January 25, 2012

CIS: Western goaltender grabs CIS Athlete of the Week

OTTAWA (CIS) – Kyla Richey, a volleyball player from the University of British Columbia, and Josh Unice, a hockey player from the University of Western Ontario, are the CIS female and male athletes of the week for the period ending Jan. 22, 2012.

Richey, a fifth-year student from Roberts Creek, B.C., averaged five kills per set last weekend in Vancouver to lead the top-ranked Thunderbirds to a two-game sweep of the No. 5 Manitoba Bisons. The 6-foot-1 outside hitter recorded 15 kills in a straight-set win on Friday night and bettered that performance in a 3-1 victory on Saturday with 20 kills and 27.5 points, the third best single-match point total of the season in the Canada West conference. Richey, a national team member and a former CIS all-Canadian, currently leads Canada West and ranks fourth in the country with an average of 3.61 kills per set.

Acadia basketball player Abbey Duinker, Laval swimmer Genevieve Cantin and York track and field athlete Cynthia Appiah were also nominated for the women’s award.

Unice, a second-year student from Holland, Ohio, was simply unbeatable last weekend in Thunder Bay as he posted back-to-back 1-0 shutouts to lead the No. 2 Mustangs to a pair of road wins over the Lakekead Thunderwolves, who were ranked eighth in the nation prior to the contests. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound goaltender turned aside all 56 shots he faced during the series, including 27 on Friday and 29 the following night, while helping Western kill 14 short-handed situations. Unice, a former draft choice of the Chicago Blackhawks (2007) who played for Team USA at the 2009 world junior championship and won the Memorial Cup with Windsor in 2008-09, currently leads OUA with a .934 save percentage and ranks second in the conference with a 2.09 goals against average.

Moncton hockey player Eric Faille, McGill swimmer Steven Bielby and Alberta basketball player Jordan Baker were the other male nominees.

Female nominees:

AUS: Abbey Duinker, basketball, Acadia

RSEQ: Geneviève Cantin, swimming, Laval

OUA: Cynthia Appiah, track and field, York

CWUAA: Kyla Richey, volleyball, UBC (recipient)

Male nominees:

AUS: Éric Faille, hockey, Moncton

RSEQ: Steven Bielby, swimming, McGill
OUA: Josh Unice, hockey, Western Ontario (recipient)

CWUAA: Jordan Baker, basketball, Alberta

Source: CIS Communications