Wittenberg Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Hosts Sixth Annual Tiger Awards

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Winners of individual awards at the Tiger Awards who were present.

Springfield, Ohio — The sixth annual Tiger Awards, recognizing excellence in athletic and academic performance by Wittenberg University student-athletes during the 2010-11 school year, were handed out during a banquet on May 1.

Hundreds of student-athletes attended the banquet, which is organized and led annually by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Voting by SAAC members resulted in 21 different team and individual awards encompassing a wide range of athletic, academic and extracurricular achievements during the 2010-11 school year. The goal of the annual event is to highlight and showcase accomplishments across the department of athletics.

In addition to the Tiger Awards, a record 43 inductees into Wittenberg's chapter of the national student-athlete honorary Chi Alpha Sigma were recognized, as were senior volleyball standout Amy Cox (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) and senior football standout Jeremy Block (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair), Wittenberg's 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Scholar Athlete award-winners.

The Most Outstanding Men's Team of the Year Award went to the men's lacrosse team. The Tigers have spent most of the 2011 season ranked in the top 20 after a record-breaking 11-0 start. Currently 12-1, the Tigers shared the NCAC championship with Ohio Wesleyan and Denison and expected to advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament when the bracket is released Sunday, May 8.

The volleyball team took the Outstanding Women's Team of the Year honors for the fifth time in six years. The Tigers finished the 2010 season with a 32-3 overall record after losing to eventual national champion Calvin in the regional final. Wittenberg earned its 15th straight NCAA Division III Tournament bid (16th overall) by winning the NCAC Tournament title for a 16th time since the Tigers joined the league in 1989. Wittenberg tied Hiram at 13-1 atop the NCAC regular season standings, also the Tigers' 16th title.

The awards for Overall Performance by an Individual went to senior men's basketball guard Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), who re-wrote the program's record three-point shooting records en route to all-conference, all-region and All-America honors while leading the Tigers to their first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance since 2006, and senior volleyball setter Amy Cox (Newark, Ohio/Catholic), who also earned all-conference, all-region and All-America awards while leading the Tigers to their 10th NCAA Division III Round of 16 finish.

The Male and Female Newcomer of the Year Awards went to a pair of swimmers in freshmen Jon Drewsen (Fond du Lac, Wisc./Fond du Lac) and Molly Gustafson (West Hartford, Conn./Conard). Both earned All-NCAC awards in their inaugural collegiate campaigns, with Gustafson going on to reach the NCAA Division III Championship meet, where she earned All-America honors.

Extracurricular Male Athlete of the Year went to junior Michael Duffy (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) of the basketball team, and Extracurricular Female Athlete of the Year was awarded to softball senior Jessi Allen (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) in recognition of their outstanding performance in the classroom, involvement in various academic honoraries and clubs and organizations outside of varsity athletics.

Tiger Spirit Awards, given to one male and one female student-athlete who best support and encourage fellow student-athletes, went to senior men's basketball student assistant coach Jimmy Colloton (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) and senior women's soccer standout Maureen Buckley (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington).

The baseball program was named the Most Improved Men's Team of the Year after reaching the NCAC Tournament for the first time since 2006. After finishing 16-20 overall and 7-9 in the NCAC West Division a year ago, the Tigers finished 20-18 overall and 9-5 in the NCAC regular season while dramatically improving their team batting average and earned run average. The women's swimming and diving program was named the Most Improved Women's Team of the Year after improving from 6-6 in 2009-10 dual meets to 8-5 in 2010-11.

Senior men's basketball standout Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) was named Record-Breaking Male Athlete of the Year after breaking the career, season and game three-point shooting records. The Record-Breaking Female Athlete Award went to senior field hockey forward Boo Vernon (Lake Bluff, Ill./Cushing Academy), who capped her final season in the Red & White with a fourth straight All-NCAC award, fourth straight first-team All-Great Lakes Region award and third straight third-team All-America award. She broke the school record for career goals with 80, a total that ranks second in NCAC history and among the top 30 in NCAA Division III history.

Two career achievement awards were also distributed. Senior lacrosse athlete Matt Lord (Pickerington, Ohio/North) won the men's award in recognition of his tremendous career in the Red & White, capped by back-to-back NCAC championships for a program that had never finished higher than third before 2010. Along the way, he broke the program record for career goals, and he currently ranks third in program history in total points.

The Female Collegiate Achievement Award went to senior Maggie Amorello (Sutton, Mass./Worcester Academy), a women's soccer and lacrosse standout. She earned multiple all-conference awards in each sport, highlighted by the 2010 NCAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Year and All-America awards, while serving as a team captain for both teams.

Two coaches were also recognized at the event, with men's lacrosse Head Coach George Harris taking home the Men's Coach of the Year and volleyball Head Coach Paco Labrador garnering Women's Coach of the Year. The men's lacrosse team heads into its final week of the 2011 regular season with a 12-1 overall record after finishing in a three-way tie for first place in the NCAC. The volleyball team posted a sparkling 32-3 record en route to a tie for first place in the NCAC regular season and the 16th NCAC Tournament crown in the program's 22 years in the league.

Finally, three student-athletes were recognized for their academic achievements. Senior women's soccer defender Kelly Foley (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) was the fall team honoree, junior distance swimmer Rachel Lee (Hickory, NC/Hickory) was the winter team honoree and junior golfer Jordan Millice (Cable, Ohio/Triad) was the spring team honoree.

Foley, a business and geology double major, carries a grade point average above 3.9 and has been very active around campus, serving as the Class of 2011 secretary, secretary of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and as a representative in Wittenberg's Emerging Leaders program. Lee carries a perfect 4.0 gpa and is an accomplished cellist who is active in the University Honors program, Athletes for Christ, Alpha Lambda Delta and Athletes in Action. Millice carries a gpa above a 3.9 while excelling for the nationally ranked Tiger men's golf team. Last year, he earned one of the NCAA's Elite 88 Awards in recognition of the student-athlete with the top gpa at the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships.

"This is always a fun evening for our student-athletes because it is a night where they select the nominee and winners for each of the awards distributed," said women's basketball Head Coach Sarah Jurewicz, who serves as Wittenberg's SAAC Advisor. "Being a college athlete is a special achievement in and of itself, and this night takes time to recognize those athletes that have been most impressive in their performance this year."

The event marked the final SAAC meeting of the 2010-11 school year. SAAC is an organization that represents and advocates the interests of Wittenberg student-athletes to the rest of the university community. Through bi-weekly meetings, student-athletes are able to network and organize events.

Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photo By: Erin Pence

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