Redeemer University College handed out its athletic hardware on Saturday night as the top athletes were honored at the 25th Annual Athletic Awards Ceremony and Dinner. The prestigious event was held at the Courtyard Marriott in Hamilton.
 
Among the Major awards handed out were Coaching Staff of the Year, Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year, Male and Female Athletes of the Year, as well as MVP and Rookie of the Year for each respective sport.
 
Another member was inducted into the Royal Road to Victory (Hall of Fame) as volleyball alumni Alison Lammers (2002-2006) was awarded as only the 11th athlete to be shown this honor. Lammers had a very impressive career as a Redeemer Royal. She was a two time Redeemer University College Athlete of the Year. Alison was an OCAA 1st team League All-Star in each of her four years except her rookie year. She continues to sit in 1st in points per game for her Redeemer career at 3.1. Until one month ago, she also held the Redeemer record for Career Kills and Career Points until current player Erika Straatsma took over top spot. Lammers also sits in the top 3 in Kills per Game, Blocks per Game, and overall aces as she proves that she was an incredibly well balanced player with no weakness in her game.
 
Badminton Coach Benno Kurvits took home his first Coach of the Year award in just his first season at Redeemer. Benno led his team to an impressive showing at the OCAA Regional Championships with 4 athletes qualifying for the OCAA Provincial Championships. Benno was also a key contributor to Redeemer’s hosting of the Provincial Championships. He led the women’s doubles badminton team to a Provincial bronze medal and earned National recognition when the Redeemer badminton team was given a National Ranking of #12 in the country in the final rankings of the season.
 
Taylor Prins (Soccer) and Erika Straatsma (Volleyball) were the recipients of the Male and Female Scholar Athletes of the Year award. For Taylor Prins, there were not many competitions in which he participated that you did not include him among the list of the top athletes. He was one of the leaders of his team in every year of competition, and certainly no less so this year, one of his strongest.  Several high points marked this year for the Female Scholar Athlete of the Year Erika Straatsma. She tied the Redeemer record for kills in a game twice before establishing a new record. She tied the Redeemer record for total points in a game on two separate occasions. She was named a Redeemer Athlete of the Month, and capped it all off by breaking the all-time Redeemer Career Points record.
 
For their exceptional abilities both on the field and in the classroom, Women’s Soccer players Kristi Van Duyvendyk and Rachel Passchier were presented with CCAA Academic All-Canadian Awards. This national award recognizes athletes who have achieved all-star recognition while maintaining honors status in the classroom throughout the season.
 
The Redeemer Female Athlete of the Year was awarded to co-recipients for the first time ever. Women’s Badminton bronze medal winners Janelle Koopmans and Katherine Harvey shared the honor for their incredible efforts this past season. The duo had an excellent winning percentage this season, never finishing any tournament with less than 3 wins. Koopmans and Harvey combined to win a C flight championship, B flight championship, a Provincial qualification and ultimately, an OCAA Bronze Medal. Redeemer’s Male Athlete of the Year was awarded to Jeremy Stevens. Jeremy excelled in soccer, both outdoor and indoor, badminton, and hockey. His impressive resume and strong play made him a leader on each of his teams and a vital part of their success. Over the course of the season, he had an incredible 25 wins across all of his sports. He was an OCAA All-star in outdoor soccer and his team’s MVP. He was the 2nd leading scorer on the Redeemer hockey team, which is currently the heavy favorite to win the NCHL hockey league. His team finished in 3rd place in two OCAA Regional Championships (Badminton and Indoor Soccer), narrowly missing out on the Provincial Championships twice.
 
The complete list of award winners is as follows:
 
Male Athlete of the Year
Jeremy Stevens (Men’s Soccer, Men’s Indoor Soccer, Badminton, Hockey)
 
Female Athlete of the Year
Katherine Harvey (Badminton)
 
Female Athlete of the Year
Janelle Koopmans (Badminton)
 
Male Scholar Athlete of the Year
Taylor Prins (Men’s Soccer, Men’s Indoor Soccer)
 
Female Scholar Athlete of the Year
Erika Straatsma (Women’s Volleyball)
 
CCAA Academic All-Canadians
Kristi Van Duyvendyk (Women’s Outdoor Soccer, Women’s Indoor Soccer)
Rachel Passchier (Women’s Outdoor Soccer, Women’s Indoor Soccer)
 
Redeemer Royals Hall of Fame Inductee
Alison Lammers (Women’s Volleyball 2002-2006)
 
Coach of the Year
Benno Kurvits (Badminton)
 
Active Lifestyle Award
Tracy Van Dijk
 
Campus Recreation Player of the Year
David Bakker
 
Student Leadership Award
April Passchier
 
Cross Country
M.V.P - Taylor Kraayenbrink
Rookie of the Year - Julie Koopmans
 
Men’s Outdoor Soccer
M.V.P - Jeremy Stevens
Rookie of the Year - Nick Dantuma
 
Women’s Outdoor Soccer
M.V.P - Rachel Passchier
Rookie of the Year - Alicia Hubers
 
Women’s Basketball 
M.V.P - Kelly Kellendonk
Rookie of the Year - Esther Weima
 
Men’s Basketball
M.V.P - Dhimitri Luarasi
Rookie of the Year – David Luth
 
Women’s Volleyball
M.V.P - Erika Straatsma
Rookie of the Year - Curtiss Straatsma
 
Men’s Volleyball
M.V.P - David Klomps
Rookie of the Year - Eric Heidbuurt
 
Badminton
M.V.P - Randall Brus
Rookie of the Year - Katherine Harvey

Women's Indoor Soccer
M.V.P - Kendall Straatsma
Rookie of the Year - Rachel DeWeerd
 
Men’s Indoor Soccer
M.V.P - Dirk Van Soelen
Rookie of the Year - Matt Koning
 
Hockey
M.V.P - P.J. Buys
Rookie of the Year - David Dykstra