GNS Alumnae go Head-to-Head in Field Hockey Nationals

November 25, 2022

Academics

GNS

Brooke and Emily went head-to-head in the tournament as both Gryphons battled with their respective teams to take the national title.

Brooke is in her second year at the University of Victoria, while Emily has entered her first year at York University. UVic swept York in two games to win their fourth consecutive U SPORTS Championship.

“It was a fun tournament, pretty intense,” said Brooke. “We had the upper hand on them, but it was a close tournament and lots of fun.”

Brooke knew she would be playing against another GNS alum, and she said it was fun. She was even her check for part of the game.

“It was exciting,” said Brooke. “GNS isn’t known for field hockey, so it was really cool to have two GNSers represented in the field hockey nationals.”

Emily echoed Brooke and remarked how the tournament was lots of fun and that it was great to play against a fellow Gryphon.

“It was an awesome tournament,” said Emily. “I knew I was going to be playing against Brooke. It was really fun to play against her again. It’s weird because I used to play with her at GNS and GNS is a small school, so seeing where others have gone is so fun.”

Emily has been playing field hockey for 13 years, and it has been something she’s always been passionate about.

“I really wanted to continue playing field hockey at the post-secondary level in Canada,“ she said. “I’m an international student from Switzerland, and there are more opportunities to play in Canada.”

Joining GNS in Grade 10, Emily added that being a Gryphon definitely helped her develop her game.

“I had so much more practice and it was so nice to get to know other grades while playing at GNS,” she said. “You feel like another sister on the field, especially as a Grade 12 player. Also, I just want to say thank you to Ms. Hughes (Field Hockey Coach). I saw her when I was playing at the U SPORTS Championship, and I missed her so much. She’s an awesome coach.”

Emily noted her first year at York University has been going well, and she has felt right at home.

Since graduating, it’s been important for Brooke to come back to GNS to help coach field hockey with Ms. Bunny Hughes, but her work has focused more on the development team.

“It’s great to have people who have been through GNS and are familiar with how things work. I can share my field hockey knowledge with some of the younger girls and help them get excited about the sport,” she said.