Watch all of the team videos from the banquet!
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Team award winners and 67 seniors across all 20 varsity sports were honored at the 2011 College of Charleston Athletics Sports Banquet sponsored by The Cougar Club and catered by Jim 'N Nicks Bar-B-Q on Tuesday night at Carolina First Arena.
Most Valuable Player Award recipients included junior Christian Bailey (Charlotte, N.C.) of cross country, sophomore Sarah Schaidle (Simpsonville, S.C.) of women's soccer, seniors Andrew Goudelock (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Donavan Monroe (Waxhaw, N.C.) of men's basketball, junior Matt Sherrier (Boulder, Colo.) of men's swimming and diving, freshman Sarah Boyle (Columbia, S.C.) of women's swimming and diving, sophomore John Duke Hudson (Sonora, Texas) of men's golf, junior Leigh Whittaker (Baden-Baden, Germany) of women's golf, senior Jackson Benvenutti (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) of sailing, sophomore Sarah Somes (Grosse Point Park, Mich.) of women's sailing, junior Mickael Trintignac (Le Cannet, France) of men's tennis, freshman Dena O'Brien (Pelham, Ala.) of women's track and senior Isabel Boersma (Franklin, Tenn.) of women's track and field.
"Tonight, we celebrate a great year in College of Charleston Athletics," CofC Director of Athletics Joe Hull said. "Congratulations to all of our coaches, student-athletes and support staff for your achievements and efforts. You have represented The College and your programs well this season. For the seniors, your lives are about to change greatly. You should feel prepared for the challenges you will face...do your best, always do what's right and remember that your college home is right here at the College of Charleston."
The CofC softball team won the 2011 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. In addition, senior outfielder Kristi Woodall (Huntersville, N.C.) was honored with the prestigious J. Stewart Walker Cup, which is the highest award given by the athletics department to a deserving student-athlete. The award is named after J. Stewart Walker, a 1978 CofC graduate, who was very active in athletics until his death in 1983.
"I'm honored to be among the other nominees for this award," Woodall said. "Thank you to the Cougar Club and to the administration for your support. To my parents, you have motivated and kept me on my toes throughout my life. I wouldn't know what I would do without you. To my coaches, you gave me the opportunity to play Division I softball at my dream school and all of my hard work has paid off. To my teammates, you have kept me to high standards and I couldn't ask for a better senior year."
Academically, more than 200 student-athletes were named scholar-athletes this school year. To qualify, a student-athlete must carry at least a 3.0 grade-point average during the spring and fall 2010 terms. CofC men's cross country turned in the highest annual average team GPA in 2010, while women's swimming and diving had the most improved annual average team GPA. Redshirt junior Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla.) of baseball, who was also a finalist for the J. Stewart Walker Cup Award with senior Cole Dawley (Charleston, S.C.) of volleyball, earned the highest cumulative GPA.
Current Cougar Club President Tom Hallberg was honored with the Myrt Riggs Fan of the Year Award along with Maroon Mayhem student supporter, Don Squires, as the Student Fan of the Year and Assistant Director of CofC Admissions, Owen Compher, as the Anita Van de Erve Staff/Faculty Fan of the Year.
2011 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON ATHLETICS SPORTS BANQUET
April 26, 2011
Carolina First Arena
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Men's MVP: Christian Bailey
Men's Coaches Award: Andrew Nelson
Women's Coaches Award: Kristen Wolfe
Seniors: Josh Shirnoff and Kristen Jenkins
MEN'S SOCCER
Aaron Olitsky Most Improved: Robbie Benson
Glaucos Dimantino Attitude Award: Sean Flatley
Seniors: Sean Bateau, Jake Helmig, Kyle Hutson, Sean Flatley, Justin Fojo and Kareem Yearwood
WOMEN'S SOCCER
MVP: Sarah Schaidle
CHAMP Award: Morgan Benz
Seniors: Morgan Benz, Annie Pease and Amanda Raymond
VOLLEYBALL
Coaches Award: Paige Johnson
Leadership Award: Cole Dawley
Seniors: Cole Dawley, Ginny Phillips, Whitney Russell and Paige Johnson
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Dr. Bill Moore MVP: Andrew Goudelock and Donavan Monroe
Defensive Player of the Year: Antwaine Wiggins
Inspirational Award: Jeremy Simmons
Most Improved: Andrew Lawrence
Freshman of the Year: Trent Wiedeman
Seniors: Andrew Goudelock, Donavan Monroe, Jeremy Simmons, Garrett Campbell and Jordan Turok
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Best Defensive Player: Jillian Brown
Most Improved: Cathryn Hardy
Chairwoman of the Boards: Janae Smith
Coaches' Award: Tonia Gerty
Seniors: Tonia Gerty and Brianna Davie
EQUESTRIAN
Laura Carr Horsemanship Award: Elizabeth Lloyd Ulicny
Seniors: Ali Dowty, Tatiana Calvo, Alex Percival, Faye Rossi, Kelley Kroll and Chrystal Threlfall
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING
Men's MVP: Matt Sherrier
Men's Coaches Award: Blake Buchanan
Women's MVP: Sarah Boyle
Women's Coaches Award: April Coyne
Seniors: April Coyne, Sara Gardocki, Patrick Jones and Caitlin Sheperd
BASEBALL
Seniors: Jesse Mesa, Jamie Holler, Cole Rakar, Robert Pritcher, Travis Stewart, Casey Lucchese, Robert Jerozsko, Josh Salay, Ryan Daniels and Kolby Epley
MEN'S GOLF
MVP: John Duke Hudson
Most Improved: Seth Stuart
Seniors: Coy Breen, Elliott Lopez, Ross Tooley and Austin Parks
WOMEN'S GOLF
MVP: Leigh Whittaker
SAILING
Most Improved: Ben Spector
MVP Coed: Jackson Benvenutti
MVP Women's Sailing: Sarah Somes
Coaches Award: Chris Banholzer
Seniors: Kip Watson, Cristy Jamison, Cole Allsopp and Jackson Benvenutti
SOFTBALL
Seniors: Katie Pesature, Kristi Woodall, Katie Nutaitis, Alexa Datko and Hillary Stringer
MEN'S TENNIS
MVP: Mickael Trintignac
Cougar Award: Tom Delme
Most Improved: Stephen Hardy
Seniors: Mickael Boyer and Lukas Koncilia
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Most Improved Player: Katie Lee
Leadership Award: Emma Hayman
Seniors: Keely Mulligan, Kinsey Casey and Emma Hayman
WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
MVP Track: Dena O'Brien
MVP Field: Isabel Boersma
Seniors: Isabel Boersma, Brynne Johnson and Mary Zolga
CHEER
Coaches Award: Heidi Darrington
Most Improved: Taylor Edwards
Seniors: Ashley Beach, Heidi Darrington, Holly Usher and Allisha Hemingway
DANCE
Coaches Award: Allyson Townsend
Most Valuable Performer: Ariel Imler
Most Improved: Amber Frazier
2011 COUGAR CUP
Softball
ACADEMICS
Highest Annual Average GPA 2010
Men's Cross Country
Most Improved Annual Average GPA 2010
Women's Swimming and Diving
Senior Highest Cumulative GPA (end of Fall 2010)
Matt Leeds (Baseball)
SILCOX AWARD
Emma Hayman (Women's Tennis) and Lukas Koncilia (Men's Tennis)
MYRT RIGGS FAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Tom Hallberg
STUDENT FAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Don Squires
ANITA VAN DE ERVE STAFF/FACULTY FAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Owen Compher
CHARLIE POST AWARD
Keely Mulligan (Women's Tennis)
J. STEWART WALKER CUP AWARD
Kristi Woodall (Softball)
