RDC Queens hope for crowning achievement at National Championships

From RDC Communications

Brent Forster – RDC

The stage has been set for the 2020 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Volleyball National Championship. A combination of eight conference champions and wildcard teams have earned the right to compete for national gold from March 12-14 in Quebec City.

After a silver medal performance at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Championship on Feb. 29, the RDC Queens have taken time to recharge before they depart east.

“We came off a very emotional weekend and we expended a lot of energy to get to that point,” said Queens Head Coach Talbot Walton. “That preparation from a playing side is more of maintenance, not trying to introduce anything new. Just reinforce the fact that we’re doing things well and see if we can find a way to be just a little bit more efficient.”

Walton

The Queens have gained valuable experience already this season, with more learning opportunities on the horizon.

“If we look at the history of the group of athletes that we have now, getting into that [ACAC] final was definitely new territory for us,” said Walton. “I think there were some lessons that we learned in that final, that hopefully from a mindset perspective, prepare us well for the CCAA’s.”

On Mar. 12 the RDC Queens will begin their bid for national gold against the Fanshawe Falcons, the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Champions.

“When you show up there, you obviously don’t know teams very well,” explained Walton, who coached the Queens to back-to-back national titles in 2014 and 2015. “Sometimes the style of volleyball is quite different from conference to conference, so you have to be very adaptable.”

The Falcons won the OCAA title in back-to-back years. They earned a four set win over the Humber Hawks (25-18, 18-25, 25-18 and 27-25) in this year’s final.

“Humber College used to be the power house that always came out of Ontario,” said Walton. “Fanshawe is a newer program to appear and they had a really good season last year with the majority of their team, I think, returning again this season.”

Eight Falcons are back from last season’s CCAA bronze medal winning team, including two-time OCAA Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year Janelle Albert.

“They have an All-Canadian outside hitter that really hits the ball quite hard,” stated Walton. “From my past experiences, Ontario tends to be a very physical team and usually quite a good size.”

Albert is one of seven Falcons six-feet or taller. In addition to her All-Canadian selection, the third-year from Brampton was named the 2019 CCAA Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year. This year Albert tore up the OCAA offensively, averaging 4.89 kills and 0.67 service aces per set. After the all-star’s contributions, Tarea Heshka (2.00 kills per set), Kiana Lee (1.94) and Lauren Vahrmeyer (1.70) supplement the Falcons’ attack.

The RDC Queens have their own impact players. Left side hitter Tess Pearman (3.10 kills per set), right side Emma Holmes (3.09), outside hitter Erin Neufeldt (2.12) and middle Alexandria Greenshields (1.63) help lead the RDC charge. The ACAC South Rookie of the Year, setter Emma Letkeman, ranked third in the league with 8.64 assists per set. All-Conference libero Kaylee Domoney averaged 3.47 digs per set and has been a stabilizing defensive presence all season.

Before the Queens and Falcons hit the court, the defending national champion Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners will face the Lynx d’Édouard-Montpetit, the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Wildcard, at 1:00 EDT. The Mariners won the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) Championship and three of the past four CCAA gold medals.

The host Élans de Garneau, who won the RSEQ title, will play the PACWEST Wildcard Camosun Chargers at 6:00 EDT. The Chargers won CCAA silver in 2017.

Rounding out the opening day, the ACAC Champion Briercrest College Clippers will challenge the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) gold medal winning Holland Hurricanes at 8:00 EDT.

After some training at Cégep Garneau, the RDC Queens will concentrate on their own game as competition begins.

“We will have an opportunity while we’re in Quebec to have a little bit more structured practice and then one of those brief ones again,” said Walton. “We need to just make sure our game is sound and look after our side.”

The Queens and Falcons will compete at 3:00 pm EDT on Thurs. in the CCAA quarter-final.

The schedule and results can be followed online.

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Red Deer Polytechnic teams wrapping up regular season and gearing up for playoffs

Published on February 28, 2022

Red Deer Polytechnic

Red Deer Polytechnic Athletics Recap

The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings and Queens Basketball teams split their weekend series with the Ambrose University Lions. The RDP Queens Hockey team earned three of a possible four points against the SAIT Trojans. Kings Hockey recorded a win and a loss against the University of Alberta Augustana Vikings.

Here is a summary of what happened this week:

Queens Hockey | Friday, February 25 | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens Hockey team outshot the SAIT Trojans 54-17, but dropped the game 2-1 in a shootout. Brenna Reid, a first-year Bachelor of Kinesiology student, scored the Queens’ lone goal. For more details on this game, please read the recap online.

Queens Hockey | Saturday, February 26 | SAIT

The first place Queens (9-2-2) defeated the Trojans 6-1 in Calgary. Natalie Buttle, Mary Hirsch, Alli Soyko and Madison Sansom scored singles. Wainwright’s Monica Bowtell added two goals for RDP. Queens goalie Madison Fox turned aside 12 shots for the win in net. The game recap can be found online.

Kings Hockey | Friday, February 25 | University of Alberta Augustana

The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings Hockey team defeated the University of Alberta Augustana Vikings 5-4 in double-overtime. RDP’s Tucker Scantlebury and Chance Longjohn scored. Jacob Kendall, a first-year Bachelor of Education Elementary student, added a pair of goals in regulation time. Hayden Clayton sealed
the win in the extra frame. Kings goaltender Kristian Lyon made 41 saves, earning the win. Please refer to the online recap for more details about this contest.

Kings Hockey | Saturday, February 26 | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The RDP Kings were edged 4-3 by the Vikings. Clayton, Scantlebury and Mathieu Lapointe struck for the Polytechnic. Kendall finished the regular season as the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) scoring leader with 21 points.

The third place Kings (9-4-2-1) will host the sixth seed Briercrest College Clippers (3-12-1-0) in the best-of-three quarter-final series, beginning March 4. For more information, please read the game recap.

Queens Basketball | Friday, February 25 | Ambrose University

The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens Basketball team was downed 69-62 by the Ambrose University Lions in Calgary. Queens Player of the Game Sophie Melin scored 19 points. Amy Szymanek added nine points and eight rebounds for the Queens. The game recap can be located online.

Queens Basketball | Saturday, February 26 | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens wrapped up regular season competition with an 83-74 victory against the Lions at home. United Kingdom’s Lauren France scored a game high 25 points. The first-year RDP Bachelor of Arts Psychology student went seven-for-17 from three-point range.

The fifth seed RDP Queens (7-9) will play the fourth place Rattlers (8-8) in Medicine Hat in a division quarter-final on March 4. Please refer to the online game recap for more details about this home contest.

Kings Basketball | Friday, February 25 | Ambrose University

The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings Basketball team fell 87-81 to the Ambrose University Lions. Fifth-year Tyronn King dropped 23 points. Stauffer’s Kevin Szymanek recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. For more details, please read the online recap.

Kings Basketball | Saturday, February 26 | Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

The Kings had a great home performance and defeated the Lions 95-78. Eduardo Crespo led the Kings with 20 points. Graduating student-athletes King (13 points) and Cody White (15 points) made significant contributions in the victory. RDP’s King led the league throughout the season with 24.6 points per game.
On March 4, the third place Red Deer Polytechnic Kings (9-7) will host the sixth seed Briercrest College Clippers (5-11) in a division quarter-final. The recap can be found online.

For more information on Red Deer Polytechnic Athletics, the student-athletes and teams, please visit: rdpolytechathletics.ca.

Community

Brittany Lausen receives RDC Foundation Outstanding Student Award

Published on June 18, 2021

Red Deer Polytechnic

Providing advocacy and leadership for all students

Student leadership and commitment are being celebrated at Red Deer College, as Brittany Lausen is announced as the RDC Foundation Outstanding Student Award recipient for 2021.

The annual award recognizes a student whose actions have significantly enhanced RDC, whether through governance, membership on committees or other meaningful contributions. Lausen was nominated by her peers to receive the honour again this year due to her immense contributions to student leadership at RDC and far beyond.

“It’s very humbling to receive this award, and I am truly grateful for all the opportunities that being a part of the Students’ Association and Red Deer College have provided, allowing me to be as involved as I have been,” Lausen says. “I’m also very grateful to the amazing student leaders who I have gotten to work with over the past six years, since I first became involved with the Education Undergrad Society.”

Lausen’s leadership has evolved and grown during her time at RDC, as she has played a key role on the Students’ Association Executive Team, serving as the VP Community & Wellness in 2018/2019 and as President for the past two years. She has also been on RDC’s Academic Council for three years and has served as a student representative on RDC’s Board of Governors since 2019, in addition to myriad other volunteering, committees and initiatives at the College.

“Red Deer College is fortunate to have Brittany as one of our students, and the RDC Foundation is pleased to provide her with the outstanding student award for 2021,” says Kevin Beattie, RDC Foundation Board Chair. “Her continuing dedication and commitment to her fellow students and to the College exemplifies why she is so deserving of the award. Brittany’s selfless hard work in representing and advocating on behalf of her peers and also the College benefits the entire RDC community. We can think of no better candidate to receive the RDC Foundation Outstanding Student Award.”

In addition to Lausen’s work and leadership at RDC, she has also dedicated time to representing students across the province. Through her role with the Students’ Association, she became part of the Alberta Students’ Executive Council (ASEC), where – as the longest serving student leader in the province – she was unanimously elected to be Chair in June 2020.

For Lausen, it is important to engage in governance at the provincial level to influence policies and affect change for future students. “It’s about what you, as a student leader, can do to make sure that the students who come after you have the best time possible in post-secondary,” she says. “To me, it is so meaningful knowing that the advocacy you do today will potentially impact the lives of future students for years to come.”

Through her province-wide perspective, Lausen also recognized a need for Western Canadian students to be better represented at the federal level. As part of her work with ASEC, she was elected to sit as one of the founding members of the Federal Student Advocacy Alliance. This Alliance, representing ASEC, BC Federation of Students and Sask Polytechnic Students’ Association, allows students from the three western provinces to have a greater voice in advocacy issues at the national level.

From national to local issues, Lausen has tirelessly worked to benefit the student experience. During her most recent term as Students’ Association President, she takes great pride in how the SA Executive and Council advocated for degrees, ensuring that the students of RDC and the people of central Alberta’s voices were heard. Lausen, herself, also had the opportunity to be part of Alberta 2030, the post-secondary review led by the Government of Alberta. She represented students from across Alberta and was able to bring the RDC students’ perspective to the province’s new post secondary strategic direction.

“Brittany has continually demonstrated strong leadership in representing post-secondary students at all levels,” says Dr. Peter Nunoda, RDC President. “In her two years on RDC’s Board of Governors and through her work with the Students’ Association, I have gained a great appreciation for her collaborative approach and also her determination to do what is best for students at RDC and for post-secondary students across the province. During her time at RDC, she gained a strong understanding of governance and student needs, and that has served RDC’s students well for many years.”

Now, as Lausen looks to the future, she is excited to graduate in April 2022 with her Bachelor of Business Administration in General Management, with minors in Finance and Economics, from RDC’s collaborative degree with Mount Royal University. She is currently interning with Amazon and hopes to accept a position with the company pending completion of her degree. She is also looking to continue her educational journey by attaining a Master’s degree, either in Public Policy or Public Administration, which would build on her extensive experience in leadership and governance.

When she reflects on her time at RDC, she is thankful for the privilege to serve students. “I am so grateful to the students of Red Deer College for trusting me for the past three years to be one of their elected representatives,” she says. “It has truly made my time at post-secondary, and it is something I will miss dearly.”

About the RDC Foundation Outstanding Student Award: This scholarship is given to a student who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and commitment through participation in and contribution to Red Deer College. The student may have participated in governance and/or College committees, social or athletic activities while on campus. The scholarship is donated by the Red Deer College Foundation.