Student athletes to watch this winter semester
Seniors gear up for their final term, freshmen look to make their mark
The fall semester at Dalhousie University brought championship-winning moments, broken records and Dal students coming out to cheer on their Tigers.
But winter is coming.
The Dalhousie Gazette has you covered on the Tigers, whose play and passion will keep students excited about athletics through the cold winter months.
Men’s basketball – Giovanni Ajiamah
Athleticism, athleticism and more athleticism.
Giovanni Ajiamah made his mark on the men’s basketball team in the final games of the fall semester. The Winnipeg native found his footing on Nov. 14 in a game against Saint Mary’s University when head coach Rick Plato gave him his first start of the season.
He finished the game with eight points before breaking out the next day against the University of New Brunswick, dropping 18 points, including two three-pointers and a signature chase-down block. Ajiamah earned Dal’s PepsiCo Athlete of the Week and started each of the remaining games before the break. The six-foot-three sophomore guard has positioned himself as a key option for the Tigers’ future. The team is currently fighting for a playoff spot after not making the dance last season for the first time since 2014.
Women’s basketball – Madelyn White
Before the women’s basketball season started, the Gazette questioned who would handle the team’s scoring duties. The unequivocal answer has been Madelyn White.
And she isn’t just handling it; she’s flourishing. The forward is averaging 17.3 points per game, ranking second in Atlantic University Sport as of the winter break.
Before she was a Tiger, White spent four years and a cancelled 2020 season playing at Wilfrid Laurier University. In her first season at Dal, she won Dalhousie Tiger of the Year for the women’s basketball team and has emerged as one of the most dynamic forwards in the AUS.
Figure skating – Jane Maillet
In April 2018, then-12-year-old Jane Maillet shared the ice with Olympic gold medalists at a Stars on Ice show in Halifax. Eight years later, she’s having an undefeated competition season with Dal’s figure skating team.
The Kentville, N.S., figure skater is a second-year medical sciences student at Dal. This season, Maillet skated to two gold medals at the Skate Nova Scotia FallSkate in October and the Robert McCall Memorial Competition in November. No biggie for someone who’s competed nationally twice.
She now has her sights on the provincial championships, held in Amherst, N.S., from Feb. 27 to March 1. The top six skaters in each category will advance to the 2026 Atlantic Canada Skating Championships in Paradise, Nfld.
Men’s hockey – Jack Harper
The 2025-26 campaign hasn’t been kind to the men’s hockey team. They secured their first win just before the break, but despite their record, some players have still managed to shine. One of them is Jack Harper.
Harper is a third-year defenseman who has racked up nine points in 12 games this season, tying with Luke Johnston for third on the team in points, just three behind forwards Ethan Wongus and Brody Fournier. He’s the quarterback of the power play, scoring three goals on the man advantage this season.
Harper played in the CHL prior to becoming a Tiger, spending four years between three teams, including his hometown team, the Guelph Storm.
Women’s hockey – Leah MacSween
Nobody racked up more points in AUS women’s hockey this season than Leah MacSween ahead of the winter break. She is one point ahead of a four-player hodge-podge tied for second, including former Dal standout Olivia Eustace, but is the only player above a point per game.
MacSween is as pure a playmaker as it gets. She’s totalled 13 assists this year, two more than she had last year, in 12 fewer games as a second-team all-star. She uses her skating ability and puck skills to dance around defenders, using her breakaway speed in open space.
Before becoming a Tiger, MacSween played south of the border at Cornell University.
Men’s swimming – Quinn Nolan
Quinn Nolan, a master’s of resource and environment management student, dominated AUS swimming in the fall semester.
In his fifth year of AUS eligibility, the swimmer warmed up for the season by winning five events at the first swimming invitational of the year. Then, at the Kemp-Fry Invitational, he swept all four 50-metre sprint events, finishing each race with personal best times. Each of those swims ranks him inside Dal’s all-time top 10 finishes. He set not one, but two Dalhousie records in 50m breaststroke and butterfly. He also set a Nova Scotian record in the 100m individual medley at the AUS #2 Invitational.
Though he’s in his fifth year, this won’t be the last you hear about a Nolan in AUS swimming. Nolan’s brother Declan now swims in the same lanes for the Dal team.
Women’s swimming – Emma Carrier Clarke
When a team has won the last 23 AUS championships, it’s hard to decide who to pick as a standout.
How about we go with Emma Carrier Clarke, who — as a sophomore — became the 14th Tiger in a row to win the AUS women’s Swimmer of the Year. This year, she started the season undefeated, winning four individual events and two relays. She also won three solo events at the Dalhousie Invitational.
In 2025, she won four individual gold medals at the AUS championship, and with this year’s event circled on her calendar for Feb. 13-15, Tigers swimming fans should expect her streak to continue.
Track and field – Caleb Hominick
The Dal Tigers don’t even have the track and field roster on their website yet, but thrower Caleb Hominick has already qualified for the U Sports championship.
Hominick only needed one throw to do so. The second-year athlete threw a weight of 17.64 metres at the Moncton Blue and Gold Meet in November. He’s not a one-meet wonder either. Last season, Hominick won AUS men’s Rookie of the Year and earned a silver medal in weight throwing.
Men’s volleyball – Jacob Oyler
Jacob Oyler is a major bright spot on the men’s volleyball team that has struggled out of the gate this season.
The Tigers started 0-8, but regardless, Oyler’s brilliance is on display in every match. The fourth-year senior has the second-most kills in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec this season. He is top 20 in hitting percentage, blocks, and digs and is virtually unhittable on the serve, sitting in the top three in the league.
Women’s volleyball – Melissa Hatfield
Melissa Hatfield has been a dominant force since she entered the AUS conference.
She played one year at Memorial University, where she was named 2021-22 league Rookie of the Year before leaving the Rock to join the Tigers dynasty. Hatfield redshirted her first year due to eligibility rules before emerging in the 2024-25 season as a killing machine. She totaled 119 kills last year and is on pace to break that in the 2025-26 season. Hatfield currently has the sixth most kills in the conference with 94.
The Tigers women’s volleyball team are hungry to clinch the top title this year. The team won 10 of the last 12 AUS championships, but hasn’t been on top in two years.
