The 2013-14 varsity season came to a close on April 1^st with the 90^th annual McMaster Athletic Awards, and a pair of fifth-year standouts, Cameron Bailey and Hailey Milligan, was accorded top honours as the Male and Female Athletes of the year.

A member of the swim team, Bailey was presented with the Ivor Wynne Trophy for top male athlete, while Milligan took home the Therese Quigley award as top female athlete. The awards were presented by Director of Athletics & Recreation Jeff Giles and McMaster University President Dr. Patrick Deane.
  
Ivor Wynne Award (Male Athlete of the Year) Cameron Bailey - Swimming
 
Cam Bailey wraps up a brilliant Marauder swim career in 2014.  At the OUA championship, he won gold in the 200-metre individual medley for the fourth straight year, and then won bronze in the same race at the nationals, while setting a new team record and becoming the first Marauder to go under two minutes for the 200-IM.. Bailey was also awarded the OUA Jeno Tihanyi Award as the outstanding medley swimmer in Ontario for the fourth time in his varsity career.  The OUA finals saw him win three more silver medals and he helped McMaster to the team silver medal behind Toronto, and to a best-ever fourth place finish at the CIS championships.  He completes his career at McMaster as a five-time OUA first-team All-Star and five-time team MVP
 
 
Therese Quigley Award (Female Athlete of the Year) Hailey Milligan – Basketball

Her fifth year in Maroon and Grey cemented Hailey Milligan's place as one of the best players in the history of Marauder basketball. In her third season as co-captain, Milligan posted team-leading averages of 18.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game that ranked third and first respectively in the OUA. Her rebounding skills were such that Milligan led the country in boards for a second consecutive season, and set a new Marauder record of 787. She also became just the fourth Marauder to eclipse the 1000-point mark for her career, finishing with a total of 1141. Milligan's standout season led her to be named as an OUA First Team All-Star for the second consecutive year, and take home the McMaster Athlete of the Week award on three separate occasions in 2013-14.
 
 
Dr. Ray Johnson Award (Graduating Male Student-Athlete that exhibits ability, leadership and the Spirit of McMaster) Vincent Wu – Badminton
 
Served as the varsity team co-captain for the second straight season and President of the McMaster badminton club, Vincent Wu has been tireless in supporting his sport.  Whether running practices or organizing team activities, he has taken on a leadership role geared toward helping the team achieve success.  Vincent was named the team MVP this past season.  He has also been active in numerous outside activities, volunteering in such programs as the Baddy Smash Squad, Best Buddies at McMaster, and the McMaster Mentorship program.  He is also the founder and President of Refresh Bolivia at McMaster, a project intended to help provide clean water and proper sanitation to rural villages.
 
 
Dr. Edna Guest Award (Graduating Female Student-Athlete that exhibits ability, leadership and the Spirit of McMaster) Amanda Weldon – Volleyball
 
Weldon was the Marauders' chosen representative on court, and a role model for her team off of it. Serving as captain in her fifth season, the setter started the majority of her team's matches as McMaster stormed to an OUA title. She has a long history of involvement with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, having twice walked for the Weekend to End Women's Cancers and spearheaded the Marauders' Think Pink initiatives. Weldon also serves a leading role within the Mac Athletes Care program, as the coordinator of regular athlete visits to the McMaster Children's Hospital, a volunteer during Literacy Day reading programs, a McMaster Mentor to younger girls in the Hamilton area and a group leader during the Steel City Amazing Race. She took part in the pilot project of the McMaster Global Serve Program, travelling to Costa Rica to assist in the building of a school.
 
Mel & Marilyn Hawkrigg Award for Male Rookie of the Year, Danny Vandervoort – Football
 
Danny Vandervoort had a big start to his varsity career catching six passes, including one for a touchdown, in McMaster's season opener versus Ottawa, and in his second outing against Queen's he had seven receptions for 172 yards, including a 73-yard major, en route to OUA offensive player-of-the-week honours. Vandervoort ended his freshman season with 31 catches for 594 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games, earning him a spot on the second OUA all-star team. His eight receiving majors, one shy of the team record and a new McMaster standard for a rookie, were good for third place in Ontario, while his 594 yards ranked eighth in the conference. He was honoured with the Norm Marshall Award as the OUA rookie of the year, and then Vandervoort became only the second Marauder to receive the Peter Gorman Trophy as CIS rookie of the year.
 
Mel & Marilyn Hawkrigg Award for Female Rookie of the Year, Sophie Bukovec – Volleyball
 
There was no adjustment period for Sophie Bukovec, the Marauder outside hitter simply stepped into a leading role with her new team this season. After a busy summer schedule that saw her compete in both the U19 and U21 World Beach Championships, Bukovec made a smooth transition to the indoor game, and led the Marauders with 14.5 points in her very first OUA match in October. She remained the team's dependable, high-usage hitter throughout the season, and earned OUA First Team All-Star and All-Rookie honours as a result. But her growth only accelerated from there, and Bukovec emerged as arguably the conference's best hitter in the playoffs, where she averaged a league-high six points per set and 5.06 kills per set while hitting a blistering 30 per cent. Her incredible playoff performances earned Bukovec recognition as the Most Valuable Player of the OUA Final Four, as she led McMaster to only its second conference title in program history.

Les Prince Award (Outstanding Community Service) Christopher Griffiths – Men's Lacrosse
 
A third-year player on the men's lacrosse team, Chris Griffiths has been extremely active in various community outreach efforts, both through McMaster and outside the university.  He serves on the executive for McMaster Athletes Care and the Right to Play 24-hours of Sport program.  He has taken a lead role in organizing community and volunteer initiatives performed by his team and though department-wide projects, such as the THINK PINK events in support of breast cancer research. Chris also volunteers regularly at Living Rock, and has been instrumental in launching literacy, reading buddy, and many other programs at Hamilton schools.  He is also helping develop an inclusivity workshop that will be directed at local high school athletes through McMaster Athletes Care.
 
Bruce Cochrane Award (Outstanding Dedication and Service in a support role) Bowen Lin – Men's Rugby
 
He spent four seasons as a player, but Bowen Lin accomplished so much more off the pitch in service of Marauder rugby. The commerce student held the role of team manager for the past three seasons, and vastly improved the operation of the program in nearly every facet. Lin organized large-scale projects such as budgeting and kit ordering alongside the everyday tasks required by the team, including equipment managing and water. He also took courses throughout his time at McMaster to become a certified rugby official and volunteered to referee the team's junior varsity games -- a key part of the program's development. Knowing that his time at McMaster was coming to an end, Lin spent this past season training his successor as manager to ensure the continued effectiveness of the role.
 
Joyce Wignall Award (Team that best displays community involvement and civic ownership) Baseball
 
In partnership with the Jays Care Foundation and McMaster Athletes Care, the Marauder baseball team took a lead role in the Pathway to Education program in place in Hamilton.  Beginning in September team members held weekly baseball clinics in the Bennetto neighbourhood in north Hamilton.   When outdoor clinics were no longer an option, team members continued to volunteer regularly at M-A-C programs like Living Rock and the Eva Rothwell Resource Centre.   Again in partnership with Jays Care, Marauder baseball is hosting a day-long indoor spring clinic for 50 Hamilton youth in preparation for the summer baseball season, with several team members volunteering to serve as summer coaches for youth teams.

The Athletic Awards program with full list of all award recipients and feature stories is available HERE