McGill medical school’s Zhang merits League MVP honours as RSEQ badminton all-stars and awards announced

MONTREAL – Eliana Zhang, a medical school student with the McGill University women's badminton team, has been named player of the year in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec.

In a vote conducted by the badminton conference's seven head coaches, the 23-year-old senior from Ile-Bizard, Que., earned RSEQ first-team all-star status for the third consecutive season. Also receiving laureates was teammate Nicolas Germain, a 22-year-old physical and health education junior from Laval, Que., who was accorded first-team honours in the men's division.

Zhang, who has now won League MVP honours twice in the last three years, went undefeated in RSEQ play, posting a perfect 15-0 record, including 12-0 in women's singles and 3-0 in mixed doubles. In terms of sets played, she registered a 24-0 mark in singles and went 6-0 in mixed doubles. The results extended her unblemished three-year mark to 39-0 in RSEQ play, with a remarkable 78-1 record in sets played. Her 39-game win streak includes 30 singles matches, one game of doubles and eight mixed double competitions.

She received a McConnell Entrance Scholarship in 2021, an athletic excellence bursary from the Aléo Foundation in 2023 and McGill's Jean Beliveau Athletic Award in 2023 for combining leadership with academics and athletics, in addition to a Dorothy Nichol Award for academic achievement and contributions to extra-curricular activities. A fourth-year student in her third year of medical school, she made the Dean's Honour List and the President's Student-athlete Honour Roll.

The aforementioned Germain posted a stellar 18-4 record overall, going 39-14 in sets played. His 22 games included a 15-3 mark in singles, 1-0 in doubles and 2-1 in mixed doubles.

Zhang, a member of the Quebec provincial and Canadian national teams, will be competing this weekend with her McGill teammates at the Yonex Canadian collegiate championships, hosted by Université Laval in Quebec City, March 14-16.

2024-25 RSEQ Badminton Awards & All-Stars / Honneurs individuels - RSEQ 2024-2025


WOMEN:		MEN:

Player of the Year / Athlète féminine par excellence		Player of the Year / Athlète masculin par excellence
Eliana Zhang, McGill		Anthony Nguyen, Montréal

Rookie of the Year / Recrue féminine de l'année		Rookie of the Year / Recrue masculine de l'année
Jenny Zhang, Montréal		Axel Cattalano, UQAM

Leadership Award / Prix leadership et engagement social		Leadership Award / Prix Emmanuel-Constant leadership et engagement social
(not available)		(not available)

Coach of the Year / Entraîneur de l'année
Anthony Bouthillier-Hénault, Sherbrooke

First Team All-Stars / Première équipe d'étoiles féminines		First Team All-Stars / Première équipe d'étoiles masculines
Eliana-Ruobing Zhang, McGill		Anthony Nguyen, Montréal
Catherine Plante-Gonthier, UQAM		Nicolas Germain, McGill
Frédérique Labbé, Laval		Benoit Bordeleau, UQAM
Mary-Anne Ke, Montréal		Étienne Chouinard, Laval

Second Team All-Stars / Deuxième équipe d'étoiles féminines		Second Team All-Stars / Deuxième équipe d'étoiles masculines
Kalyanne Truong, Montréal		Axel Cattalano, UQAM
Maëlie Gélinas, Laval		Mathieu Morneau, Laval
Jenny Zhang, Montréal		Guillaume Blais, Laval
Kelly Lam, Montréal		Jérémy Pellerin, UQAM