Kennedi Stevenson made quite a first impression.
Stepping on to a team that had not lost a regular season game in four years and won the past two Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships, the Glen Williams rugby player not only fit in, she excelled.
Stevenson led the Queen's Gaels with seven tries, good for fourth in the league. She also finished in the top 10 in OUA scoring with 35 points.
That earned Stevenson both the Ontario and Canadian university rookie of the year awards.
“She's an incredible athlete with an unbelievable work ethic and an immense amount of potential," said Queen's coach, Dan Valley. "It's been a pleasure coaching her this season, and I am so excited to see her go to work in the winter season and really take that next step towards being one of the top players in all of U Sports."
Prior to joining Queen’s, Stevenson won a silver medal with Canada at the Youth Commonwealth Games and was named the Rugby Ontario junior player of the year. She also won two provincial high school titles with Mayfield Secondary.
Stevenson, a North Halton RFC member, represented Canada again this summer in Wales at the Women’s Under-20 Transatlantic Quad Series.
Guelph edged Queen’s 26-24 on a last-minute try in the OUA final. Both teams advanced to the national USports championship where Queen’s won the bronze medal. This time it was the Gaels scoring a last-minute try to edge Ottawa 29-22.
Two other Georgetown players were named OUA all-stars.
Natasha Brooks, a fullback/wing for the University of Waterloo Warriors, was named to the OUA first-team. The fourth-year psychology student had one try and provided strong defensive play for the Warriors this season. The Christ the King graduate was also a first-team all-star in 2022.
Jocelyn Whittal was named to the OUA second all-star team. The fourth-year engineering student plays hooker for the Western Mustangs, who went 3-3 this season and reached the OUA semifinals. The Georgetown District High School graduate scored three tries for the Mustangs this season.
