Anna Pyne: November's Zueike Female Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Anna Pyne of Women's Basketball on being selected the CMU Zueike Female Athlete of the Month for November. The veteran ponit guard provided some much-needed consistency and scoring for the Blazers as they started their 2022-23 campaign.
The women's basketball roster saw plenty of changes both with new recruits during the summer, as well as some key injuries during training leading up to the first official match, but one of the pillars of the team thus far this season has been Pyne, who is now entering her third season of eligibility with CMU. Pyne brings with her a championship-winning pedigree, having been with the team for MCAC championship wins in 2020 and 2022, along with a NIAC championship win in the spring of 2020.
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Aquino Blazes the Trail in First Class of CCAA All-Canadians out of the MCAC
Fresh off his appearance at the MCAC Soccer Championships, second-year striker Matheus Aquino had the bittersweet experience of accepting his All-Conference Award knowing his team would not be moving on to the CCAA Nationals. Unbeknownst to him, his selection as one of the top two vote receivers in the MCAC also granted him the opportunity to be recognized as one of 14 All-Canadians at the National Championship in Langley, British Columbia this week. Before heading out to the West Coast to accept his award in person, Director of Athletics Cara Isaak caught up with Aquino to discuss the season and his road to the National Championships:
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Blazers Volleyball Split Weekend Set with Pilots
After a successful opening weekend to the 2022-23 MCAC volleyball season with both teams earning wins over the Assiniboine Community College Cougars, this past weekend saw the conference schedule begin in earnest with a home-and-home series with the Providence Pilots.
Friday's showdown in Niverville was the home opener for the Providence Pilots, and CMU's men's side did everything in their power to ruin the party. The best-on-best matchup started smoothly for the Blazers who cruised to a 25-17 first set victory. A stumble in the the second set saw Providence regain some momentum, but a marathon 29-27 set win for the Blazers in their road whites proved to be the back-breaker for the Pilots, as the visitors got out to an early lead in the fourth set and sailed to the four set victory. Second-year right side Duncan Petrie led all Blazers with 15 kills along with some huge serving runs, while left side Cam Gayleard added 14 of his own in the win. The story of the game was perhaps the passing of the Blazers squad, allowing setter Tim Juvonen to spread the offence and keep the Pilots on their heels. Left side-turned-libero Brock Carmichael was named player of the match for CMU, notching 14 digs and solid serve-receive numbers throughout the match.
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Kalyssa Wasylik: October's Zueike Female Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Kalyssa Wasylik of Women's Soccer on being selected the CMU Zueike Female Athlete of the Month for October. The highly-skilled player made the transition from midfield to defence in her sophomore season.
With a few changes to the lineup in the offseason, Blazers women's soccer co-head coaches Cara Isaak and Lianna Bestvater had some tough roster decisions to make and turned to Wasylik to move to the fullback position at the wing of the back line of defence. The CMU coaches weighed in on their rising star's play this month, stating "Kalyssa has really reached a new level of play this year. She was asked to transition to defense which was new for her and she had an amazing attitude about it and worked really hard to learn the position. She brings great energy to every game and gets the crowd on their feet with her footwork."
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Noah Schindel: October's Zueike Male Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Noah Schindel of Men's Soccer on being selected the CMU Zueike Male Athlete of the Month for October. The rookie defender has been a fixture at the Blazers backline throughout the season, and the league has noticed.
A summer signing of Blazers Men's Soccer head coach Anderson Pereira, Schindel came to CMU with a maturity that most rookie athletes don't possess, owing to the gap years he took between high school and post-secondary education. He was named the Folio Cafe player of the game early in the season, and was deserving of the award on several other occasions throughout the second half when the Blazers had to chase down the Assiniboine Cougars for a spot in last weekend's MCAC Championships. Perhaps the pivotal moment in the season was during a beautiful October afternoon when the Blazers hosted the Cougars at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex. Having tied in their previous match in the season, the Blazers needed points in the contest to keep pace with ACC and give themselves a chance at sneaking into the playoff picture. After two goals from CMU's Matheus Aquino put the Blazers ahead, the Cougars managed to fight back and press to go ahead late in the game. However, a final push by the green and gold produced a glorious top-shelf tally from outside the box off of the boot of Schindel, and kept the Blazers' season alive. The Blazers would go on to beat ACC on their home turf, and leapfrog them into the MCAC Championships semi-finals.
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