MONTREAL – On the fifth anniversary of the passing of a Hockey Hall of Fame legend, the recipients of McGill University's Jean Béliveau Athletic Awards for 2019 have been announced.  
 
Montrealer Dori Yeats, a former Canadian Olympian wrestler who now plays on the women's rugby team, was selected along with rower Quentin Basiren of Brockville, Ont., swimmer Gabriella Doueihy from Lebanon, and Dylan Havelock, a native of Ottawa who plays for the men's rugby squad. 

These Athletic Financial Awards were established in 2016 to honour the memory of the Montreal Canadiens captain, Hall of Fame member and inspirational community leader who passed away on Dec. 2, 2014. They recognize outstanding McGill student-athletes for leadership in the community. Recipients receive a medallion accompanied by a $4,000 bursary.
 
Yeats is a 26-year-old senior working on a master's degree in civil engineering after graduating with a bachelor's degree last spring and earning a spot on the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll. The 5-foot-3 flanker just completed her third season with the Martlets rugby program after an eight-year career as a member of the Canadian national wrestling team that culminated at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she finished fifth in the 69-kilogram weight class.  Despite never having played rugby, she joined the McGill team in 2017 and quickly become a key member. Known primarily for her tackling skills, she has scored eight tries in 14 career games. Off the field, Yeats has served as a volunteer speaker for many community organizations. Among them was Jouez Gagnant, the IgNation Youth Group, the Elderly Club and the Rotary Club, both in Montreal West, and the Akwesasne Boys & Girls Club, where she has served as a positive role model of what can be attainable through dedication, discipline and commitment.

Basiren, 21, is a fourth-year honours student, majoring in anatomy and cellular biology, who has won numerous scholarships and made the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll. In the water, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound rower has reached the podium in each of the last three years at the OUA championships, winning gold in the heavyweight double this fall, after claiming a silver medal in 2018 and bronze in the heavy eight in 2017. Voted captain and Team MVP in 2018, he qualified for the Canadian University Rowing Association championship in each of the last two years, where he placed seventh and 11th in the heavyweight eight, and was eighth in heavyweight double. Away from the rowing basin, he has an extensive background in community affairs, including volunteering at the Brockville General Hospital, Sun Youth Christmas gift-wrapping for needy children, Motionball -- which supports the Special Olympics -- and the McGill chapter of MEDLIFE, a non-profit student organization that was established with a view towards alleviating global poverty through the distribution and promotion of Medicine, Education, and Development.

Doueihy, a 20-year-old physiology junior, is a Hugh Brock Scholarship recipient and has qualified for the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll. A member of the Lebanese national swim program since 2009, she has competed at each of the past four world championships, as well as the 2018 Asian Games and the 2018 Mediterranean Games. The 5-foot-3 middle distance specialist was a second-team all-star in the RSEQ conference last year. Thus far this season, she struck gold three times at the Kemp-Fry Invitational, a three-day meet hosted by Dalhousie University, winning the 400 and 800-metre freestyles, in addition to the 400 individual medley. In the second Quebec Cup competition, hosted by Laval, she won gold in the 400 IM. Away from the pool, she has served on a medical volunteering mission in Costa Rica, volunteered at hospitals in Lebanon and at the Royal Victoria Hospital's DOVEE cancer project in Montreal, in addition to Motionball, in support of the Special Olympics. Most recently, she has volunteered with the Buddy Program at McGill, which assists international students.

Havelock is a 21-year-old software engineering senior who has won numerous scholarships and qualified for both the Dean's Honour List and the Principal's Student-athlete Honour Roll. A 6-foot-1, 185-pound winger, whose primary function is tackling, he scored one try in six regular season games this fall and earned Quebec conference first team all-star status. Havelock, who serves as co-president of the rugby squad, is also active in a number of on-campus initiatives. He serves as a peer tutor for engineering students and has helped lead the rugby team in a number of community outreach initiatives. Among them is Right To Play, an international non-profit organization that empowers vulnerable children to overcome the effects of war, poverty snd disease. He is also a leader on the rugby team's highly successful Seeds of Change fundraising campaign and Movember, which creates awareness and support for prostate and testicular cancer, as well as mental health.

The impetus for implementing Jean Béliveau Athletic Awards at McGill came from several donors (George Lengvari and Terry Tretiak of Lengvari Capital, The Rossy Family Foundation, the Joe Weider Foundation, Power Corporation and the Martlet Foundation). The endowed fund -- expected to generate approximately $25,000 per year -- is awarded to four full-time varsity student-athletes (two men and two women) who have demonstrated academic achievement and leadership in student and/or community affairs.
 
Béliveau skated for 18 seasons with the Canadiens from 1953 to 1971. He was a member of 10 Stanley Cup-winning teams as a player and seven more as an executive with the team. Off the ice, Béliveau supported charities in Quebec and throughout Canada. In 2003, the Montreal Canadiens introduced the Jean Béliveau Trophy, which is awarded to the Canadiens player who best demonstrates community involvement and spirit.  

McGill's Jean Béliveau Award Recipients
 

YEAR	NAME	SPORT
2016	Melodie Daoust	Hockey (w)
2016	Joel Houle	Football (m)
2017	Alex Kiss-Rusk	Basketball (w)
2017	Nathan Chiarlitti	Hockey (m)
2017	Marjolaine Ste-Marie	Volleyball (w)
2017	Sanchit Gupta	Soccer (m)
2018	Dominic Talbot-Tassi	Hockey (m)
2018	Jeremy Sauvageau	Football (m)
2018	Sarah Dubois	Soccer (w)
2018	Rebecca Gillis	Swimming (w)
2019	Dori Yeats	Rugby (w)
2019	Quentin Basiren	Rowing (m)
2019	Gabriella Doueihy	Swimming (w)
2019	Dylan Havelock	Rugby (m)