Academic and Athletic Celebration!

Photo by: Alex King

April 16, 2019 04:50 PM | Baseball, Football, Men's Basketball, Golf, Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Cross Country, Gymnastics, Rowing, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball, Wrestling, Life Skills

Photos

By: Shannon Wolfgang

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Academic and athletic achievements were celebrated at the annual West Virginia University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Blue and Golden Globe Awards Dinner, held Monday, April 15, at the Morgantown Marriott at Waterfront Place.

The night's festivities included a Gold Carpet Entrance, dinner and an award ceremony which highlighted all student-athlete success, both in the classroom and in competition.

"We were able to host another successful Blue and Golden Globe Awards this year," WVU Director of NCAA Life Skills Programing Tangela Cheatham said. "Continuing to celebrate the academic and athletic accomplishments of our student-athletes is a priority for the WVU Athletics Department. It was great to have student-athletes, coaches and staff from all our programs in attendance and celebrating together. We also enjoyed having two of our SAAC Executive Committee members, Jake Armstrong and Jordan Gillette, join Tony Caridi in hosting – it was a new and welcomed addition!"

The award ceremony opened by highlighting the success of 305 Mountaineers who earned a 3.0 or higher grade point average (GPA) for the 2018 spring and fall semesters, and improvement of 45 student-athletes from one year ago. Of those recognized, 53 earned a gold medal for 4.0 GPAs, while 99 were awarded silver medals for GPAs of 3.55 – 3.99. The tradition of honoring the top graduating senior from each Mountaineer program continued, and those student-athletes were permitted to invite his or her most influential professor to the awards banquet.

Senior Kirah Koshinski of gymnastics was named the Female Athlete of the Year, while senior Joey Piatczyc of men's soccer was named the Male Athlete of the Year.

There was a tie for Rookie of the Year, as David Dixon of men's swimming & diving and Dante Stills of football shared the award. There also was a tie for Individual Performance of the Year, with Naomi Davenport of women's basketball (triple-double vs. Coppin State on Nov. 6, 2018) and Tristen Di Sibio of men's swimming and diving (2018 Big 12 Champion, 200 breast) walked away with the honor.

Football's 42-41 victory at Texas on Nov. 3 was named the Game of the Year, and senior defensive lineman Ezekiel Rose was honored with the Mountaineer Spirit Award.

Women's soccer senior associate head coach Lisa Stoia was named the Coach of the Year.

Ten Mountaineers earned Exceptional Senior Recognition on Monday night: Hannah Abraham (women's Soccer), Will Anti (rifle), Marah Bieger (women's swimming and diving), Darius Hill (baseball), Christian Monserrat (wrestling), Katrina Pardee (women's basketball), Joey Piatczyc (men's soccer), Max Sear (golf), Ginny Thrasher (rifle) and Jaquie Tun (gymnastics).

Five members of the WVU Athletics Department also were recognized for their hard work supporting student-athletes: Pat Biondo (Director of Basketball Operations, women's basketball), Colin Braley (Assistant Director of Facilities and Operations), Simon Gomez (Athletic Trainer), Emily Patton (Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Development) and Stephanie White (Assistant Athletic Director, Student-Athlete Development).

Rifle (male/co-ed) and cross country and track & field (female) earned the Team Highest GPA honors, while football (spring 2018) and men's soccer (fall 2018) earned the Team Most Improved GPA awards.

Women's basketball claimed the Team Community Service Award. Women's soccer finished second, and men's basketball placed third.

Miranda Marcucci (women's swimming and diving) and Matthew Marsh (men's swimming and diving) garnered the Female and Male Community Service Awards, respectively.