Sean Duke, a towering yet swift rugby sevens standout, aims to be a 2016 Rio Olympian and future doctor. Debbie Yeboah plans on a pro basketball career in Europe before becoming a lawyer.
Both are well-rounded enough to have one foot planted firmly in the classroom and the other on the fields and courts of play.
Duke and Yeboah were named 2012-13 co-winners of the President鈥檚 Cup, awarded to the University of Victoria athletes best combining athletic ability with academic achievement.
The annual UVic Athletic Awards were handed out Wednesday night at the Victoria Conference Centre.
Fourth-year Vikes player Duke, studying for a master鈥檚 degree in science, has maintained an 8.5 grade-point-average (out of 9) as a graduate student despite travelling widely with the national team and becoming the first Canadian to make it on the IRB Sevens leading try-scorers list.
鈥淭he Vikes program gave me exposure to the national team coaches to judge my performances,鈥� said Duke.
鈥淩io 2016 [where rugby sevens makes it Summer Olympics debut] is definitely something I鈥檓 going for. I鈥檓 all in.鈥�
After that, hopefully, it鈥檚 medical school.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot of time off,鈥� said Duke of his hectic pace on and off the pitch.
Graduating fifth-year Vikes women鈥檚 basketball captain Yeboah, who drove as hard to the books as to the hoop, said her time at UVic seemed to fly by.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a weird feeling to begin a new chapter in life,鈥� Yeboah said, as she looked forward to playing hoops in Europe for a few years before planning on law school in her hometown of Winnipeg.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a mix of sadness and excitement tonight.鈥�
On how she maintained a 7.5 GPA in the humanities while becoming a sa国际传媒 West first-team all-star with 1,469 career points and 436 career rebounds, Yeboah responded: 鈥淚n one word 鈥� priorities.鈥�
NAIA golf champion Megan Woodland was named top UVic female athlete for the second consecutive year, while Vikes rowing captain Will O鈥機onnell got the nod as UVic male athlete of the year.
The Robert T. Wallace Shield for UVic women鈥檚 rookie of the year went to basketball player Jenna Bugiardini, who was also the sa国际传媒 West rookie of the year and named to the CIS all-rookie team. The Wallace Shield for top Vikes male rookie went to sa国际传媒 U-20 rugby player Nathan Yanagiya.
The Chancellor鈥檚 Award for leadership was given to track athlete Kendra Pomfret. The Provost Award for the Vikes athlete with the highest GPA was won by Olivia de Goede, who posted an 8.90 in the classroom while winning a CIS bronze medal with the UVic women鈥檚 soccer team on the pitch.
The sa国际传媒 Publisher鈥檚 Award for outstanding contributions to UVic sport from the community was given to Ingrid Ruys for her work with the cross-country and track teams.
The 32 Vikes athletes who played pro or competed on national teams this season 鈥� including 2012 London Olympics bronze-medallist swimmer Richard Weinberger 鈥� were inducted into the Circle of Champions.
