varsity news

Durham Lords Media Release
Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Mandi Doris of Durham College earns top honour – Named OCAA Athlete of the Week

North York, Ont. – Durham College women’s volleyball captain Mandi Doris (Ajax, Ont.) has been named the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Athlete of the Week.

Doris, a fourth year student-athlete who is enrolled in the Office Administration program, broke the OCAA all-time record for career blocks last Tuesday night in the Lords road win over Fleming College.

Doris now has 154 career blocks, surpassing Tracey Smith of Niagara College who had 147 blocks in her career. Earlier in the season, Doris also smashed the record for most blocks in a single season. In 19 games, she has recorded 78 blocks, passing Courtney Warren of Mohawk College who had 61 blocks in 2003/04.

The Lords have been dominant on the court as well as on the score sheet this year. The Lords are 14-5 in conference play and have clinched a home play off game. Meanwhile, Doris leads the league in blocks (78) and points (251) while teammate Kristen Conner (Oshawa, Ont.) leads the league in kills (203). The Lords are on a six match winning streak and are fifth in the provincial rankings.

Doris becomes the fourth Durham College athlete to win the OCAA Athlete of the Week honour this season. Women's soccer players Katie Watts (Oshawa, Ont.) and Brittany Micucci (Newmarket, Ont.) won the award earlier in September while men’s basketball standout Eric Smith (Ajax, Ont.) was honoured in January. All recipients can be viewed online by visiting www.ocaa.com.

Next up, the women’s volleyball team will travel to Loyalist College on Wednesday, February 4 for a 6 p.m. match. The game will be the Lords regular season finale before heading into the postseason.

Finishing in third place in the East Region will give Durham home court advantage during the qualifying round of the OCAA playoffs. They will face Fanshawe, Sault or Redeemer, depending on the outcome of the final week of the regular season on the weekend of February 14 at the CRWC.

Oshawa will be on the radar for all collegiate volleyball teams heading into February as Durham College is set to host the 2008-09 OCAA Men’s and Women’s Provincial Volleyball Championships. The event will run at the CRWC from February 27-28, 2009.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE LORDS

Conference Record: 14-5
Overall Record: 17-7

Next Action:
Wednesday, February 4 @ Loyalist (6 p.m.) – Belleville, Ont.
Regular Season Finale

Next Home Action:
OCAA Qualifying Round
Weekend of February 14 vs. Fanshawe/Sault/Redeemer
Time, date and opponent still to be determined

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Scott Dennis
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator
Durham College and UOIT Athletics
905.721.2000 Ext. 2784 (P)
905.721.3117 (F)