CHARLESTON, S.C. – Team award winners and 84 seniors across all 21 varsity sports and support groups were honored at the 2013 College of Charleston Athletics Sports Banquet sponsored by The Cougar Club and catered by Food For The Southern Soul on Thursday night at TD Arena.
Most Valuable Player Award recipients included Mackenzie Johnston (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) of men's cross country, Hayley McMahon (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) of women's cross country, Sean de Silva (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad) of men's soccer, Sarah Schaidle (Simpsonville, S.C.) of women's soccer, Sarah Graif (Phoenix, Ariz.) of women's swimming and diving, Peter Gibbons (Fairfax, Va.) and Alex Wood (Duncan, S.C.) of men's swimming and diving, Alex Ellis (Austin, Texas) and Zach Munroe (Charlotte, N.C.) of men's golf, Julia Neumann (Berlin, Germany) of women's golf, Zack Lewis (Richmond, Ky.) of men's tennis, Christin Newman (Greensboro, N.C.) of women's tennis, and Hayley McMahon and Christine Klinar (Goose Creek, S.C.) of women's track and field.
“Our goals at the College of Charleston are to help each of you to be the best student, the best athlete and the best person you can be,” CofC Director of Athletics Joe Hull said. “We also want you to have a wonderful experience that you will treasure throughout your life. For the seniors, we are grateful you chose CofC. We hope you loved it. We hope you feel this is home. We hope you are prepared for the world and wish you the best.”
The CofC sailing team won the 2013 Cougar Cup, which is presented annually to the team with the most participation points in the NCAA Student-Athlete Development commitment areas of athletic excellence, academic excellence, personal development, career development and service.
2013 Southern Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Year, Christin Newman, was honored with the prestigious J. Stewart Walker Cup, which the highest award given by the athletics department to a deserving student-athlete. The award is named after J. Stewart Walker, Jr., a 1978 CofC graduate, who was very active in athletics until his death in 1983. The other four finalists for the award included Kathy Boehm (Munich, Germany) of women's golf, Shawn Ferguson (Rock Hill, S.C.) of men's soccer, Sophie Gotwald (Cooperstown, N.Y.) of equestrian and Sarah Somes (Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.) of sailing.
“It is an honor to be a part of such a great program and to be chosen for this award,” Newman said. “I would like to thank the College of Charleston, The Cougar Club, the administration, my family, my coaches, my teammates and our fans for a wonderful college experience over the last three years.”
Academically, 246 student-athletes and trainers were named scholar-athletes this school year. To qualify, a student-athlete must earn a term grade-point average of at least a 3.0 during the spring and fall 2012 terms.
The CofC women's tennis team turned in the highest annual average team GPA in 2012, while the men's swimming and diving team had the most improved annual average team GPA. Christin Newman also earned the Academic MVP Award given to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative GPA at the end of the fall prior to graduation.
Larry Simon was honored with the Myrt Riggs Fan of the Year Award along with Joe Wright as the Student Fan of the Year and College of Charleston Professor of Special Education, Mike Skinner, as the Anita Van de Erve Staff/Faculty Fan of the Year.
2013 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON ATHLETICS SPORTS BANQUET
April 25, 2013
TD Arena
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Men's MVP: Mackenzie Johnston
Men's Coaches Award: Manning Miller
Women's MVP: Hayley McMahon
Women's Coaches Award: Danielle Sams
Seniors: Chelsea Taylor and Manning Miller
MEN'S SOCCER
Kirk Kessler MVP: Sean de Silva
Aaron Olitsky Most Improved: Robbie Benson
Glaucos Diamantino Best Attitude Award: Shawn Ferguson
Seniors: Robbie Benson, Shawn Ferguson, Luke Huggett, Sean de Silva, Frannie Twohig, George Khoury, Ralphie Lundy, Tyler Vukoder, Sam Redmond and Mickael Trintignac
WOMEN'S SOCCER
MVP: Sarah Schaidle
C.H.A.M.P. Award: Victoria Fichman
Daniel Ravenel Friends of Cougar Women's Soccer Award: Kip and Susan Kerr
Seniors: Sarah Schaidle, Toni Schneider, Maryam Buazza, Haley Hutchens, Emilie Huser and Katie Kerr
VOLLEYBALL
Leadership Award: Emily Shelton
Coaches Award: Kelly Kolich
Cougar Award: Sloane White
Offensive Award: Darcy Dorton
Seniors: Kelly Kolich and Emily Shelton
SAND VOLLEYBALL
J-Dash Award: Andi Zbojniewicz
Rookie of the Year: Melissa Morello
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Offensive Player of the Year: Andrew Lawrence
Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Stitt
Most Improved: Adjehi Baru
Seniors: Andrew Lawrence, Bart Benton and Matt Sundberg
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Chairwoman of the Boards: Cathryn Hardy and Latisha Harris
Sharp Shooter Award: Alyssa Frye
Floor General Award: Jillian Brown
Best Defensive Player: Jillian Brown
Unsung Hero Award: Deidre Ramer
Most Improved Award: Mikaela Hopkins
Seniors: Cathryn Hardy and Latisha Harris
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING
Men's MVP: Peter Gibbons and Alex Wood
Men's Coaches Award: Alex Wood
Women's MVP: Sarah Graif
Women's Coaches Award: Meredith Smith
Seniors: Gracie Herlong, Jackie Tully, Jordan Fogarty, Ali Leberfinger, Eric Craig and Peter Gibbons
BASEBALL
Seniors: Matt Pegler, Jake Zokan, Griffin Jones, Drew Freie, Tyler Jackson, Cody Martin, Ryan West, Bradley Goodson, Jimmy Revan and Dre Watts
EQUESTRIAN
Laura Carr Horsemanship Award: Annie Carr
Seniors: Cassidy Hurt, Paige Kennedy, Emily McKee, Zoe Merritt and Emma Rudolph
MEN'S GOLF
MVP: Alex Ellis and Zach Munroe
Freshman of the Year: Josh Lorenzetti
Leadership Award: John Duke Hudson
Seniors: John Duke Hudson, Neil Gowan, Michael Montgomery and Cabe Prieskorn
WOMEN'S GOLF
MVP: Julia Neumann
Coaches Award: C.C. Buford
Pinehurst Putterboy Award: Mary Chandler Bryan
Seniors: Kathy Boehm, Vanessa Koechli, Anna Martin, Ainhoa Nogales and Walker McLear
SAILING
Seniors: Jeff Aschieris, Chris Banholzer, Laura Beigel, Brooks Clark, Cory DeCollibus, Brendan Faria, Mac Mace, Juan Maegli, Michael Ramming, Sarah Scudder, Sarah Somes and Ben Spector
SOFTBALL
Seniors: Kristy Giragosian, Courtney Clark, Ashton Jarrett and Stephanie Saylors
MEN'S TENNIS
MVP: Zack Lewis
Most Improved: Brice Allanic
Coaches Award: Charlie Ghriskey
Seniors: Billy Kenny
WOMEN'S TENNIS
MVP: Christin Newman
Most Improved: Grace Baker
Seniors: Irene Viana, Christin Newman and Olivia McMillan
WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
Track MVP: Hayley McMahon
Field MVP: Christine Klinar
Seniors: Chelsea Taylor
CHEER
Coaches Award: Mary Kathryn Archie
Most Improved: Alexandra Gillmore
On The Prowl: Shelby Del Vecchio
Seniors: Mary Kathryn Archie, Christy Harrison and Paige Martin
DANCE
Most Improved: Melissa Whiting
Coaches Award: Taylor Schuman
On the Prowl: Ariel Imler
Best all Around: Caroline Byrd
Seniors: Bailey Fender and Ariel Imler
ATHLETIC TRAINING
Trainer of the Year: Maggi Campanaro
Seniors: Amy Evans, Brittany Crosby and Paige Childers
2013 COUGAR CUP
Sailing (1,915 points)
ACADEMICS
Highest Annual Average GPA 2012
Women's Tennis
Most Improved Annual Average GPA 2012
Men's Swimming & Diving
Senior Highest Cumulative GPA (end of Fall 2012)
Christin Newman (Women's Tennis)
SILCOX AWARD
Billy Kenny (Men's Tennis) and Olivia McMillan (Women's Tennis)
MYRT RIGGS FAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Larry Simon
STUDENT FAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Joe Wright
ANITA VAN DE ERVE STAFF/FACULTY FAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Mike Skinner
CHARLIE POST AWARD
Willis Hall (Men's Basketball)
J. STEWART WALKER CUP AWARD
Christin Newman (Women's Tennis)
