Lauren McEwen of the women's rugby team and Mike Tomlinson of the men's volleyball team were named the top student-athletes for the 2015-16 season at the 80th annual Colour Awards Varsity Team athletic banquet Wednesday, March 30.

McEwen, this year's PHE '55 Alumnae Award winner, led the underdog Gaels to their best finish at the national championship with a CIS silver on home soil at Queen's while being named a CIS Championship All-Star.

The fifth year concurrent education student was a two-time CIS All-Canadian, a four-time OUA All-Star and the 2013 OUA MVP. In her five years at Queen's, the Gaels were ranked in the CIS Top 10 for every single week and in 2013 and she was a part of the programs first OUA championship. The Gaels finished with a CIS bronze in 2013, but their best performance came in 2015 as hosts of the National Championship. McEwen helped lead the No.8 seeded Gaels to upsets of No.1 Acadia and No.5 Concordia en route to a CIS Silver medal. The Gaels all-time leading scorer with 219 points, McEwen made an impact on and off the field as well coaching and running camps many youth groups, volunteering with Get Real at Queen's and helping programs such as Kaleidoscope and Go Girls.

Tomlinson was awarded the Jenkins Trophy as the top male senior student-athlete. A three-time OUA All-Star, two-time winner of the Dale Iwanoczko Sportsman Award and team captain his past two seasons, Tomlinson has accomplished a tremendous amount both on and off the court in his time at Queen's. The previous two years, he served as a co-president with the Varsity Leadership Council (VLC).

During his time at Queen's, Tomlinson has been a tremendous ambassador for the University. He is a two-time OUA academic all-star and along with the entire VLC have supported many community initiatives such as Martha's Table, Gaels Care, Gold Rush and has served as a tutor to fellow athletes. The biomechanical engineering student was also a part of the Gaels 2011-12 OUA Championship and CIS host team.

The Alfie Pierce Trophy recipients for top male and female rookie of the year were Katrina Manoukarakis from women's hockey and Chris Brunet from men's volleyball.

The Jim Tait Trophy, is presented annually to the top performing Varsity Team and this year went to the CIS silver medalist women's rugby team. 

The Varsity Support Service Awards were presented to recognize the individuals who have demonstrated dedication and leadership while making a significant contribution to the success of the Queen's Varsity Sport Program in Athletic Therapy (Hal Dunlop Shield), Athlete Services, Home Events and Strength and Conditioning. This year's winners were Alice Bifield, Michaila Frawley, Gladys Kong and Nic Gray respectively.

This year's recipients of the Rodden Award Paul and Vicki Hand were on hand and honoured for their generous support and goodwill towards the Queen's University Athletic programs.

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Jasmin Aggarwal of triathlon and Jimmy Wintle of men's fencing, were named Queen’s University’s top student-athletes for the 2015-16 season at the 80th annual Colour Awards Varsity Club Athletic Banquet Tuesday night at the ARC Main Gym.

Aggarwal was awarded the Marion Ross Trophy, which is given to the top Varsity Club female student-athlete. Aggarwal continued to excel this season finishing in first or second in all races she took part in during her final season. She was atop of the podium at the Wolfe Island Duathlon, Swim Row Go and the Toronto Triathlon Club Invitational. Over her career, she finished with four first place performances, six second place finishes and two third place results.

The Orillia, Ont. native also excels in the classroom, as she is a two-time Academic All-Star in her career. 

Wintle, completing his PhD in rehabilitation science, was named the winner of the Jack Jarvis trophy, which is awarded to the top Varsity Club male student-athlete. 

A captain and student-coach with the fencing program, Wintle was a key part of the Gaels’ three straight OUA championship teams from 2011 to 2013 and most recently has helped the Gaels earn two silvers and a bronze.

Individually, the seven-time OUA Academic All-Star, has one gold, three silvers and one bronze for Queen's while being named an OUA All-Star twice. Most notably, Wintle takes the time to give back to his team, school and community.

With many standout performances by individual athletes in 2015-16, the Outstanding Performance of the Year honour was awarded to Gill Pegg of women's wrestling and rugby. 

The two-sport athlete had an outstanding year for the Gaels first on the field in the fall with the CIS Championship host women's rugby team. Pegg was an OUA All-Star and CIS All-Canadian for the Gaels. At the national championship at home, Pegg helped lead the Gaels to massive upsets of No. 1 Acadia and No. 5 Concordia to earn a CIS silver medal. She was also honoured as a CIS Championship All-Star for her efforts.

On the mat, Pegg took home an OUA gold medal while being named the female conference MVP and an All-Star. Then at the CIS Championship, she earned her second CIS medal of the year taking home bronze.

On Tuesday night, the Award of Merit Trophy was presented to the Queen’s men's ultimate team who won both the Canadian University Ultimate Championship (CUUC) and the Canadian Eastern University Ultimate Championships (CEUUC). 

The Alfie Pierce award recipients for the top club rookies of the year were Jessie Pollett from women's fencing and Cameron Butler from men's squash. Pollett was a vital part of the women's fencing team clinching their third consecutive OUA title this year. She finished with a gold medal as a member of the women's foil team event and took the silver medal in the individual foil event at the OUA Championship. Butler stepped into the Gaels number one position and had an excellent showing at the OUA Championship where he was not only named the conference rookie of the year but found a spot on the All-Star team as well.

The Varsity Support Service Awards are presented each night to recognize the individuals who have demonstrated dedication and leadership while making a significant contribution to the success of the Queen's Varsity Sport Program in Athletic Therapy (Hal Dunlop Shield), Athlete Services, Home Events, Strength and Conditioning and Varsity Club Leadership. This year's Varsity Club Leadership winner was Brittany McEachern from triathlon.