THE WISESBy Josh Beneteau

SPORTS ISSUECelebrating Ryersons stand-out athletes of the year

8 Wednesday, April 2, 2014SPORTS ISSUE

Theres really nothing like a hockey dad. They tie your skates, build you rinks and teach you everything you know about the game. For Ja-mie Wise, it even meant being the water boy for the York University Lions, getting to ride the team bus and spending as much time at the rink as he could. But by coaching at York, Ja-mies father, Graham Wise, was mostly with the team and wasnt home as much as he wishes he had been. Its probably something I regret, Gra-

ham says. You look back on it and thats one thing I tell young coaches right now with families is you really have to balance it be-cause it goes by so quick. It was Jamies mother Sue a former track

and fi eld coach at York who would drive her two sons to practice and games. She had to take a teaching position in the kinesiology department and stop coaching track and fi eld so that she could spend time getting her sons where they needed to be. But she could tell early on that Jamie was going to be a great hockey player. He was athletic and saw the game well,

she says. He was passionate about the sport.After 19 years with the York Lions, Gra-

ham made the move to Ryerson in 2006. So when Sue found out Jamie would be joining the Rams, she was very excited. She says she tries to go to as many games as she can and is glad they are fi nding success together. Its special to see them both reaching their

goals, she says. I know its been a long, hard road with Ryerson and this was a really fun year.Graham just fi nished his eighth season with

the Rams and Jamie his fi rst. Together they

have created a very strong team leading Ry-ersons mens hockey team to their best regular season record, 17-11-0, good for third in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) west divi-sion. Jamie says he was happy to be able to go

through this historic season with his father. It was good for [dad] to turn around Ry-

erson, Jamie says. Ryerson used to get two wins a season, so its good to do it with him.Jamie has seemingly found his place at Ry-

erson as the teams top scorer and the second-leading scorer in the country. With 21 goals this season, his teammates agree that he has proven himself on the ice and is more than just the coachs son. Outgoing captain An-drew Buck says Jamie leads by example more than anything else.Obviously hes a really good player, but he

doesnt act like it, Buck says. Hes a pretty humble guy and he really wants to win.Graham and Jamie both emphasize the im-

portance of keeping their relationship profes-sional when around the team. They agree that to be successful, Jamie has to be treated like any other guy on the team.When were in the environment of the team,

then it is a coach-player relationship. When were at home, its a father-son relationship, Graham says. We probably watch more golf together [than hockey]. Although the Rams lost in the second round

of the playoffs to the Lakehead University Thun-derwolves, both Jamie and Graham were recog-nized by the OUA for their accomplishments. Graham was named OUA West coach of the year and Jamie was named a fi rst-team all-star.

PHOTO: FARNIA FEKRI

For extra content, complete galleries and to vote for your favourite athlete, visit www.theeyeopener.com

KENECAPINGUE-

GILESIt was 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, March 23 when Keneca Pingue-Giles decided to pick up and go to Winnipeg. After throwing some clothes into a backpack, she hailed a cab and had just about an hour to make it to Toronto Pearson International Airport to catch her 10:30 p.m. fl ight. In the car, she took to her iPhone, frantically trying to book a ticket online. She says it was the most spontaneous thing she has ever done.On the court, shes Ryersons

star guard. But off the court, she is a big sister a big sister who bought a $400 plane ticket to Manitoba so that she could surprise her 15-year-old sister, who is on her high schools var-sity basketball team and had a provincial championship game the next day. She ran up to me and she

started crying and I started cry-ing and it was just a super-nice moment. Im really glad that I went, Pingue-Giles says. And I know she appreciated having her older sister there to support her. Thirty-fi ve hours later she was back on a plane to Toronto.The third-year criminal jus-

tice student and aspiring law-yer strives to support others the way she was supported on her journey to becoming the Ontar-io University Athletics (OUA) all-star that she is today.This is my fi rst year being

injury-free so I actually had the opportunity to show all my tal-ents this season but [being an OUA all-star] was something I wasnt even expecting, Pingue-Giles says. If I can go to prac-tice and be as effi cient as pos-sible and get shots up and help my team, then its a success to me whether we win or lose.Pingue-Giles achieved career

highs in almost every statistical category this season leading the team with 12.9 points per game and more than doubling her rebounds. Born in Winnipeg to parents

of Caribbean descent, Pingue-Giles realized that she loved

basketball when she was 10 years old. She was enrolled in the Boys and Girls Club of Canada an elementary after-school program that organizes various activities for children, like time for gym and help with homework. She thanks former volunteer George Bain Pacolba for sparking her inter-est in basketball.Anytime we had to do some-

thing sports-wise, I would al-ways go to George. He was the basketball guy and would help me no matter what, she says. Even if just the boys wanted to play, he would make them play with me... he was like the older brother of the group.Pingue-Giles spent eight years

in the Boys and Girls Club and volunteered for four years after leaving elementary school. In 2011, she was invited by former Rams coach Charles Kissi to at-tend training camp and received a basketball scholarship to at-tend Ryerson in the fall. But she still keeps volunteering close to her heart. The day after a three-point

loss to University of Toronto on Feb. 19 the teams fi rst and fi nal playoff game of the season the team was sched-uled to hold a basketball clinic at Island Public School in To-ronto to work with younger students and teach them drills. Some players were reluctant to go, still upset from the previous nights game, but Pingue-Giles focused on just helping out the kids. The team worked with Grade 2 students, who were as-signed to each draw a picture of their role model. Little did she know that one student would decide to draw her.I had only spent a couple

of hours with her and I was al-ready her role model, Pingue-Giles says. It just shows the power that sport can have on someone, physically and aca-demically. You learn skills that you can use forever. Pingue-Giles says it was her

proudest moment off the court.

By Monique Hutson

Wednesday, April 2, 2014 9SPORTS ISSUE

PHOTO: FARNIA FEKRI

10 Wednesday, April 2, 2014SPORTS ISSUE

LISAMAKEEVA

If you ask Rams basketball player Jean-Victor Mukama to share the se-cret to his award-winning season, he wont give you shooting tips or train-ing advice. Hell tell you it started with an at-

titude adjustment. I think my strength right now is

Im willing to learn from anybody, Mukama says. I had times when I would be stubborn and pick and choose who I would listen to. But since Ive been [at Ryerson], Im way more humble, Im way more willing to listen to anybody.The 19-year-old shooting guard

says it was this change that helped lead him to becoming the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East rook-ie of the year.Mukama appeared in all 22 confer-

ence games for the Rams this season, starting in six of them while averag-ing 16.5 minutes per game and rack-ing up 145 points and 66 rebounds. His 26 steals and 10 blocks were also good enough for ranking second and fourth on the team, respectively.Those statistics are indicative of

the commitment that the Quebec na-tive admits he lacked during his high school basketball days at cole sec-ondaire Acadmie catholique Mre-Teresa, a Catholic French-immersion school in Hamilton, Ont. I was just kind of standing around,

pretending to play defence and when it was offence, I would play 100 per cent, Mukama says. He outgrew these habits under Ryerson head coach Roy Ranas defence-focused system. But Mukama also acknowledges

that the advantage his towering six-foot-eight frame gives him over other guards doesnt hurt either. Just by standing there, it changes someones shot, he says. They want to shoot because they cant see the rim some-times. When I put my hand up its even worse.Mukama is now an inch taller than

his listed height from the beginning of the season, but hes no stranger to such a pace. He estimates that when he entered high school, he was about fi ve-foot-nine. By the time he left, he was six-foot-six and people were start-ing to take notice of his play. One of those people was Rana, who

is also a coach with the Canadian ju-nior mens national team. He fi rst met Mukama when he invited him to try out for the squad. Though Mukama didnt make that team which in-cluded the likes of Andrew Wiggins and Tyler Ennis who have entered the 2014 National Basketball Association (NBA) drafts the relationship he developed with Rana during that time helped make Ryerson his destination of choice over a number of Canadian and American schools.

JEAN-VICTORMUKAMA

By Nitish Bissonauth

PHOTOS BY JESS TSANG

Representing Ryerson is a routine Lisa Makeeva has been gracefully doing since day one. In her rookie season as a Ram, Makeeva won an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) gold medal in the gold free skate event and shes been medalling every year since. In her third year with the Rams, Makeeva is without a doubt an important fi gure for the program winning gold, sil-ver and bronze in three events at the 201314 OUAs held at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.Makeevas journey to success started

only a few blocks away at Moss Park Arena. When I was fi ve, my mother decided to take me to a public skating session and I guess I liked it enough to keep coming back every week, she says. Both of Makeevas parents were ath-

letes, so it was important that she be-came involved in some kind of sport. She explored ballet and rhythmic gym-nastics for several years before eventu-ally sticking to skating. Just like most kids attend school

and dont really question it, skating was just another part of my daily rou-tine and something I enjoyed doing, Makeeva says. As I got older, I began to take it more seriously.She trained at the Mariposa School

of Skating in Barrie, Ont. and at the age of 14, she got the opportunity to train in St. Petersburg, Russia which she describes as one of the best things that happened to her through skating. Through this experience I got to

learn more about the Russian culture and train with some of the best coach-es in the world, she says. It was a rewarding three years, but at the same

time it was very challenging to be away from my family at the age of 14.Makeeva says she was lucky to be

surrounded by supportive friends who welcomed her into their families while she was in Russia. My life now does not revolve

around skating as it used to in the past, she says. Having said that, without skating, I wouldnt be the per-son I am today and it defi nitely taught me some of my most important life les-sons. Like most athletes, Makeeva has

a secret to her success on the ice. A stuffed toy elephant on skates follows her in her skating bag everywhere she goes. As for the signifi cance, she says there is no special meaning behind it, just that elephants bring her good luck. Elephants are just sort of my good

luck charm and people [who] know me well tend to give me elephant gifts, she says.Makeeva also likes to drink cof-

fee and eat dark chocolate the day of competition, and right before she hits the ice she drinks something citrus to wake herself up.It may not be the usual pre-compe-

tition diet especially for a nutrition and food student but it does the trick and will continue to do so since she doesnt plan om walking away from skating anytime soon. Makeeva says she will be skating for

the Rams in her fourth year and then continuing to work as a coach after she graduates.Having a clean skate and landing

all your triples after so many years of practice is a great feeling.

11Wednesday, April 2, 2014 SPORTS ISSUE

pretending to play defence and when it was offence, I would play 100 per cent, Mukama says. He outgrew these habits under Ryerson head coach Roy Ranas defence-focused system. But Mukama also acknowledges

that the advantage his towering six-foot-eight frame gives him over other guards doesnt hurt either. Just by standing there, it changes someones shot, he says. They want to shoot because they cant see the rim some-times. When I put my hand up its even worse.Mukama is now an inch taller than

his listed height from the beginning of the season, but hes no stranger to such a pace. He estimates that when he entered high school, he was about fi ve-foot-nine. By the time he left, he was six-foot-six and people were start-ing to take notice of his play. One of those people was Rana, who

is also a coach with the Canadian ju-nior mens national team. He fi rst met Mukama when he invited him to try out for the squad. Though Mukama didnt make that team which in-cluded the likes of Andrew Wiggins and Tyler Ennis who have entered the 2014 National Basketball Association (NBA) drafts the relationship he developed with Rana during that time helped make Ryerson his destination of choice over a number of Canadian and American schools.

Hes committed, he works hard, he loves the game and does it the right way very respectful, very polite, Rana says. Hes a high-character kid, the kind of kid you want in your program. Mukama is in the fi rst year of a

child and youth care degree, a program he fi rst heard about while struggling to decide what to do after high school. He isnt certain where it will take

him, but hes confi dent that its a natu-ral fi t for his philanthropic aspirations. I dont know for sure what Im go-

ing to do, but I know it has to do with helping the community and helping kids, he says. Even if I dont play basketball [or]

even if I play pro, Im going to have a good impact on the community wher-ever I am, helping people. In the meantime Mukama has his

sights set on next season, when Ry-erson hosts the Canadian Interuni-versity Sport (CIS) mens basketball championships. As the host team, the Rams will

automatically qualify for the tourna-ment in what will be the fi nal season for many of the teams veterans. Mu-kama is eager to repay the teammates who have helped him grow on and off the court.We have to do everything we can

to make sure they leave with a nation-al championship, he says.

JEAN-VICTORMUKAMA

By Daniel Rocchi

JULIELONGMAN

By Tristan Simpson

Julie Longman is similar to the In-credible Hulk. No, the fi ve-foot seven-inch libero doesnt turn green and smash every competitor on the wrong side of the net, but she says, The Hulk would represent me be-cause off the court Im small [but] when Im on the court I have a big presence.A libero specializes in defensive

skills and wears a contrasting jersey colour from his or her teammates. They are not allowed to block or attack the ball when it is entirely above the net and they can replace any back-row player without prior notice to the offi cials. The womens volleyball team has only two liberos on its roster.As the libero, I take control of the

backcourt, Longman says. I enjoy the challenge. You have to pass the ball perfectly every time. Longmans pre-game routine is to

get mentally prepared by listening to Eminem tracks. The old stuff, not the new stuff, says says.The Newmarket-native is an in-

tegral part of Ryersons womens volleyball team. Her 3.79 digs per game average leads the team and ranks seventh in the Ontario Univer-sity Athletics (OUA). She was also named the OUA East libero of the year and selected as a member of the all-rookie team. But she admits that she wasnt expecting the challenge. Not once was I told I was going to be our starting libero, she says.Longman started playing competi-

tive volleyball in grade school and had the chance to watch Ryersons womens volleyball team play in her fi nal year of high school. I remem-ber watching them play last year and I liked the dynamics and how they played together, she says. After head coach Dustin Ried approached her to join the Rams, Its been all Ryerson [ever since].But her success on the court hasnt

always transferred to her academ-ics. Longman says the transition to university from high school was her biggest obstacle. School is not my specialty, but I

know I have to work hard in it to be successful, the fi rst-year economics and fi nance student said. Longman wanted to succeed in all aspects of her time at Ryerson, so she changed her work ethic completely. Now she prides herself on being able to pro-duce in both athletics and academ-ics. I knew coming in my fi rst year I would have to prove myself in school before I can play, she says.Longman has a strong determina-

tion to achieve her goals. The sea-son is over, but Longman says she wont stop working. This summer she plans to play beach volleyball with her teammates to continue de-veloping her game. Unlike indoor volleyball, the beach game will re-quire her to dig and spike which could be the chance for her inner-Hulk to start smashing.Outside of volleyballl I think

people would think Im boring, she says. But if Longman ever did have to stop playing volleyball, she says her life would be simple just work hard and make money.

12 Wednesday, April 2, 2014SPORTS ISSUE

ADAMANAGNOSTOPOULOS

By Sarah Cunningham-Scharf

Adam Anagnostopoulos came into his rookie season on Ryer-sons mens volleyball team with a couple of lofty goals: to receive the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) mens volleyball rookie of the year award and to be named to both the OUA and Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) all-rookie all-star team. The driven 19-year-old knew hed have to work hard to carve out his role as the teams starting setter in order to get the playtime needed to achieve those goals.Not only did he accomplish all

of this, but he was named assis-tant captain and led his team to the fi nal four in the OUA mens volleyball playoffs.Anagnostopoulos says that

fi nding out he had achieved these recognitions was a relief. For me, my goals push me but they kind of weigh on my shoul-ders at the same time. I was happy when my coach told me [about receiving rookie of the year] before the quarter-fi nals. He did the same thing with the CIS team before the semifi nals and that was another load off.From his warm personality,

you wouldnt expect the blonde-haired Anagnostopoulos to be a competitive person, but hes been an athlete for most of his life. He grew up loving basket-ball, but in Grade 9 he attended a Kitchener-Waterloo Predators competitive volleyball club try-out for fun. Afterwards, then-coach Barrett Schitka convinced Anagnostopoulos to stick with volleyball. The fi rst thing he said to me was Im going to change your mind about basket-

ball, Anagnostopoulos says.Now, Anagnostopoulos is

Ryersons OUA and CIS all-star setter leading the OUA with 441 total assists and ranking fourth in assists per game with an average of 9.59. But even Ryersons best can have bad and sometimes embarrassing days on the court.We have a team policy that

if you ever serve it under the net, you have to pull down your shorts and make your next serve. And everyone starts clapping and everyones obvi-ously looking at you, he says. I had to do that at Royal Mili-tary College it isnt the place to do that.While he has fun with his

team, one of the biggest factors in Anagnostopouloss decision to attend Ryerson and play for the Rams was the draw of the creative industries program. He is adamant that his focus should, fi rst and foremost, be on his education.I likely wont be playing

volleyball in four years. Were student athletes and the student comes fi rst, he says. After achieving and sur-

passing his goals for his fi rst season as a Ram, Anagnosto-poulos is looking forward to his next three years on the team.As a team, I think we can go

all the way top four in Cana-da, we have the talent, he says. For myself, Id obviously like to make fi rst or second-team all-star. And I hope I can keep that [starting setter] position next year, thats my goal.

PHOTO: MARISSA DEDERER

13Wednesday, April 2, 2014 SPORTS ISSUE

JAHMALJONES

AARONBEST

By Daniel Morand

Jahmal Jones and Aaron Best may be the Rams leading scorers, but dont expect to fi nd them in a club popping bottles after a big win or at a restaurant discussing the victory over eight-ounce steaks. After each game, the due are back on the court for up to an hour taking jump shots and focusing on what matters most basketball. Its a routine that gives the teammates-turned-roommates peace of

mind. As an athlete, its always nice to know that youre always pre-pared, Best says. Its a precautionary method. Its something that you get into the groove of doing and it became a ritual.With a 17-3 record in Ontario University Athletics (OUA) confer-

ence games, its hard to blame Jones and Best for enjoying their time on home court. Both have been named OUA all-stars and this season saw Jones become the second-leading scorer in Ryerson history, averaging 19.1 points per game. Jones was also named to the OUA fi rst-team all-star team for the third time in his career. Bests scoring ability this season was second only to Jones averaging more than 10 points per game. While they have found success together as Rams, their relationship

extends years before either considered Ryerson as their post-secondary school of choice. At 15 years old, Best played alongside Jones in the Ontario basketball development program. Years later, the friendship they developed on the court as teenagers helped infl uence Best to join the Rams basketball team with as long-time teammate was Ryersons starting point-guard.From the get-go, their chemistry in the Rams basketball program was

obvious. In Bests second game as a Ram, Jones jokingly taunted the rookie to showcase his high-fl ying talents. I want a dunk from you, I

want a dunk from you, Jones teased. Best made good on the request and bested a George Brown College player with a one-handed dunk Jones was the fi rst to run over to him and celebrate. When I came here, he was one of the fi rst guys to really show me the

ropes, Best says. Hes defi nitely someone who leads by example and I look to him for that.Since Jones embraced his leadership role as Ryersons starting point-

guard, he and Best have led the Rams from OUA bottom-dwellers to being nationally ranked. In Jones and Bests fi rst year playing together, the Rams fi nished second in the OUA East the best conference fi nish in over 20 years.When playing together, the pair thrive in transition. The point-guard

fi nds Best sprinting up court to attack the rim. That cookie-cutter play is tough to handle for even the quickest of defences and has been re-peated countless times this season. The duo laughs off comparisons to Batman and Robin. Yet, their

friendship has all the makings of a leader-apprentice dynamic. Im the bad cop, Jones says of his relationship with his teammate. [But] sometimes you got to reel him in and tell him its alright, youre still growing, youre going to make mistakes. The Canadian Interuniversity Sports Final 8 will take place at the

Mattamy Athletic Centre next year in what is Joness fi nal season as a Ryerson Ram. Coach Roy Rana is looking to improve his teams third-place fi nish in the OUA East, and Jones wants to deliver Ryerson its fi rst-ever national championship. Knowing that nationals is in our backyard, we have no excuses, Jones says. I guess teams will see what we really have to offer in front of our friends, family and school.

PHOTO: FARNIA FEKRI

14 Wednesday, April 2, 2014SPORTS ISSUE

ALEXBRALETIC

Realizing that he is about to be surrounded by Nipissing University defenders in the third game of the season, Alex Braletic decides to launch a shot from well outside the box. The opposing keeper never stood a chance against the brilliance of Braletic. The fi fth-year mid-fi elder saved his best season for last scoring 13 goals in the regular season before leading the Rams to nationals for the fi rst time in the programs history. Braletic also became Ry-ersons fi rst athlete in any sport to win a Ca-nadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) most out-standing player award.For most athletes, winning MVP is the

highlight of their career. For Braletic, its just an afterthought. I look back at the season I had and just think, We made it to nationals, we had an undefeated season and had a great time, he says. But like some athletes before him, Braletics academic struggles jeopar-dized his athletic dreams. In his second year with the Rams, Braletic

one of the mens soccer teams most valu-able players was strapped to the bench as a glorifi ed water boy for the entire season because he failed to maintain the 2.0 GPA required of student athletes at Ryerson. Even during the Ontario University Ath-

letics (OUA) quarter-fi nal game against the University of Toronto that ended the Rams 201112 season, Braletic was forced to sit out. I defi nitely thought the loss was avoidable if I had played. I felt terrible, absolutely terrible, he says. Braletic fi nished the 2011 Spring se-mester with a 1.84 GPA while studying electri-cal engineering. Braletic says he skipped most of his classes because he was focusing on soc-cer and felt that he could still pass his classes even if he didnt show up. But Braletics outlook on life and academics

changed after a heart-to-heart talk with head coach and director of athletics Ivan Joseph. He says their conversation made him realize that theres more to life than soccer and he was wasting an opportunity to receive a higher ed-ucation by not trying his best in all aspects of his life. Joseph says Braletic needed someone to challenge him and not let him slip through the academic cracks just because hes a tal-ented soccer player. He was cheating himself. Hes probably one of the smartest guys Ive

ever coached, Joseph says. After that discussion Braletic did everything

to get back on the fi eld. He attended all of his classes, submitted as-

signments on time and started studying for tests well in advance. His hard work paid off by the end of the 2012 Winter semes-ter Braletics GPA was 3.0. But he also made sure his soccer skills stayed sharp during his time away from the fi eld. Braletic continued to be a part of the team as an assistant coach, went to every practice and game that didnt confl ict with class, worked out six hours a day and played in three competitive mens leagues outside of school. Braletic could also be found embarrassing defenders while wearing a fl uo-rescent pink tank top and matching headband in Ryersons intramural soccer league at the Recreation and Athletic Centre.Now Braletic is on pace to graduate next

year. His grades have never been higher and his performance on the fi eld has never been better. But Braletics leadership is the biggest change his coaches noticed. The piece he was always missing was the ability to lead, Joseph says. Not for the recognition or the crowd but for the desire to make people around him better.In the 49th minute of the Rams fi nal regu-

lar season match against Laurentian Univer-sity, Braletic buries the ball deep inside his op-ponents net from a kick just outside the box. But instead of fl exing or hugging his team-mates like he usually does to celebrate, he takes off his jersey and reveals that hes wear-ing a second one. The other jersey belonged to fellow Rams midfi elder Martin Dabrowski, who couldnt attend the game because his fa-ther was in the fi nal stages of his battle with cancer. Braletic wore the jersey in a show of support for Dabrowski and his father. Then when Dabrowskis father died just

before the quarter-fi nals, Braletic gave an emotional speech at halftime to rally the team around Dabrowski before scoring a game-tying goal in the 90th minute to send the match into overtime where the Rams would eventually pull out the win. [Bra-letics] best attribute isnt his striking, or goal-scoring ability, associate coach Filip Prostran says. Its his ability to inspire the people around him.

By Michael Grace-Dacosta

PHOTO: NATALIA BALCERZAK

JOANNAKOLBE

SEBASTIEN DUBOIS-DIDCOCK

When Sebastien Dubois-Didcock fi rst pulled on his protective jacket and pe mask, he wasnt sure what he was getting himself into. All he knew was that his mom told him he would get to fi ght with swords. As a 10-year-old boy this wasnt an op-portunity he could turn down.At his fi rst practice the coach

motioned for his junior team to gather around. Being in this sport, as physical

as it can be and as much as it can demand, lets just admit up front that we all got into this sport be-cause deep down were all kind of nerds and geeks, the coach said. The boys couldnt help but agree.Flash-forward to 2014, Dubois-

Didcock just won his fi rst-ever On-tario University Athletics (OUA) fencing championship, helped lead the Rams to silver in the team pe event and is about to graduate with a degree in photography.The 21-year-old Desjarlais trophy

winner has been considered one of the best fencers in Ontario since he started his varsity career, but it wasnt until his fourth and last year as a Ram that he brought home the gold. I tried not to get ahead of my-

self, but halfway through the fi nal match it hit me, says the captain of the mens fencing team. It was a really weird moment, but I knew I had the situation under control.Fencers in the pe discipline

score points by touching the tip of their swords anywhere on their

opponents body. Dubois-Didcock managed to win the fi nal match by a score of 15-12.The sport is unique in that it

doesnt get a lot of coverage and isnt anywhere near as popular as hockey or basketball. Other than the Olympics every four years, most Canadians wont catch a sword fi ght on TV unless theyre watching Game of Thrones. But Dubois-Did-cock doesnt mind.Once you get into the sport,

your mentality changes a lot, he says. At the end of the day were just as intense as athletes from any other sport.According to the Toronto-na-

tive, mental preparation require-ments are much higher than other sports that may be more physical. That being said, our sport is still very draining.Joanna Kolbe, captain of Ryer-

sons womens team, grew up fenc-ing with Dudois-Didcock at the Toronto Fencing Club. Despite win-ning the championship three years in a row, she was unable to capture her fourth and fi nal OUA champi-onship this year coming home with the bronze. Even though I lost my fi rst

match, I still managed to win the bronze medal match, which is hard to do, she says. I was still sad that I lost, but the girls who I lost against are pretty good ... So, no regrets.Although Kolbe may not have

had the best personal fi nish to her time as a Ram, she did help lead the

way to silver in the team pe event and was named an OUA all-star.Dubois-Didcock was also named

an OUA all-star and is the fi rst Ram to ever win gold in the individual pe event.As captain, Dubois-Didcock

says that participating in sports throughout his life has helped him land crucial qualities like patience, confi dence and independence. On Ryersons team, he doesnt consider himself the leader, just an integral member who instructs footwork and blade work in practice and, above all, supports his fellow fenc-ers.He admits there arent many

photographers who are also ath-letes, but contends that these roles complement each other well when learning to work as a team.[In photography] we have cli-

ents and art directors, people who we might not agree with, but we have to learn to work with each other while still being assertive to our own style and ideas, he says.Dubois-Didcock plans to free-

lance for a while after he gradu-ates. Specializing in food and drink photography, he plans to shoot for magazines, advertising companies and websites. As for fencing, hes taking a

break. It was an honour to represent

Ryerson, but its time to move on with my life, he says. Im sure Ill get back to it eventually, but Im in no rush.

By Krista Robinson

&

PHOTO: JESS TSANG

15Wednesday, April 2, 2014 SPORTS ISSUE