The UIC athletic department held its annual Academic Awards banquet on Monday evening. Over 120 student-athletes from UIC's 20 sports were recognized for their academic achievements over the past three semesters. Several scholarships, totaling over $13,000, were also handed out.
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The evening began with welcomes and remarks from Athletic Director
Jim Schmidt and Chancellor
Michael Amiridis. Then the evening's emcee, UIC Hall of Famer and public address voice for several Flames sports, Ray Clay, introduced each sport's head coach. They in turn named all athletes on their team who compiled a 3.0 grade point average over the last three semesters, as well as the individual with the highest GPA on the team.
Five special scholarships, each awarded on various criteria central to the well-rounded student athlete, were bestowed on nine athletes. Many of the scholarships were established over 20 years ago by long-time supporters of UIC athletics. Each was presented by an individual with strong ties to the respective scholarship's namesake.
Gabe Rivera, women's cross country coach, and
Hans Neufeld, men's tennis coach, introduced their teams in a brief video. The full squads were then welcomed to the stage to receive their awards for the highest team GPA for each gender.
Seven student athletes achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs over the last three semesters. They were recognized individually by Provost Susan Poser. After the director of the Port Center,
Denny Wills, recognized his staff and made additional remarks, 4.0 athlete
Savannah Soppet addressed the crowd of athletes, coaches, administrators, and parents on behalf of the students. The senior thanked everyone for their support and urged her underclassman counterparts to chase their passions.
A full list of the evening's award recipients is below.
4.0 Student Athletes
Scholarship Winners
Top Team GPAs
Men's Tennis
Women's Cross Country
3.0 Student Athletes (Team Highest GPA in bold)
| Men's Baseball |
| Jack Andersen |
R-Senior |
|
| Reid Birlingmair |
Sophomore |
|
| Robert Calabrese |
Junior |
|
| Charlie Cerny |
Sophomore |
|
| Alexander Dee |
Sophomore |
|
| Brandon Gibis |
Senior |
|
| Riley Hebert |
R-Freshman |
|
| Scott Ota |
Sophomore |
|
| Ricardo Ramirez |
Senior |
|
| Connor Ryan |
Senior |
|
| Mitchell Schulewitz |
Senior |
|
|
| Men's Basketball |
| Mike Kelly |
Junior |
|
|
| Men's CC/Track & Field |
| Alex Bailey |
Senior |
|
| Alex Bashqawi |
Junior |
|
| Sharod Ervin |
Junior |
|
| Matthew Grider |
Junior |
|
| Kyle Hauser |
Senior |
|
| Zade Kurdieh |
Junior |
|
| Maciej Markiewicz |
Junior |
|
| Nathan Mroz |
Sophomore |
|
| Favio Nunez |
Sophomore |
|
| Neel Patel |
Senior |
|
| Christian Saporiti |
Senior |
|
| Zachary Szczesniak |
Sophomore |
|
| Luke Taccola |
Junior |
|
| Raymond Tolentino |
Senior |
|
|
| Men's Gymnastics |
| Alexander Dumstorf |
Senior |
|
| Steen Haugsted |
Sophomore |
|
| Keith Kohn |
Senior |
|
| Casey Mahoney-Muno |
R-Senior |
|
| Christopher Root |
Senior |
|
|
| Men's Soccer |
| Oscar Gonzalez |
Sophomore |
|
| Kyle Hamann |
Senior |
|
| Andrew Putna |
Senior |
|
| Gonzalo Romo |
Senior |
|
| Alexander Simon |
R-Junior |
|
|
| Men's Swimming/Diving |
| Tanner Alms |
Junior |
|
| Nathan Bosse |
Junior |
|
| Connor Cast |
Sophomore |
|
| Dimitar Kirilov |
Junior |
|
| Nicholas-George Koto |
Sophomore |
|
| Nicholas Kowaleski |
Senior |
|
| Tyler Pastore |
Senior |
|
|
| Men's Tennis |
| Nathaniel Campanile |
R-Senior |
|
| Marcelo Dib |
|
|
| Carl Hedstrom |
Senior |
|
| Alvaro De la Fuente |
Sophomore |
|
|
| Women's Basketball |
| Catera Etheridge |
Sophomore |
|
| Desiree Jackson |
Sophomore |
|
|
| Women's CC/Track & Field |
| Michelle Borycki |
Junior |
|
| Mia Cruz-Bastian |
Junior |
|
| Elizabeth Deutsch |
Senior |
|
| Carissa Fagiano |
Sophomore |
|
| Ariel Gibbs |
Senior |
|
| Allison Hansen |
Sophomore |
|
| Teagan Hough |
Senior |
|
| Basirat Iginla |
Sophomore |
|
| Payton Jones |
Sophomore |
|
| Michelle Laygo |
Junior |
|
| Ann Mikulecky |
Sophomore |
|
| Liliana Ruiz |
Junior |
|
| Brittany Schwarz |
Senior |
|
| Janeka Stokes |
Sophomore |
|
|
| Women's Golf |
| Shannon Menard |
Senior |
|
| Kelly Sterling |
Sophomore |
|
|
| Women's Gymnastics |
| Allison Broad |
Sophomore |
|
| Ryann Conners |
Junior |
|
| Riley Mahoney |
Sophomore |
|
| Mikailla Northern |
Sophomore |
|
| Amelia Rafferty |
R-Sophomore |
|
| Katherine Snyder |
Junior |
|
| Jenna Squillo |
Sophomore |
|
| Nicole Szabo |
Senior |
|
| Nikolina Woodruff |
Senior |
|
|
| Women's Soccer |
| Bekah Allen |
R-Junior |
|
| Jasmin Carrera |
Senior |
|
| Anne DiCanio |
Junior |
|
| Olivia Everin |
Junior |
|
| Kelly Fritz |
Junior |
|
| Haley Kittle |
Junior |
|
| Cecilia Magos |
Senior |
|
| Jennifer Novak |
Junior |
|
| Madison Pollard |
Junior |
|
| Paige Proctor |
Junior |
|
| Naomi Rushe |
Sophomore |
|
| Jennifer Saviski |
Sophomore |
|
|
| Women's Softball |
| Taylor Cairns |
Junior |
|
| Alice Fitzpatrick |
R-Senior |
|
| Elaine Heflin |
Senior |
|
| Skylee James |
Sophomore |
|
| Tiana Mack-Miller |
Junior |
|
| Rachel May |
Senior |
|
| Lindsay Melson |
R-Senior |
|
| Savannah Soppet |
Senior |
|
| Jasmine Willis |
Sophomore |
|
|
| Women's Swimming/Diving |
| Daniela Cabrera |
Sophomore |
|
| Claire Haggerty |
Senior |
|
| Kaitlyn Knight |
Junior |
|
| Annette Lesnicki |
Sophomore |
|
| Kelly McGowan |
Sophomore |
|
| Marisa Savegnago |
Junior |
|
| Sophia Shalabi |
Junior |
|
| Erin Sivak |
Senior |
|
| Hannah Zimmer |
Junior |
|
|
| Women's Tennis |
| Rachel Le Comber |
Sophomore |
|
| Melika LeBlanc |
Junior |
|
| Oana Manole |
Senior |
|
| Bianca Zuzu |
Junior |
|
|
| Women's Volleyball |
| Anouska Best |
Senior |
|
| Alyssa Ehrhardt |
Senior |
|
| Macy Geyer |
R-Freshman |
|
| Casey Harris |
Senior |
|
| Kara Johnson |
Senior |
|
| Carla Salvato |
Sophomore |
|
| Alexandra Witt |
Sophomore |
|
|
| Spirit (Dance & Cheer) |
| Alexis Gaul |
|
|
| Gustavo Guillen |
|
|
| Ashley Johnson |
|
|
| Darlin Oliva |
Junior |
|
| Taylor Withers |
|
|
