The women's varsity volleyball team at the University of B.C. is one of the most decorated teams in school history and next month they could add two more trophies-an individual honour and recognition for the entire roster-to the growing gilded pile.
Nominated as the team of the year by Sport B.C., the T-birds six-foot outside hitter and national beach volleyball player Shanice Marcelle is also nominated as the university athlete of the year.
Winners for the 46th annual awards sponsored by Telus will be awarded March 8 in Richmond.
The T-birds are on an eight-game winning streak and host Brandon University Friday and Saturday at the War Memorial Gym.
Head coach Doug Reimer, who Sport B.C. named coach of the year in 2010, said the provincial nomination provided the right kind of motivation heading into the playoffs, which begin Feb. 16 with the Western Canada quarter-finals.
Last season, the T-birds won their fourth consecutive Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship, defeating host Laval in straight sets. It was the team's 16th national appearance in 17 years.
The Team of the Year Award is presented by sports talk radio TEAM1040.
Five more athletes are nominated in individual categories. Tennis talents Rebecca Marino and Vasek Pospisil are nominated as the senior female and male athlete of the year.
Amanda Gerhart is nominated in the same category as Marino. The 27-year-old wrestler and Douglas College criminology graduate finished fifth in her 59-kilo weight class at the World Championships in Turkey this September.
The nomination is confirmation she's among the world's best.
"I feel like I've improved this year and this helps me boost my confidence," said Gerhart, a one-time gymnast who moved to Vancouver seven years ago from Ontario. "It's realization that I can compete with other athletes at that level."
Paralympian Scott Patterson is nominated as the disabled athlete of the year in a season that brings the competitor to a new sport. A bronze medallist in the giant slalom sit ski at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Patterson started swimming competitively a year ago and will race at the national trials in Montreal this March for a spot on the Canadian team at the London Summer Games.
The double amputee's best event is the 100-metre breaststroke and he was at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre when he heard about the nomination. "I was at the pool, training and I'd just finished a workout and got an email," he said. "I'm excited."
Vancouver triathlete Stephanie Kieffer is nominated as the master female athlete of the year. The mother of three captured the recent world championship in the women's 4549 age group in Beijing. She trains with the Leading Edge Triathlon Club where she is renowned and respected as a trash talker as well as a strong swimmer.
Twitter: @MHStewart
