(04-26-09) WEST HAVEN, Conn. - The University of New Haven held its Athletics Awards Banquet on Sunday, April 26 at Charger Gymnasium, where over 200 student-athletes were honored for their participation in 2008-09. The event culminated with the announcement that seniors Rhe-Ann Niles (women's volleyball) and James Hilaire (men's soccer) were chosen as the UNH Female and Male Athletes of the Year.
Over 400 people attended the event, including not only student-athletes, coaches and administrators, but also parents, friends and UNH faculty and staff members.
CLICK HERE FOR A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE NIGHT
The event was presented by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and hosted by the SAAC's Executive Board. Director of Athletics Deborah Chin began the event by welcoming all the student-athletes, administrators, faculty, friends and parents. Seniors Brigid Brady (women's lacrosse) and Charisse Cotton (women's volleyball) were the hosts for the evening, and they welcomed in University President, Dr. Steven H. Kaplan who shared congratulatory remarks with all in attendance.
Following dinner, the awards presentation began with each team giving a brief recap of their season, presenting their four-year award winners with their senior portraits, and then naming the team's MVP. (See a complete list of MVP winners below).
Newly appointed Faculty Athletics Representative and Professor, Chuck Vigue stepped to the podium midway through the team MVP awards and awarded the Chargers' senior academic achievement awards to seniors with a 3.3 cumulative GPA or better during their careers.
Following the MVP award announcements, Professor Vigue and Dr. Ed Todd presented the distinguished scholar-athlete awards, the night's major academic awards. The award is given to a male and female student-athlete who has achieved success both academically and athletically, has shown commitment to university and community service, and has interacted in a positive manner with their professors. Women's soccer senior Mackenzie Bear and Jason Zurita of the men's soccer team were the 2009 recipients.
A new award in 2009, the positive game environment team award, was presented to a team that best exemplified the true meaning of positive game environment throughout their season. The women's lacrosse team was named the 2009 winner and was recognized on stage.
Also new awards this year, the UNH Rookies of the Year were announced next by Director of Athletics Deborah Chin. These awards are chosen from team nominations and the criteria the selection committee considers are: first-season of eligibility and have made a significant contribution to his or her team's success and/or achieved individual success in their respective sport.
Women's lacrosse goalkeeper, Maureen Spellman was named the 2009 UNH Female Rookie of the Year for her outstanding play on the lacrosse field. Spellman is a three-time Northeast-10 Goalkeeper of the Week, was once named the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week and was named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Week as well. She ranks second in the NE-10 and seventh in the nation in goals against average (8.46) and fourth in the NE-10 and 20th in the nation in save percentage (.461).
Men's track and field standout Kevin Downing was named the 2009 UNH Male Rookie of the Year. Downing qualified for the indoor national meet in the 200-meter dash and finished 14th earlier in the year. He's set three school records this season as well: indoor 200-meter dash, outdoor 100-meter dash and outdoor 200-meter dash. She was named the NE-10 Track Athlete of the week two times during the indoor season and was six times named the NE-10 Freshman of the Week. During the outdoor season he's been the NE-10 Freshman of the Week another three times. Downing was two events and the NE-10 Indoor Championships as well.
The final awards of the night were the UNH Athletes of the Year, which were also announced by Director of Athletics Deborah Chin. These awards are chosen from the team MVP's, and the criteria the selection committee considers are: Athlete's season highlights; the student-athlete's leadership qualities; and the impact that the student-athlete has had on his or her team.
The UNH Male Athlete of the Year was men's soccer senior James Hilaire. James was named to the Northeast-10 Conference Third Team this season after suffering a season-ending injury in September. Since then, James has been an inspiration in his recovery and surprised many by presenting awards of appreciation to all his team members, coaching staff and administration midway through the evening. At the time of his injury, Hilaire ranked third in the nation in saves and was in the top 50 in save percentage. He ranked first in the Northeast-10 Conference this season in saves per game with 8.25 and ranked fifth in the NE-10 Conference in save percentage (.776).
The UNH Female Athlete of the Year was women's volleyball graduate student Rhe-Ann Niles. Niles was named a First Team All-America last season after leading the team to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. She also was named the Daktronics All-East Region Player of the Year and was a five-time NE-10 Conference Player of the Week. She was second in all of Division II with a .467 hitting percentage and 10th in Division II with 1.21 blocks per set. She ranks second a UNH in career blocks assists and fourth in career blocks.
University of New Haven 2008-09 Athletics Awards Banquet
Female Athlete of the Year: Rhe-Ann Niles, Women's Volleyball
Male Athlete of the Year: James Hilaire, Men's Soccer
Female Rookie of the Year: Maureen Spellman, Women's Lacrosse
Male Rookie of the Year: Kevin Downing, Men's Track & Field
Female Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Award: Mackenzie Bear, Women's Soccer
Male Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Award: Jason Zurita, Men's Soccer
Positive Game Environment Team Award: Women's Lacrosse
Men's Soccer MVP: James Hilaire
Women's Soccer MVP: Selina Moylan
Women's Volleyball MVP: Rhe-Ann Niles
Men's Cross Country MVP: Patrick Leach
Men's Track & Field MVP: Kevin Downing
Women's Cross Country MVP: Ashley Hardy
Women's Track & Field: Shannon Gagne
Men's Volleyball: Peter Kazlas
Men's Basketball: Cassius Chaney
Women's Basketball MVP: Lauren Hood
Men's Golf: Colin Kupfer
Women's Tennis: Leah Smith
Baseball MVP: Evan Okon
Softball MVP: Breanne Gleason
Women's Lacrosse MVP: Mallory Ferrandiz
