Bio

The 2017 Gee-Gees Women’s Rugby Team will be inducted as a team, marking their benchmark performance as the program’s first national champions. The team featured a balance of fifth-year veterans and exciting young talent and set a program record with 10 players selected to the conference all-star teams including the RSEQ Rookie of the Year, Lauren Minns. 

Second-year wing Alexandra Ondo and third-year back Sam Alli were named to the 2017 U SPORTS All-Canadian teams, and the squad featured four additional future members of All-Canadian teams: Tori Wyman, Maya Montiel, Georgia Stewart, and Lauren Minns. For Ondo, 2017 marked the first of four consecutive All-Canadian selections. 

Alex Ellis (front row), Danielle Erdelyi (second row), Patricia Mandon (fly-half), Bianca Paiement (front row), Breanna Phillipps (second row), Emma Sandstrom (centre), and Danarae Sommerville (back row) all played their final U SPORTS eligible season with the 2017 Gee-Gees and their experience proved vital in guiding the team through to the national championship win. 

The 2017 roster featured four future members of Canada’s Senior National Rugby Teams: Dria Bennett, Alex Ellis, Sam Alli, and Maya Montiel.

In regular season play, the team outscored opponents 379-45 and recorded three shutouts before convincingly winning the league semifinal by a 46-14 score against Montreal and the RSEQ Championship 25-7 over Laval.

The team then captured the national championship in snowy conditions in Lethbridge, Alta., recording a 65-5 win over Acadia in quarterfinal play before edging Calgary 32-15 with a dominant overtime performance. The gold medal match was won by a 20-10 score over Laval and marked the first ever all-RSEQ national final.

2017 Team Roster: Sam Alli, Emily Babcock, Dria Bennett, Samantha Bennett, Tanika Bonneville, Tamara Butera, Anabelle Clements, Taylor Donato, Alexandria Ellis, Daniella Ellis, Danielle Erdelyi, Katie Geddes, Emily Gray, Paulina Karwowski, Natasha Kerlovich, Jan-ma Letinois, Alexandra Liepmann, Patricia Mandon, Becky Mather, Erin McCallan, Rachel McCallan, Lauren Minns, Maya Montiel, Taylor Newman, Alexandra Ondo, Bianca Paiement, Breanna Phillipps, Maddison Rogers, Emma Sandstrom, Kate Smith, Danarae Sommerville, Georgia Stewart, Lydia Sullivan, Ashley Tait, Kelsey Welsh, Tori Wyman. Head Coach: Jen Boyd, Assistant Coach: Duncan McNaughton, Assistant Coach: Andrew Armstrong, Team Manager: Casey Jones, Athletic Therapist: Sarah Keindal, Student Trainers: Sophie Drouin, Zoya Flick, Mental Performance Coach: Sieger Roorda.

REGULAR SEASON RESULTS:

Date	Away	Score	Home	Location
2017-09-02	Ottawa	21 - 0 (fo)	Laval		Stade TELUS-UL
2017-09-09	Concordia	19 - 38	Ottawa		Terrain Matt Anthony
2017-09-16	Ottawa	27 - 12	Montréal		Terrain Vincent d’Indy
2017-09-23	McGill	0 - 116	Ottawa		Terrain Matt Anthony
2017-09-30	Ottawa	101 - 0	Bishop's		Coulter Field
2017-10-09	Sherbrooke	14 - 45	Ottawa		Terrain Matt Anthony
2017-10-15	Ottawa	31 - 0	Carleton		Ravens Field

(fo): The first game of the season was originally a 19-17 loss before Laval forfeited due to an eligibility issue.

REGULAR SEASON INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: