Hall of Fame
One of the most accomplished field hockey players in Gryphon history, Brienne Stairs put together a star-studded four-year career at U of G from 2007-08 to 2010-11. During that time, the Kitchener native was the best player in the conference in what was the most successful four-year stretch in program history.
As a rookie in 2007, Stairs burst onto the scene scoring 8 goals to earn OUA all-star status while helping lead the Gryphons the first OUA title in program history. From there, the list of accolades continued to grow, with Stairs leading the country in scoring on three separate occasions while also helping the Gryphons capture two more OUA banners (2009 & 2010). When the dust settled, Stairs ended her varsity career as a Gryphon with an incredible 94 career goals to her name. She was a two-time National Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010, becoming the first Gryphon ever to receive the national honour.
Stairs was just as impressive in the classroom as she was on the field, with the bio-medical science major earning the University of Guelph's President's Trophy in her final year (2010) for her outstanding combination of academic and athletic excellence. That same season (2010-11), she was named the recipient of the W.F. Mitchell Sportswoman Award for her outstanding accomplishments over her time as a Gryphon.
Following her Gryphon career, Brienne would go on to put together a decorated international playing career, earning more than 180 senior caps for Team Canada while showcasing her scoring prowess at the highest level as one of the national team's leading scorers since 2011. In 2019, Brienne became the all-time leading goal scorer for Canadian women's field hockey with over 100 goals. Brienne also represented Canada at the 2022 Pan Am Championships, where Canada defeated the USA 1-0 to win bronze, marking the first time in 28 years Canada had qualified for the Field Hockey World Cup.
Team Honours:
- Team MVP - 2010
University Honours:
- W.F. Mitchell Sportswoman - 2011
- President's Trophy - 2010
- Honour Award – 2011
- 3rd leading scoring at UofG over career with 94
Conference Honours:
- OUA Player of the Year - 2009, 2010
- OUA First Team All-Star - 2008, 2009, 2010
- OUA Second Team All-Star - 2007
- OUA Team champions - 2007 (first time ever), 2009, 2010
- OUA Team silver - 2008
Career Scoring: 94 goals
2007 8 goals
2008 19 goals - OUA Scoring Leader
2009 31 goals - OUA Scoring Leader
2010 36 goals - OUA Scoring Leader
National Conference Honours:
- CIS Player of the Year - 2009, 2010
- CIS Scoring Leader - 2008, 2009, 2010
- CIS First Team All-Canadian - 2009, 2010
- CIS Second Team All-Canadian - 2008
- CIS team silver - 2007 - first ever
- CIS team bronze - 2010
- CIS Tournament All-Star - 2008, 2010
Other:
- more than 180 senior caps for Canada since her debut in 2011
- one of Canada's most prolific scorers
- scored 6 goals at the 2011 Pan Am Games
- scored 12 goals in 2014 to crack the top ten goal scorers worldwide
- Pan American Cup bronze - 2013, 2022
- Pan American Games bronze - 2015
- Commonwealth Games - 5th in 2018
- named to the Pan American Elite team 4 times - 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019
- led Canada with 2 goals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- qualified for FIH World Cup 2022
