It was a repeat of 2015 as the University of Victoria Vikes women’s field hockey team were dealt their second-straight national final loss in shootouts today, Nov. 6. The UBC Thunderbirds tied the game up at one with nine minutes left on the clock to hoist their unprecedented sixth-straight McCrae Cup as CIS (USports) national champions.

Despite the loss the Vikes had many takeaways from the season including a pretty grand individual finale for fifth-year defender Annie Walters-Shumka. The Claremont grad and Lynx club member capped her senior year off winning the Canada West and USports Gail Wilson Award for Community Service.

A four-time CIS Academic All-Canadian and a Canada West All-Star in two of her five years with the team, Annie has been an important member of the Vikes team both on and off the field. The Vikes co-captain spends much of her free time volunteering as a medical intern, clinic volunteer, ambulatory care unit volunteer, Active Start program leader with Special Olympics, math and science tutor and field hockey coach.

Walters-Shumka volunteered in Nepal this past summer as an under-graduate medical intern. While in Nepal, she also volunteered in a Diabetes Clinic helping to educate people about the disease.

Last year, she was named a CIS Championship All-Star after helping lead the Vikes to CIS silver on home turf. Despite her multiple commitments on and off the field, she manages an 8.5 GPA (on a 9-point scale) in the faculty of Science.

“Annie is an amazing young woman,” said head coach Lynne Beecroft. “To be honest, it astonishes me that she can do so well at university, do all of this volunteer work and still make such a huge impact on the varsity women’s field hockey team.”

At the 2016 national championship Annie was named a tournament all-star alongside her sister and third-year defender, Kristina Walters-Shumka.

Kristina was also named a Canada West All-Star along side fifth year players Amanda Kurianowicz, Lizzie Yates, Kathleen Leahy and Rosie Beale, the latter three who are all from Vancouver Island. Kurianowicz, Yates and Leahy were also named 2016 USports All-Canadians.

The Vikes finished their 2016 national campaign with a 3-2 win over Guelph, a 1-1 tie against UBC and a 0-0 tie against Toronto in pool play. In the championship game the Vikes led 1-0 on a goal from Kurianowicz. UBC’s Gabby Jayme tied it up in the 61st minute deflecting in a penalty corner shot and ultimately sending the game to shoot outs.

UBC netminder Gabriella Switzer came up big for the T-Birds, stopping all four Vikes she faced, while 2016 U Sports co-player of the year Rachel Donohoe and fourth-year midfielder Sarah Keglowitsch both scored to secure the T-Birds victory. Annie Walters-Shumka was named player of the game for Victoria.

With the closing of the tournament UBC’s Haughn was named Championship MVP for the second-straight year, while Vikes Lindsay Cole and Annie and Kristina Walters-Shumka were named to the Tournament All-Star list.

Island players Sarah Keglowitsch and Sara Lowes are members of the UBC team that won. UBC adds to their national record, claiming their 18th U Sports title in program history, and becomes the only team to have won six consecutive national banners dating back to 1975. The T-Birds improve to 18-6 in 24 national final appearances, while also bettering their head-to-head record over the Vikes to 12-11-7 in U Sports championship history.

“I’m really proud of the transformation that this team has made since the beginning of the season,” said Vikes head coach Lynne Beecroft. “I think everyone stepped up after we lost Kathleen Leahy a couple of weeks ago. It’s going to be sad for me to lose the five players that I lose this year because they are such quality hockey players but more importantly they are such quality people. The winning or losing is what it is but I’m going to really miss those young ladies.”

Though Annie Walters-Shumka is one of the five that Beecroft will lose, her sister, Kristina, still has two more seasons to help the Vikes re-claim the national title, last won in 2008.

2016 CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS
Championship MVP: Hannah Haughn (North Vancouver, B.C.), UBC
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: Guelph Gryphons

2016 Championship All-Stars:
Lindsay Cole (Victoria, B.C.), Victoria
Ciara Condon (London, Ont.), Guelph
Rachel Donohoe (North Vancouver, B.C.), UBC
Hannah Haughn (North Vancouver, B.C.), UBC
Olivia Lane (Guelph, Ont.), Guelph
Alison Lee (Mississauga, Ont.), Toronto
Elizabeth O’Hara (Oakville, Ont.), Toronto
Rebecca Plouffe (Oakville, Ont.), Guelph
Annie Walters-Shumka (Victoria, B.C.), Victoria
Kristina Walters-Shumka (Victoria, B.C.), Victoria
Emma Wingrave (Oakville, Ont.), Toronto

Files from University of Toronto Communications (USports Communications)