Media releases

• Regular season tips off for Brock basketball

  Monday, October 23, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 23 October 2017 – R00193

  The exhibition games are done. The pre-season workouts are complete. Now the Brock Badgers men’s and women’s basketball teams are ready to open the 2017-18 regular season Wednesday, Oct. 25 at home.

  The Badgers will host a doubleheader against the Western Mustangs at Bob Davis Gymnasium with the women tipping off at 6 p.m. and the men starting at 8 p.m.

  The Brock men’s team, led by fifth-year head coach Charles Kissi, is expected to be one of the top squads in the country this season.

  “We have our eyes set on reaching the national championships this season,” said Kissi. “We have a very strong core of returning players with senior leadership to go along with a talented young freshman class. This is one of the most exciting teams I have had the opportunity to coach.

  “It’s going to be a great season for the Badgers and our fans, the Best Fans in Canada.”

  The Badgers finished the 2016-17 season with their best finish since 2008 capturing an Ontario University Athletics bronze and just missing out on a berth to the USPORTS National Championships. This season, the team has its eyes set on winning OUA and national titles.

  Brock returns four of five starters from last season, highlighted by the duo of OUA all-stars Dani Elgadi (14.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG) and Johneil Simpson (13.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG). Also returning are third-year point guard Tyler Brown (7.5 PPG, 3.4 APG) and second-year forward Daniel Cayer (8.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG). Cassidy Ryan (9.0 PPG), 3.3 RPG) will replace graduate Ryan Bennett as the fifth starter for the Badgers this year.

  The Badgers also have a deeper bench than last year, including returnees Michael Asemota and Mitch Saunders along with transfers Patrick Pilato and 7-foot-1 Donald Mims. Brock also had a strong recruiting class adding six true freshmen in Godsman Kwakwah, Kascius Small-Martin, Noah Lapierre, Ibrahim Ngom, Djibril Ngom and Daniel Caldwell.

  The Brock women’s basketball team, under second-year head coach Ashley MacSporran, returns four players from a year ago with nine new faces on the 2017-18 roster.

  “This Brock team will be looking to figure out how to be successful together on the floor with so many new faces and with less experience,” said MacSporran. “Once the Badgers start to piece everything together, this young team has tremendous potential. With nine new faces, it takes time for a team to figure out how to play together, but the team continues to push to improve daily.”

  Returning players include forward Shannon Northey (3.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG) and guards Bailie Campbell (7.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG), Ana Caldeira Rua (1.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG) and Allie Columbus (1.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG).

  The Badgers have added three transfers in Stephanie Findlay, Brooke Murdoch and Courtney McPherson who are all expected to make immediate impacts. Brock also has a strong incoming freshman class including Kristan Gallant, Lauren Zonneveld, Ieva Sukeviciute, Miranda Smith and Ginny Cape.

  The Badgers finished last season with an 8-11 record good for second place in the OUA Central Division, despite a number of injuries to key players.

  Tickets for Wednesday’s doubleheader are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. They are available at the Walker Sports Complex Welcome Desk or by calling 905-688-5550 x4060.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

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  Categories: Media releases

• East meets west in friendly competition for Great Chardo Swap

  Friday, October 20, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 20 October 2017  – R00192

  A dozen Niagara winemakers are creating some unique wines for a prestigious event.

  Niagara has been named as the host for the prestigious International Cool Climate Wine Symposium (ICCWS) in 2020, the event’s 10th anniversary. As part of the lead-up to the symposium, 12 Niagara winemakers are using grapes from two specific vineyards to produce an assortment of one-of-a-kind Chardonnays.

  The Great Chardo Swap will see six winemakers from east of the Welland Canal making wine from grapes grown on the west side of the canal, and six winemakers from the west side making wine from chardonnay grapes grown on the east side. Two of those winemakers, Emma Garner (BSc ’04) from Thirty Bench Wine Makers and Shiraz Mottiar (BSc ’00) from Malivoire Wine Company, are graduates of Brock’s Oenology and Viticulture program. All of the fruit to make the Chardonnays is being donated by Inniskillin Wines and Thirty Bench.

  In total, 14 different Chardonnays will be developed during the initiative and unveiled at the ICCWS in 2020. Other than using the same closures and bottle type, the winemakers will have free rein to make their own distinct Chardonnay however they wish.

  Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) collaborated with stakeholder organizations across the country to bring the ICCWS to Canada, and it was CCOVI Senior Oenologist Belinda Kemp who came up with the idea for the Great Chardo Swap after hearing about a similar initiative that took place in New Zealand.

  “The focus on terroir in wines is usually from a vineyard perspective that can sometimes neglect the influence of the winemaker and how their decisions and techniques impact the final wine,” Kemp said. “It will be interesting to see if specific traits and flavours follow through from one vineyard, regardless of who is making the wine, and whether we end up with very similar or very different wines from each vineyard.”

  Craig McDonald, Vice-President of Winemaking at Andrew Peller Limited, said he was on board to donate fruit from Andrew Peller’s Thirty Bench from the start.

  He said the experiment will provide new insight into the differences between the Niagara-on-the-Lake and Beamsville bench areas.

  “Likely, it will take some winemakers out of their comfort zone and challenge them with something new. In the end, it will be both a sensory and intellectual journey of discovery for all involved,” McDonald said.

  Bruce Nicholson, winemaker from Inniskillin Wines, said the initiative will serve as a means to showcase the local wine industry on an international level.

  “Niagara makes world-class wines, Chardonnay being right up there, and this really gives people a chance to see what we’re doing and how far we’ve come,” he explained. “We’re an industry in our infancy compared to other regions, but we’ve come such a long way. This will put a spotlight on our brilliant winemakers and really just be a lot of fun.”

  All of the wines will be part of a grand tasting at the ICCWS, where attendees will have the chance to discuss the decisions made by the winemakers at each stage of the process.

  East side winemaking team:
  Fabian Reis, Ferox
  J.L. Groux, Stratus Vineyards
  Ann Sperling, Southbrook Vineyards
  Amelie Boury, Château des Charmes
  Bruce Nicholson, Inniskillin Wines
  Craig McDonald, Trius Winery

  West side winemaking team:
  Arthur Harder, Westcott Vineyards
  Emma Garner, Thirty Bench Wine Makers
  Angelo Pavan, Cave Spring Cellars
  Sandrine Bourcier, Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery
  Shiraz Mottiar, Malivoire Wine Company
  Thomas Bachelder, Bachelder Wines

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases