Gibson's glorious season garners her the conference's top player honour

Burlington, Ont. – The Queen's Gaels produced another eye-popping campaign on the pitch, with several standout contributors helping them do so. Chief among those potent performers was Lizzie Gibson, who has earned the player of year award to headline the award winners and all-stars from the 2022 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) women's rugby season.

Player of the Year – Lizzie Gibson, Queen's Gaels



What a season it was for Lizzie Gibson, the 2022 OUA player of the year.

It has been a sensational start to her varsity career on the pitch, a stretch that began in 2019 with the OUA and U SPORTS rookie of the year nod, as well as the Alfie Pierce Trophy as the Queen's varsity female rookie of the year. And after that debut season, Gibson was eager to get back to performing on the pitch in 2022 after COVID-19 cancelled the 2020 season altogether and she was off in 2021.

In her return to action, the second-year back row from Caledon, Ont. was a mainstay on the Queen's scoresheet and parlayed that offensive prowess into a nation-leading 176 points on the year. Her 14 tries and 53 conversions were at the heart of the Queen's offence that produced a sparkling 488 points during their undefeated regular season, but it was more than just the current year's program that Gibson's campaign impacted.

The arts and science student now sits second on the program's all-time scoring list with 218 career regular season points, just one behind Lauren McEwen's 219 points and moving ahead of reigning U SPORTS player of the year, Sophie de Goede. She also joins de Goede as the lone members of the Tricolour to take home the conference award, after her former teammate did so on three consecutive occasions from 2018 to 2021.

Rookie of the Year – Maddy Donnelly, Queen's Gaels



From a former top rookie to a current one, fellow Gael Maddy Donnelly has been tabbed as the 2022 OUA rookie of the year.

The first year outside centre made an immediate impact on the championship-calibre squad, fitting in seamlessly with the reigning national champs. Donnelly, a native of Little Britain, Ont., registered a total of nine tries on the season en route to a 45-point campaign for the Tricolour. That impressive foray into varsity rugby put her in a tie for second in team scoring, alongside a pair of OUA all-stars and former all-Canadians in Carmen Izyk and Maddy Kushner, while putting her fifth in the conference scoring race.

Donnelly, who was also a member of the Team Ontario women's rugby sevens team that won bronze in the sport's debut at the 2022 Canada Summer Games, becomes the seventh Queen's rookie, and third consecutive, to earn the award.

Coach of the Year – Bobbi-Jo Cronk, Toronto Varsity Blues



Toronto's bench boss Bobbi-Jo Cronk has been tabbed as the 2022 OUA coach of the year.

No stranger to the varsity rugby scene in Canada, Cronk was a member of four AUS championship teams and two U SPORTS national championship teams as a member of the StFX X-Women. She went on to play two seasons for the York Lions, earning Russell Division all-star honours in 2015 and captaining the team in 2016. The two-time academic all-Canadian and native of Kingston, Ont. didn't venture far thereafter, joining the Varsity Blues just two years later and making an immediate impact.

Since her arrival in 2018, Cronk has led the Blues to just one losing season, and following this year's changes to the OUA women's rugby structure, led the program to its best result in over 15 years. Toronto finished fifth in the conference with a regular season record of 3-3, and saw three members of the squad collect all-star honours, including a first-team selection for Ella Tetrault.  

Cronk becomes just the third Varsity Blues coach to earn the award and the first in 20 years.

Community Service Award – Sophia Cornacchia, McMaster



Sophia Cornacchia, a standout on the pitch and beyond, has been tabbed as the community serve award winner for the 2022 OUA season.

Cornacchia, a native of Richmond Hill, Ont. who scored a pair of tries for the Marauders on the year, started volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House last fall when she saw that the housekeeping staff had no helpers and, as such, was the first to take on that role as a volunteer.

This season, the history and geography student, who is also a two-time academic all-Canadian, saw that other women's rugby teams across the OUA charged an entrance fee for their home games, whereas McMaster's admission was free. The senior know that the team could do something similar given the support that the Marauders receive, and from there, decided to host a Thanksgiving Donation game where the team would encourage fans to bring donations in support of the Ronald McDonald House Charities South Central Ontario.

When the team dropped off all the donations, everyone was so excited by the McMaster community's incredible generosity and said that the snack and toiletry donations were perfect for the families. Moving forward, the front row/prop, who is the fifth member of the McMaster program to receive the OUA honour, is hoping that this is the beginning of a tradition for the Marauders program.

The complete list of 2022 OUA women's rugby award winners and all-stars is as follows:

Player of the Year – Lizzie Gibson, Queen's
Rookie of the Year – Maddy Donnelly, Queen's
Coach of the Year – Bobbi-Jo Cronk, Toronto
Community Service Award – Sophia Cornacchia, McMaster

First Team All-Stars
Fly Half – Maddy Kushner, Queen's
Scrum Half – Magali Harvey, Queen's
Prop – Brianna Martey, Guelph
Prop – Mya Brubacher, Queen's
Centre – Kendra Cousineau, Guelph
Centre – Maggie Banks, Queen's
Back Three – Carmen Izyk, Queen's
Back Three – Ella Tetrault, Toronto
Back Three – Natasha Brooks, Waterloo
Back Row – Lizzie Gibson, Queen's
Back Row – Kennedy Feasby, Guelph
Back Row – Katie McLeod, McMaster
Hooker – Taylor McKnight, Guelph
Second Row – Emily Clark, Guelph
Second Row – Lizzie Schori, Western

Second Team All-Stars
Fly Half – Paige DeNeve, Brock
Scrum Half – Natalie Armatage, Guelph
Prop – Jill Lynott, Queen's
Prop – Laura Brown, Brock
Centre – Sydney Heighington, Toronto
Centre – Cailyn McKay, Western
Back Three – Selena Hough, Western
Back Three – Julia Gregory, Brock
Back Three – Maddie Hobson, Guelph
Back Row – Taylor Fronchak, Trent
Back Row – Demi Swann, Toronto
Back Row – Kyla Manske, Western
Hooker – Tessa Armstrong, Brock
Second Row – Michelle Hopkins, Trent
Second Row – Osa Olaye, McMaster