By: Tony von Richter
Men’s volleyball player Garrett May and women’s wrestler Brianne Barry were recognized for their outstanding careers at the end of the school year as the Western Mustangs held the 2013-14 Athletic Awards Gala at the London Convention Centre.
May finished his four years at Western by becoming the 75th winner of the Dr. Claude Brown Trophy, while Barry wrapped up her five-year Mustangs career with the 58th F.W.P. Jones Trophy. Both awards are presented to an athlete judged to have made the greatest contribution to intercollegiate athletics during their time at Western.
In his four seasons with the Mustangs, May helped lead Western to four consecutive OUA Finals appearances and three trips to the CIS Men’s Volleyball Championship, including helping this year’s team win a national silver medal. A former junior world champion in beach volleyball, May became arguably the greatest player in Mustangs men’s volleyball history, winning numerous OUA and CIS awards during his career. The Toronto native was a four-time OUA all-star, three-time CIS all-Canadian, OUA and CIS rookie of the year, and 2013 OUA player of the year.
Other nominees for the Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy were football player Lirim Hajrullahu and badminton player Martin Giuffre.
For the past five seasons, no one has dominated the OUA wrestling ranks like Brianne Barry, as the London native won five straight OUA gold medals from 2010-14. Barry was also dominant at the CIS level, winning three silver medals and capturing a gold medal at the 2014 national championship. Barry is also a member of Canada’s U24 national team and has represented the country in events across the globe.
Also nominated for the F.W.P. Jones Trophy were basketball’s Jenny Vaughan and badminton’s Alex Bruce.
Receiving the second ever Male Athlete of the Year Award was football player Will Finch. Finch rewrote the OUA record book in 2013, setting new milestones for completion percentage (69.7%) and passing yards (3,047 yards) while helping the Mustangs win their 30th Yates Cup title. Men’s hockey player Zach Harnden and men’s volleyball player Garrett May were also nominated for the award.
Jenny Vaughan claimed the second Female Athlete of the Year Award after an outstanding final season at Western. The fifth-year senior was named the OUA West player of the year after setting a new OUA single-season scoring record and becoming the first woman to eclipse the 500-point barrier. Other nominees for the award were wrestler Brianne Barry and track and field athlete Caroline Ehrhardt.
The Purple Blanket awards, given to senior student-athletes judged to have made outstanding contributions to Western athletics, were also handed out at the Gala. This year’s 15 recipients were: Garrett May, Lirim Hajrullahu, Alex Bruce, Zach Harnden, women’s lacrosse’s Caitlin Mancuso, football’s Pawel Kruba, rowers Natasha Caminsky, Jennifer Martins and Derek Stedman, swimmers Robert Wise and Shannon Nell, wrestler Larissa D’Alleva, track and field’s Matthew Brisson, men’s volleyball’s Phil James, and men’s hockey netminder Josh Unice.
