Kayla Dykstra
In the most shocking news of the year, Kayla Dykstra of the Vikes women's basketball was named the Canada West MVP.
Who would have ever thought the leader in scoring (18.6 p/g), leader in rebounding (11.2 p/g), the owner of the leagues top field goal percentage (61%) and the catalyst to the best defensive team in the conference would win the award. Still can't believe it.
All jokes and sarcasm aside, Kayla Dykstra put together just an unbelievable year of basketball. She was destined to win this award from about January onward and was about as sure a bet as President Obama was on Election day.
Night in and night out Dykstra would craft double double performances like she was working the 24 hour drive-through at Tim Hortons. To finish out the regular season Kayla D would put together back-to-back weekends worthy of Canada West Player of the Week recognition. I would stay posted to the Horn because there could, and probably should, be one more award. Possibly a CIS National Player of the Year award? Time will tell.
Vanessa Forstbauer
You don't usually think about your heart. It's just something that you take for granted. It keeps you going and pumps blood. But students that have never struggled through Human Anatomy at UVic really have no clue how it works, other than it beats and can be crushed on Prom Night.
Yet for the Vikes Vanessa Forstbauer, her heart became the only thing she could think about. Forstbauer began to notice something was abnormal with her heart roughly two years ago during a Vikes practice. At first, Forstbauer and numerous doctors thought she had an irregular heartbeat. The problem wouldn't subside however, becoming more persistent and noticeable with every practice.
Forstbauer was forced to take a year off and undergo a surgical procedure. After numerous tests, it was discovered that the Chilliwack native had what is referred to as Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT). In English it mean that she had extra electrical tissue in her heart, or a short circuit, that caused increased heart rate and palpitations. The surgery performed successfully froze that extra tissue, making it torment, and thus allowing her heart to pump out the correct amount of blood during exercise.
When the 2008-09 basketball season came around Forstbauer was ready to return to the Vikes lineup. She didn't miss a beat. The third year forward started in all but one of the Vikes games, finishing second on the team in both points (8.2 p/g) and rebounds (7.0 p/g). Hustle, grit and hard work were just a few adjectives to describe Forstbauer's unwavering contribution to the Vikes this past season.
For her amazing return to the court, Forstbauer was awarded the recipient of the Tracy McLeod award as the Canada West Comeback Player of the Year.
Mitch Gudgeon
The Senior from Oak Bay was selected to the Canada West second team all-star team for his efforts during his swan song season. The big man led the Vikes in scoring (15.6 p/g) rebounding (10.1 p/g) and dunks over seven footers. His rebounding totals ranked 3rd amongst conference leaders and point total ranked him 15th amongst league leaders.
Stats aside, Gudgeon left a lasting impression with the Vikes program on and off the court. This selection is the final chapter to what was a terrific collegiate career.
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