President Gertler hosts luncheon for Varsity Blues athletes

University of Toronto President Meric Gertler honoured outstanding graduating Varsity Blues athletes at the annual President's Reception this week, saying there was much to celebrate in an "extraordinary year for the Blues."

"This past year has seen its share of individual and collective victories, glorious achievements, personal bests and proud moments,” President Gertler said.

In fact, 11 Varsity Blues teams were crowned provincial champions and one was a national champion. Just over 100 Varsity Blues athletes were named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) all-stars and 32 were named University Sports (U Sports) all-Canadians. U of T also boasts six OUA coaches of the year and the U Sports national coach of the year.

“There is so much to celebrate, but the pride that we feel for our varsity athletes does not rest solely on the results of the single season,” said President Gertler at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, where the lunch took place. “This lunch recognizes each and every Varsity Blues athlete for their commitment, talent and ability to balance academics with the demands of highly competitive athletics.”

Gertler also recognized the entire varsity athletics community, thanking faculty members, coaches, trainers, volunteers and registrarial staff, who work across all of the many divisions of U of T’s three campuses to help student-athletes balance very demanding schedules.

“U of T is dedicated to ensuring that we support some of this country’s very finest student-athletes and that is why we build cutting-edge facilities, like the Goldring Centre. If the cohort we are acknowledging today is any indication, I think we can all agree that it is an investment that has already paid off,” said President Gertler.

He shared the anecdote of meeting Catherine McKenna, the federal minister of environment and climate change who is also a U of T alumna, during a recent trip to Ottawa. President Gertler looked forward to telling her about the environmental research and education under way at U of T, but she wanted to talk first about her days as a student-athlete at U of T.

“Byron, Catherine says hi,” President Gertler told Byron MacDonald, McKenna's coach when she was captain of the Varsity Blues women's swim team.

Professor Ira Jacobs, dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology &  Physical Education, said he was proud to represent a university that gives so many opportunities for students to experience high performance sports.

“At U of T we also take pride in the challenging academic, social and leadership experiences our students can access, and I really want to applaud each and every one of our student-athletes here today for taking the initiative to add competitive sport to this mix of challenges,” said Jacobs.

Jacobs commended the self-discipline of the student-athletes who balance the demands of sports with their academic programs and social lives.

“Some of you did all of that at a level that was among the best in the province, the best in the country, and, in some cases, among the best in the world,” he said.

Ana Peric, a fourth-year student in the Rotman’s Commerce program, was among the students honoured with the Silver T award for her outstanding athletic performance on the Varsity Blues golf team.

“This is a great honour. There are so many student-athletes at U of T and to be able to be one of the recipients of the Silver T just lets you stand out and really appreciate all the work that you’ve done, not only for yourself, but for the school as well,” she said.

“It takes a lot of planning and sacrifices, but knowing what you want, prioritizing and working towards your goal helps.”

Beth Ali, executive director of co-curricular athletics and physical activity programs, thanked university staff and faculty for their support of the Varsity Blues, before announcing the 28 winners of the 2017-18 Silver Ts. They are :

• Carolyn Adams – Track & Field
• Lila Asher – Figure Skating
• Bradley Bedford – Baseball
• Devon Bowyer – Soccer
• Andrea Burley – Mountain Biking
• Rachel Dick – Rowing
• Melissa Eratostene – Figure Skating
• Kyle Haas – Swimming
• Sukhmun Hare – Water Polo
• Sarah Jamieson – Lacrosse
• Madeleine Kelly – Cross Country/Track & Field
• William Kinney – Fencing
• Nicole Knudsen – Fastpitch
• Alexandra Kraft – Water Polo
• Laura Krkachovski – Soccer
• Dan Kuiack – Swimming
• Megan Lewicki – Rowing
• Christina Liao – Figure Skating
• Lukas MacNaughton – Soccer
• Ana Miroslavic – Water Polo
• TJ Morton – Football
• Ana Peric – Golf
• Hochan Ryu – Swimming
• Nirun Sivananthan – Soccer
• Rostam Turner – Track & Field
• Donna Vakalis – Fencing
• Eli Wall – Swimming
• Tanner Young-Schultz – Baseball