2024-25 Brock Badgers Female Athlete of the Year Nominees

With the upcoming 2024-25 Brock Badgers Award Gala scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, Brock Sports would like to recognize the six individuals who have been nominated for Female Athlete of the Year. 

The Brock Athlete of the Year Award honors student-athletes who have excelled in their sport, significantly contributing to their team’s success and achieving individual athletic accolades and honours.   

The Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites St. Catharines Conference Centre will host this year’s Varsity Awards Gala which is set to start at 6 p.m. 

The nominees for Female Athlete of the Year (listed in alphabetical order) are as follows:

Sadie Dick – Volleyball  

Dick, a fourth-year right side, helped lead the Badgers to their fifth consecutive Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Quigley Cup final after a regular season which saw her finish eighth in the province in hitting percentage (.268) and seventh in the province and 13th in the country in blocks (65). 

During the 2024-25 campaign, the local St. Catharines product became the all-time program leader in points with 1,069 and kills with 890. She also finished ninth in the OUA in points (255.5) and tenth in both points per set (3.5) and kills (210) during the regular season. 

Dick capped off her university career with a U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian selection and an OUA First Team All-Star nod, having been named an OUA All-Star in each of her four years with the Badgers.

Isabella and Zoe Durcak – Rowing 

The Durcaks are nominated for Brock University’s Female Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive season. In 2024, the Stoney Creek duo went undefeated once again in the women’s lightweight double race, capturing gold medals at both the Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURCs) and the OUA Championships. 

At the OUA Championships, the Durcaks also won a gold medal in the women’s pair which gave them their second OUA All-Star selection of the competition. 

The pair also received the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2024 International University Sports Federation (FISU) World Rowing Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands where they placed fifth in the women’s lightweight double.

Brianna Fraser – Wrestling 

Fraser, a fourth-year wrestler, delivered an undefeated university season in which she won 83-kilogram titles at both the Wrestling Canada Lutte U SPORTS Invitational Championships and the OUA Championships. Impressively, the Sarnia, ON product did not give up a single point in competition prior to the national championships. 

For her gold medal victories, Fraser was awarded a Wrestling Canada Lutte U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian selection and an OUA First Team All-Star honour. 

In 2024, Fraser wore the Maple Leaf multiple times, winning a bronze medal in the 76kg division at the U23 Pan American Games in Riongero, Colombia, and placing ninth at the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania.

This marks the second consecutive year that Fraser has been nominated for the award.

Tatum O’Connor – Swimming 

O’Connor ended a 23-year medal drought for the Brock swimming program, winning bronze medals in both the 50-metre and 100-metre backstroke at the U SPORTS Championships. Her performance secured the Badgers’ first national swimming medals since 2002. 

At the OUA Championships, the Dundas, ON native helped set a new program record in the modern era as the women’s team captured seven total medals. O’Connor contributed to four of them, winning gold in the 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, and 4x100m medley relay, along with a silver in the 50m butterfly. 

Now a four-time OUA All-Star, O’Connor led the Badgers to their first-ever Dean Boles Divisional Championship, highlighted by a meet and school record-breaking victory in the 4x50m freestyle relay. In total, O’Connor collected six medals, four of which were gold. 

Madalyn Weinert – Basketball 

Weinert, who is a three-time Female Athlete of the Year nominee, captured more accolades in 2024-25 to add to her growing trophy case.  The fourth-year Medical Sciences student was named a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian, OUA Player of the Year and OUA First Team All-Star for the second straight season. 

The local St. Catharines product was a force on both sides of the floor, finishing first in U SPORTS and the OUA in points (480) and points per game (21.8) and second in the country and province in blocks (82). She was also ranked second in the province in rebounds (262) and rebounds per game (11.9), while also placing third and fourth in the country in those respective categories.  

During the regular season and playoffs, Weinert impressively scored double-digit points in each of her 24 contests while recording 17 double-doubles.

The Female Athlete of the Year award as well as the other major award winners will be announced at the 2024-25 Brock Badgers Awards Gala on Wednesday, March 26. The event can be seen online on YouTube starting at 6 p.m.