WATERLOO—Wilfrid Laurier University announced four finalists for the fourth-annual Outstanding Women of Laurier Award. The award will be presented at a luncheon Thursday, April 2 at The Waterloo Inn.

Leigh Hobson, a local cyclist who competed at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and won bronze at the Montreal World Cup of cycling, will deliver the keynote address. Daiene Vernile, anchor and producer of CTV Southwestern Ontario’s current affairs program Provincewide, will host the event.

The Outstanding Women of Laurier Award recognizes a female Laurier student who combines athletic and academic achievement with an active commitment to leadership and the development of young athletes through community teaching or coaching. Since 2006, the event has generated more than $155,000 for women’s athletic programs, scholarships and Laurier’s mentor coaching program.

The finalists include (in alphabetical order):

Renata Adamczyk: A third-year honours kinesiology and physical education student from Dundas, Ontario, Adamczyk is the captain of Laurier’s varsity women’s basketball team. She was named the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) west division’s defensive player of the year and was also named to the second all-star team. In 2006-07, she was rookie of the year, and was named MVP in the 2007-08 season.

Off the court, Adamczyk works as an athletic academic mentor at Laurier, helping fellow student athletes to reach their academic goals through study sessions and workshops. She is also a member of the Right to Play organization, helping to raise awareness about the power of sport as a tool for development, while inspiring youth to become and stay active.

Tesca Andrew-Wasylik: A second-year kinesiology and physical education student from Unionville, Ontario, Andrew-Wasylik is the captain of the Laurier varsity women’s volleyball team. This past summer, she was a member of the Team Ontario volleyball team and won Laurier’s All-Star award.

For the past three years, Andrew-Wasylik has been a volunteer coach with the Stingrays volleyball club. Last summer, Andrew-Wasylik worked at Laurier’s Volleyball U camp as an assistant coach and chaperone for 60 grade 11 and grade 12 girls.

Megan Gilmore: Gilmore is a second-year kinesiology and physical education student from Cambridge, Ontario, who plays on Laurier’s varsity women’s volleyball team. In her first year, Gilmore was named the team’s rookie of the year and named to the OUA rookie all-star team. Gilmore received an athletic scholarship for the past two years, and was recognized as a Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) – Academic All-Canadian.

For the past three summers, Gilmore worked as a camp counselor and instructor at a community volleyball camp. She also volunteers as a volleyball coach at E.C. Drury School for the Deaf, as well as at Jacob Hespeler Secondary School with the senior women’s volleyball team.

Hollie Nicol: Nicol is a fourth-year kinesiology and physical education student from Markham, Ontario. She is a member of Laurier’s varsity women’s curling team, which won the silver medal at the 2009 winter World Universiade in Harbin, China. Nicol was chosen as the flag-bearer for the closing ceremonies. Her team won the 2008 CIS women’s curling championship and she was awarded MVP of the varsity curling team in 2008, 2007 and 2006; she has also been named a CIS, OUA and Laurier athlete of the week.

Nicol has volunteered with numerous groups at the KW Granite Curling Club, including the Special Olympics program, instructing wheelchair curlers and working with a boy with arthritis. Nicol has also volunteered at numerous celebrity skip charity tournaments.

For more information about the Outstanding Women of Laurier luncheon, or to purchase tickets online, please visit www.laurierathletics.com/owl.