June 30, 2011

Another successful year of varsity athletics at Durham College wrapped up last week when former Lords men’s and women’s soccer coach Vaso Vujanovic and men’s soccer player Mario Bruno were inducted into the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Hall of Fame.

Vujanovic and Bruno joined 37 other inductees from across the province at the annual induction ceremony, which was held on May 4 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Ont,  where they were honoured by the OCAA for their athletic accomplishments. Durham College alumnus and former coach Ryan Hughes was also recognized at this year’s event when he was named to the OCAA All-Millennium Golf Team.

Vujanovic coached the college’s men’s soccer team for 17 years from 1973 to 1989, returning in 1999 to coach the women’s soccer team for 10 years until 2008. One of his greatest accomplishments while coaching for the college was winning the OCAA men’s gold medal in 1980 and women’s Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) bronze medal in 2007.

“It is a very prestigious honour that only a few hard-working and dedicated coaches have received,” said Vujanovic. “Receiving this recognition from the OCAA is a great acknowledgement for the many years I dedicated to Durham College, building and developing the men’s and women’s soccer programs to achieve provincial and national prominence.”

Alumnus Mario Bruno played for the men’s soccer team from 1984 to 1987. A highlight of his successful collegiate sports career was setting a new school record by scoring 17 goals in his final season.

“It truly means a lot to me to be recognized for the records that were set nearly 25 years ago,” said Bruno. “Records are made to be broken. I just hope that I’m not around when someone decides to break mine.”

Ryan Hughes, a former member and coach of the men’s golf team, joins eight other former golfers named to the prestigious All-Millennium Team. He was previously inducted into the OCAA Hall of Fame in 2003 for his outstanding playing and coaching career.

These latest honours wrap up another exciting and successful season for the college’s varsity sports program that saw more than 30 individual athletes and coaches recognized for their achievements including:

• 14 OCAA league all-stars
• Two CCAA all-Canadians
• Three CCAA academic all-Canadians
• Two provincial scoring champions (men’s basketball and volleyball)
• Two provincial batting champions
• Two OCAA players of the year
• OCAA and CCAA coach of the year
• One provincial championship MVP
• Four national championship all-stars

For more information about the Durham College Lords, please visit www.durhamlords.com.