Rising Stars

CONNOR BRAMWELL

“Connor has had a phenomenal rookie season,” says Gryphons head coach Shawn Camp. “He is a player who is so hard on the puck. He wins battles in the corners and can finish around the net. He was our leading scorer during the first half of the season until he had an injury setback,but he came back in the new year and picked up right where he had left off.”

Connor Bramwell, a 21-year-old Hamilton native, was named to the OUA West All-Rookie Team after an impressive rookie season in the OUA. Playing in his first season at U of G after having spent four seasons in the QMJHL (including a pair of 20-goal campaigns with both Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and the Drummondville Voltigeurs), the economics major flourished. Despite missing 10 games due to injury, Bramwell still finished fourth on the team in scoring during the regular season with 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 18 games played.

EMILY FRASSON

Local product Emily Frasson, a graduate of John F. Ross secondary school in Guelph, was a great addition to Guelph’s OUA championship side in 2018. The applied human nutrition major not only showed a great work rate at the flanker position but was also an excellent teammate in a standout rookie season, helping her earn team rookie of the year honours.

“Emily came into camp the fittest of the Gryphons and her work rate to learn and be a part of the team never faltered, as a result, her time on the field kept increasing,” says Gryphon head coach Colette McAuley, who was named OUA Coach of the Year in 2018. “She was an impactful sub every time she came off the bench and consistently showcased the ability to win the ball back and make tackles.”

MATTHEW MACNEILL

“There is this sort of undefinable thing you call ‘it’ and Matthew’s got it,” says Gryphon head coach Dave Scott-Thomas. “You can just see the confidence with him, the skill set. He knows what he’s capable of doing and then he’s just going to do it. He’s an 18-year-old who came in and his communication and social skills are fantastic. He carries himself like a veteran in his first year. Matthew has quickly embraced the fact that he will be supported here regardless of the outcome and that’s allowed him to swing for the fences.”

The MacNeill name is a familiar one at Guelph as Matthew’s older brother, Gregory, won a U SPORTS gold medal in the 60m hurdles in 2017. But the younger MacNeill has quickly forged his own path as a Gryphon and he performed like an athlete well beyond his years throughout the 2018- 19 season and especially at the OUA track and Field Championships. The rookie from London, ON ran the hurdles in 8.27 seconds to take the OUA silver medal. At the U SPORTS Championships, MacNeill reached the podium again, this time with a bronze in the men’s long jump.

TYRA BOUG

Tyra Boug came to the Gryphons’ championship program as a heralded recruit out of Kitchener, ON and she showed her promise quickly. The rookie improved on her 60m hurdles results throughout the year before breaking out with a bronze medal at the OUA Championships with a personal best time then topping that mark at the U SPORTS meet, where she finished fifth in the country.

“What makes Tyra’s rookie season truly impressive is the fact that she arrived at U of G after almost two full years of injuries,” says Jason Kerr, associate head coach of the Gryphons track and field program. “She is one of the top rookies in U SPORTS, the No. 1-ranked junior hurdler in the country and is equally gifted in the classroom as she is on the track.”