It was a historical year for the Redeemer Royals during the 2016-2017 athletic year and at Friday night's Royal Reception at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Burlington, it was all on display. Individual and team accomplishments were recognized and the overall impact of each and every student-athlete was highlighted and celebrated. 

In one of the most memorable years for the Royals, a trio of students were named Athlete's of the Year. Women's Basketball star Jesseca Brown took home the Female Athlete of the Year honours while both Men's Basketball All-Canadian Rayvon Higdon and Badminton All-Canadian Owen Kurvits were presented with the Male Athlete of the Year award. 

In a fitting end to her incredible career at Redeemer, Jesseca Brown broke the OCAA All Time Career scoring record.  She was a First Team all-star, West Division scoring champion, and led her team to their first ever playoff game (scoring 38 points). She led the team in assists and steals.  She was third in rebounds.  Across the OCAA, she was second overall in steals and points.

For 5 years Redeemer was given the gift of watching Jess and her ball handling skills, her varied offensive game, and her consistent shooting. Brown has left herself at the top of the OCAA record books and will no-doubt go down as the greatest Women's Basketball player at Redeemer, one of the greatest in OCAA history, and one of the key figures in a remarkable turnaround for the program. 

On the men's side, Redeemer University College has never had two OCAA Player of the Year winners in the same year before, and because both Higdon and Kurvits achieved so much, Redeemer took the rare step of naming co-winners of the Athlete of the Year award.

In his final year as a Royal, Kurvits continued to add to his resume that includes just about everything you can win as a student-athlete over his four year career.  This season he earned the ultimate recognition being named Canada's Player of the Year in Badminton.  Owen added another OCAA Championship banner to Redeemer's collection as well as a National Bronze. Owen also received the CCAA Fair Play Award and was named, for a record breaking third time, the OCAA Player of the Year. 

Owen's preparation physically and mentally to each match and to his overall level of excellence is exemplary but for all of his physical and mental strengths, it is his character that will be forever remembered by those who played with him and against him. 
 
For a program with only recent provincial success, it requires a special talent to draw the attention of the entire league, province, and country.  Rayvon Higdon entered this year as a reigning All Canadian in men's basketball and a target securely on his back.  He knew that every team in the league would try to shut him down.  In spite of this, his numbers increased in every category this year on way to earning the OCAA scoring championship, First team all-star, All Canadian and OCAA Player of the Year. 

He continues to develop on and off the court and he carries a broad smile and friendly demeanor that has the entire Redeemer community rooting for him.  He led the team to their first ever OCAA Provincial Championship tournament where they nearly knocked off the #1 ranked Sheridan Bruins before ultimately claiming the Consolation Championship with a 2-1 record.  Higdon will be back next year with more belief, higher goals, and the same commitment to excellence.
 
The Scholar Athlete of the Year award was given to Women's Volleyball player Charlene DeVries and Men's Soccer player Wayne Otten. The award annually recognizes one male and female senior level student for outstanding achievement in both sports and academics.

Charlene DeVries has been a consistent and dominating part of the Women's Volleyball program over her career. A perennial OCAA All-Star, DeVries also had much academic success at Redeemer. In 2016-2017 she was name a CCAA Academic All-Canadian for her All-star nod as well as her Dean's Honours List status. On top of her academic and athletic abilities, Charlene displayed effective communication, discerning wisdom, openness to assistance, collaboration, leadership, and most importantly the drive to complete everything she put her heart into to the best of her ability.  . 
  
Redeemer's Wayne Otten was named the Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. Otten was a starting center back three years ago for the men's soccer team, and converted to the goalkeeper who regularly made the difference between wins and losses.  During the 2016-2017 season he was one of the leagues top goalkeepers through hard work and belief in himself.  Otten led the Royals to their first Consolation title at this year's OCAA Provincial Outdoor Championship. 

The Redeemer Coaching Excellence Award went to Rob Hooper and the Women's Basketball coaching staff. Hooper is one of the hardest working coaches in the entire OCAA.  He has poured himself into his job as Women's Basketball bench boss and consistently seeks out possible improvements in every area of program building.   The team culture grew with each year, as did their athletic accomplishments and academic successes. Through his leadership and support, the women's basketball team saw their most significant improvement in 2016-2017 finally making the playoffs after years of near misses.  

The Outstanding Character Award went to Women's Basketball player and graduating athlete, Rebekah Couperus. Couperus consistently showed great character on and off the court. She was the team leader for 2 years, mentoring younger players, keeping the team biblically sound, and doing/arranging pre-game devotions. Her commitment to the team was second to none and was often referred to as the women's basketball player coach. 

The full list of 2016-2017 awards were as follows:

Women's Indoor Soccer
MVP: Meaghan Rudd
ROY: Serena DeJong
 
Women's Outdoor Soccer
MVP: Meaghan Rudd
ROY: Serena DeJong

Men's Indoor Soccer
MVP: Daniel Grootenboer
ROY: Enzo Guerra

Men's Outdoor Soccer
MVP: Wayne Otten
ROY: Enzo Guerra

Cross Country
MVP: Rachel Hoekstra
ROY: Nathaniel Devries
 
Badminton
MVP: Owen Kurvits
ROY: Rachel Guetter
 
Men's Volleyball
MVP: Shawn Brus
ROY: Linden Bontkes
 
Women's Volleyball
MVP: Charlene DeVries
ROY: Rebekah Nash
 
Men's Basketball
MVP: Rayvon Higdon
ROY: Foster Brown
 
Women's Basketball
MVP: Jesseca Brown
ROY: Tobie Brinkman
 
Overall Rookie of the Year
Serena DeJong
 
Coaching Excellence Award
Women's Basketball 

Outstanding Character Award
Rebekah Couperus
 
Female Scholar Athlete of the Year
Charlene DeVries
 
Male Scholar Athlete of the Year
Wayne Otten
 
Female Athlete of the Year
Jesseca Brown
 
Male Athlete of the Year
Rayvon Higdon
Owen Kurvits