Christian Bernier (Mechanical Engineering) was named Athlete of the Year in men's volleyball and also took the prestigious Student Athlete of the Year honours. Maxime Gagnier (Industrial Engineering) was named Rookie of the Year in football, while Julien de la Riera (Civil Engineering) was recognized as the men's soccer Rookie of the Year. Olivier Adrien (Industrial Engineering) was Rookie of the Year in men's volleyball, and David Desrochers (Mechanical Engineering) was named Athlete of the Year in men's tennis. At the Gala, a total of 29 Méritas awards were handed out to rookies and athletes of the year on each of the 13 Carabins teams. Six major prizes were awarded: Student Athletes of the Year (Male and Female), Athletes of the Year (Male and Female), as well as the Méritas awards for Leadership and Distinction.

Emceed by Jean-François Doré of CBC/Radio-Canada French Radio, the Gala closed out an outstanding season for the Carabins--the best, in fact, since the relaunching of the team sports program at the institution in 1995. Carabins teams won five provincial university titles: men's soccer, men's swimming, men's downhill and combined skiing, and badminton. Between September and April, Université de Montréal and its affiliated schools also saw six of their own capture major titles in Québec: Étienne Godbout (Pharmacy) was named Athlete of the Year in soccer; Michel Boulianne (Biology), Athlete of the Year in swimming; and Christian Bernier (Polytechnique, Mechanical Engineering) Athlete of the Year in volleyball. In addition, Rookie of the Year honours went to Maxime Gagnier (Polytechnique, Industrial Engineering) in football, Julien de la Riera (Polytechnique, Civil Engineering) in soccer and Myriam Aboumerhi (Arts and Science) in volleyball. Maxime Gagnier also took home national Rookie of the Year honours, while Marc Déragon was named Coach of the Year in men's swimming.

Felx makes it three in a row, Godbout and Boulianne share men's award
In the major awards categories, badminton phenom Amélie Felx (Master's in Biomedical Sciences), from Grand-Mère, Québec, rewrote the record books with her third consecutive win as Female Athlete of the Year. She is unbeaten on the university circuit and currently ranked number one in Québec in mixed doubles and women's doubles following wins at provincial tourneys in Sherbrooke, Shawinigan and Montréal, and at the nationals in Montréal and Winnipeg. She also reached the quarter-finals in both doubles events and took part in the World Championships.
On the men's side, the award was shared by Étienne Godbout (Pharmacy), a pillar of the UdeM soccer side's defence, and Michel Boulianne (Biology), a swimmer who specializes in breaststroke. Both were members of the Canadian delegation to the Summer World University Games in Taegu, Korea, in August 2003, and both were named athlete of the year in their respective disciplines as well as being named to the all-Canadian teams in their sports. Godbout, born in Sherbrooke, Québec, also took most valuable player honours in the Québec championships series, while Boulianne, who originally hails from Lahr, Germany, won four gold medals in four races at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Swimming Championships and set new QSSF records in the breaststroke. Godbout was invited to train with the Montréal Impact pro soccer team over the winter season, while Boulianne will be spending the month of May in Europe as he completes preparations for the Olympic trials in July.

Student athletes of the year: Volleyballers Després and Bernier
Both the men's and women's awards for academic and sporting achievement went to volleyballers: Claudia Després and Christian Bernier. Després is a third-year student in Industrial Design who has amassed 72 credits and maintained a GPA of 3.9 out of 4.3, including an impressive 4.1 out of 4.3 in the fall semester. Her sports achievements included winning a spot on the second team in the all-Québec selections.

Bernier, Québec Player of the Year and named to the national first all-star team, took the honours for the second year in a row. He has completed 91 credits and maintained a GPA of 3.2 out of 4.0 in Mechanical Engineering at École Polytechnique, including 3.75 out of 4.0 in the fall. 

Christian Bernier, Student Athlete of the Year, with
Céline Lemire-Mercier, Assistant Director,
Registrar's Office, École Polytechnique.

Rookie soccer player Catherine Faucher awarded Leadership Méritas
The Méritas Award for Leadership underscores outstanding achievement in academics and sports as well as community involvement. The award this year went to Catherine Faucher, a rookie defender with the soccer team. Academically, she has thus far completed 53 credits over a year and half and maintained a GPA of 4.1 out of 4.3 in Medicine. On the field, she has proven to be key addition to her team, adding a great deal of defensive stability on her way to taking Rookie of the Year honours for the Carabins women's squad. On top of her studies in medicine as well as her soccer exploits, Ms. Faucher found time to act as a volunteer for the Tour de l'île de Montréal bicycle rally and for the Terry Fox Day marathon to raise funds for cancer research. She also spent part of the Christmas holidays gift-wrapping presents in a shopping mall, where the proceeds went to the Lakeshore General Hospital.

Source:
Université de Montréal Carabins