ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT HOSTS ANNUAL AWARDS NIGHT
May 2, 2012
BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Athletic Department hosted its Annual Awards Night and Dessert Reception last weekend, celebrating the Saints success during the 2011-2012 athletic seasons. Student-athletes, coaches, supportive families and fans filled the gymnasium of Emmanuel's Jean Yawkey Center on Saturday evening, April 28th, for the annual athletic recognition night.
With the growth in the Saints Athletic Department over the past several years, including adding three new varsity teams in as many years, the reception outgrew its former venue in Emmanuel's Marian Hall dining facility. The event's move to the gymnasium was extremely well received and featured award presentations by the head coaches of each of Emmanuel's seventeen varsity teams, as well as major award presentations by Saints staff and administrators. Emmanuel's food service division, Bon Appetit, provided a delectable buffet of dessert selections for all of the attendees.
Emmanuel's Director of Athletics and Recreation Pam Roecker opened the evening by welcoming everyone and praising the success of the Saints during the 2011-12 campaign. Roecker highlighted the transition that the 2012 senior class experienced during their four-year careers with the Saints, including the renovation of Roberto Clemente Field and the addition of men's golf in 2009, as well as the addition of women's lacrosse in 2010 and men's lacrosse this year. Roecker also introduced the launching of the "Saints Booster Club," an undertaking spearheaded by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. Attendees were then treated to a slide show and video before the team award presentations commenced.
Each of Emmanuel's head coaches then took to the stage to recap their sport-specific seasons and to present awards to their team members. The team honors included an Academic Achievement Award, an Unsung Hero, a Coach's Appreciation Award, a Most Improved Player and a Most Valuable Player from each athletic team.
At the conclusion of the team awards, Emmanuel's Vice President of Student Affairs Patricia Rissmeyer presented "The President's Cup," an award given annually to each member of the athletic team, who together have accumulated a grade point average higher than that of any other team during the first semester this year. Receiving the honor for the second consecutive year, the 2012 President's Cup went to the Saints Women's Tennis Team, which earned a collective 3.56 grade point average.
Roecker returned to the stage to present the award for the "Freshman of the Year," given annually to the freshman student-athlete who has provided the greatest contribution to the athletic reputation of Emmanuel College. With the Athletic Department growing to nearly 300 student-athletes this year, the administrators opted to award tri-winners in this category.
The first "Freshman of the Year" award went to Alex Hadlock (Framingham, Mass.), who helped lead the Saints Women's Tennis Team to a 13-3 finish and to a GNAC Semifinal appearance this Fall. Hadlock went 11-3 in her No. 2 singles position and 5-5 in No. 1 doubles. She was named the GNAC Rookie of the Week, the GNAC Player of the Week, to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll and represented Emmanuel as a 1st Team All-Conference selection.
The second "Freshman of the Year" was Adam Julien (New Orleans, La.), a two-sport athlete, competing on both the Men's Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Teams. Julien finished the Indoor season as one of the Top Ten 400 meter runners in the east. He set Emmanuel program-records in the 200m and 400m and competed in both events in the ECAC Championships. He began the Outdoor season at No. 1 in New England in the 400m and is currently ranked 38th nationally with a time of 48.99 seconds. Julien qualified for both the New England Division III Championships and the ECAC Championships in his outdoor events and will continue to compete over the next several weeks.
The final "Freshman of the Year" award went to Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.), who led the Saints Men's Volleyball Team to an appearance in the GNAC Championship game. Jackson led the Saints in both kills and digs in 2012. He was named the GNAC Rookie of the Week four times and GNAC Player of the Week once. He was a 1st Team All-Conference selection and finished the season ranked 22nd nationally in kills per set.
Emmanuel's Assistant Sports Information Director Dan Campagna, who was recently named the GNAC's Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations, kicked off the presentations for the highly competitive senior awards. Campagna presented the "Senior Unsung Hero Award," an honor given annually to a senior athlete who has exhibited leadership, dedication, and athletic achievement in quiet ways, which may have gone unrecognized throughout his or her career. The Senior Unsung Hero Award went to Alexander Petty (Wayland, Mass.), a four-year player on the Emmanuel Men's Volleyball Team. Over his career with the Saints, Petty has been named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll three times, to the GNAC All-Tournament Team and the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team. He has played in 222 sets for the Saints and is a three-time GNAC Academic All-Conference selection. He is the epitome of a Division III student athlete...extremely serious about his academics, yet intensely loyal to the athletic program. After not playing as much as a junior, he won a starting spot in the line-up this year and helped guide the Saints to another successful season. Petty did not get much recognition from the conference or nationally, but over his career, has been one of the best representatives of Emmanuel College Athletics. He also won the Men's Volleyball Coach's Appreciation Award this year.
Associate Athletic Director, Alexis Mastronardi, presented the Senior Sportsmanship Award, which is given annually to the senior athlete who has conducted his or herself in the highest manner on the playing field, including interactions with players, coaches, and officials. This award had co-recipients this year. The first sportsmanship award went to Katasi Kulubya (Anaheim, Calif.), who has played four different sports at Emmanuel. Kulubya was a three-sport athlete this year, participating on the Women's Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Teams. She also played for the Women's Basketball Team as a freshman. She holds multiple indoor and outdoor track records, including the indoor track records for the 400 meters and 500 meters and the outdoor track records for the 400 meters and 800 meters. She is also a part of four different record-setting relay teams. She qualified for and competed in the Division III New England Championships this winter and has qualified and will compete again this spring. She is a 4-time Emmanuel Track MVP, who has been a role model throughout her career for other athletes in terms of work ethic. Kulubya gives 100% at every practice and continuously pushes her teammates to do well all the time. Win or lose, she always had something positive to say to the other competitors.
The co-recipient of this award was Jenna Ross (Centerburg, Ohio), a four-year starter and team captain of the Women's Volleyball Team. Ross played an intricate part in the team's success over the past four years. She was one of the Saints primary passers and one of the most solid and consistent players to ever wear an Emmanuel uniform. Ross finished her career as the first player in Emmanuel Volleyball history (men's and women's) to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. She is the program's all-time leader in digs and 4th all-time leader in kills. She was honored by the GNAC numerous times during her career, both as an All-Conference selection and a member of the All-Sportsmanship Team. As one of the most likeable students at Emmanuel, Ross is solid both as a player and a person and genuinely optimizes what it means to be a good sport.
Assistant Athletic Director and Head Men's Basketball Coach Jamahl Jackson presented the "Senior Scholar Athlete Award," given annually to a senior athlete who has excelled in the classroom, while competing in intercollegiate athletics. The shoo-in for the senior scholar athlete was Jordan Coulombe (Saco, Maine), who has been a four-year member of both the Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Teams. Coulombe holds the Emmanuel men's indoor record in the pentathalon and has excelled both on the track and in the classroom at Emmanuel. He is a six-time Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Academic Award winner. He is also Emmanuel's Student Government Association President, holding a four-year cumulative grade point average of 3.97.
Assistant Athletic Director and Head Athletic Trainer Ron Laham teamed up with Associate Athletic Director and Head Women's Basketball Coach Andy Yosinoff to present two Senior Athletic Achievement Awards. The award is given annually to a senior athlete who has excelled on the playing field and provided the greatest contribution to the athletic reputation of Emmanuel College. Laham presented the first Senior Athletic Achievement Award to Rebecca Stanton (Quincy, Mass.), a four-year starter as a middle-hitter for the Women's Volleyball Team, who captained the squad this year. Stanton led the Saints to the GNAC Semifinals all four seasons. She has been named to three different All-Tournament Teams, the GNAC Player of the Week, and to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll six times during her career. She was a three-time All-Conference selection and two-time team MVP. Stanton was one of the most dominant middle hitters in New England, ranking 1st in the GNAC with 500 kills this season. This total was the second highest single-season mark in GNAC history. Stanton led the conference with a .427 hitting percentage, while ranking second in the nation among NCAA Division III players. She will graduate this May as one of the greatest hitters in Emmanuel College history, ranking 2nd All-Time in kills.
Yosinoff presented the award to the co-recipient, Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, Mass.), who captained his Women's Basketball Team this season. Kirwan was a four-year collegiate basketball player, transferring to Emmanuel starting on the Saints Women's Basketball Team for the past two years. She led the Saints to GNAC Championships in both of her seasons at Emmanuel. This year, Kirwan was named the conference's Player of the Year and D3hoops.com 1st Team All Region. She led the program to the National Quarterfinals. Kirwan is one of just six student-athletes in Emmanuel history to be named Academic All-District. She is a two-time team MVP. In just two years, Kirwan was a five-time GNAC Player of the Week and a five-time GNAC Weekly Honor Roll selection and has been named the GNAC Tournament MVP and GNAC 1st Team All-Conference both years.
The final award of the night was given by Roecker, who presented the Senior Leadership Award, given annually to a senior athlete who has distinguished his or herself by demonstrating the qualities desired to lead successful teams throughout his or her athletic career. The Senior Leadership Award went to Logan Carr (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), a two-sport team captain, playing on the women's soccer and women's lacrosse teams. Carr was a four-year starter for soccer and a two-year starter for lacrosse. She captained two teams with very young rosters this year and is someone whom all the players looked up to and deeply respect. Carr has been a true leader both on and off the field and possesses a great work ethic and a positive attitude. Carr has played in 97 soccer and lacrosse games at Emmanuel and started in 93 of them. She was dominant on the soccer field all four years and is a two-time lacrosse MVP and a 2012 2nd Team All-GNAC selection. Carr will graduate from Emmanuel this May holding all of the lacrosse scoring records, including goals in a game (8), goals in a single season (39) and goals in a career (74).
After she received her award, Carr then remained on stage and represented the Emmanuel student-athletes as their "senior speaker." Carr's comments were touching and delivered in a warm and heartfelt manner, as she discussed her four-year career at Emmanuel and the unique experience it is to be a Saint. Carr represented her senior class well, giving a tribute to Division III student-athletes, who play for the "love of the game." Carr brought tears to the eyes of many and inspired the 500-plus attendees, who rose to their feet in a resounding ovation at the conclusion of her remarks. Read the full text from Carr's speech by clicking HERE.
Congratulations to all of the award winners and best of luck to the 2012 senior class! You will be missed!