year in a row. It was the first time in the women’s soccer program’s 12 years at Concordia that a player was awarded All-Canadian status.

Another big winner from the night was Ali Olshefsky of the women’s rugby team, who won the Laurie Brodrick Award for Female Rookie of the Year as well as the Denise Beaudet Award for academics, athletics and community service.

Hockey player Frédéric Faucher won the Ron Lapointe Award for academics, athletics and community service on the men’s side.

University President Claude Lajeunesse was on hand to present the President’s Award to wrestler Tyler Marghetis and women’s hockey player Andrea Dolan. Both were repeat winners of the award, which recognizes academic and athletic excellence.

The Marvin Cooper Award was presented to football quarterback Scott Syvret for successfully overcoming adversity through hard work, commitment and dedication. Syvret suffered a shoulder dislocation to his throwing arm, ending his season two years ago, but he came back strong this year to earn All-Canadian status.

Football’s Patrick Donovan and Marie-Pier Cantin-Drouin of women’s hockey were named Concordia’s fittest athletes, while men’s hockey leading scorer Karl Gagne won Male Rookie of the Year honours.

Sheahan also recognized Olympic hockey silver medallist Cecilia Anderson, men’s rugby coach Clive Gibson, psychologist Lois Baron and the IITS Creative Media Team for their contributions to the varsity athletics program.

For a full list of award winners, please visit the Athletics website, at athletics.concordia.ca