Less than 48 hours before their biggest match of the season, the Acadia Axewomen rugby team were honoured with two major conference awards on Thursday.
Fourth-year fullback Monique Coffey was named the AUS women's rugby most valuable player while teammate Sarah Palfy earned the rookie of the year award.
Acadia faces the three-time defending AUS champion St. Francis X-Women in the conference championship Saturday afternoon in Antigonish.
Coffey, of Ethelbert, Man., scored five tries in the regular season for he U Sports No. 7-ranked Axewomen and managed two tries in Acadia's 52-20 semifinal win over the UPEI Panthers last Saturday.
It's the second consecutive year an Acadia player has been selected as the conference's top player. Teammate Laura Plfeiderer was AUS MVP last season.
Palfy played in all six regular season games and the AUS semifinal for the Axewomen. She made an immediate impact, earning player of the game honours in Acadia's 41-14 win over Saint Mary's on Sept. 21.
Mike Cavanagh, in his 21st season at the helm of the X-Women program, collects his 12th AUS coach of the year award. Cavanagh guided nationally third-ranked St. F.X. to a 6-0 record and its 17th first-place finish since the 2002 season.
Saint Mary's Huskies' fourth-year prop and team captain Maggie MacPhee was honoured with the student-athlete community service award.
The AUS also named the women's rugby all-stars on Thursday.
Joining Coffey on the all-star team are Acadia's Sarah Boudreau, Sam Lake of St. F.X. and Frances MacWilliam of the UPEI Panthers (front row), Sarah McCarron of St. F.X. and Acadia's Harley Tucker (second row), Pfleiderer, Alexandra Hamilton of St. F.X. and Marissa McBride of Saint Mary's (back row), St. F.X. scrum half Madison Ross, SMU fly half Julie Naugler, centres
Emilie Merilainen of Acadia and Sarah Hoerig of St. F.X. and wingers Bailey Dembicki of Acadia and Mackenzie Hale of UPEI.
The AUS championship will take place at 2 p.m. at Oland Stadium.
Both St. F.X. and Acadia have each earned berths in the U Sports national championship, Oct. 30 at the University of Ottawa.
