The UIC athletic department held its annual Academic Awards banquet on Monday evening. Nearly 200 student-athletes from UIC's 20 sports were recognized for their academic achievements over the past three semesters. Several scholarships, totaling over $14,000, were also awarded.
The evening began with welcomes and remarks from Athletic Director
Garrett Klassy and Provost Dr. Susan Poser. Each of them expressed admiration for the dedication exemplified by all student-athletes in attendance to compete at the highest level while maintaining excellent grades. Then the head coaches for each sport introduced all athletes on their teams 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 eight athletes. Several were presented by UIC athletic alumni who were previous recipients of the scholarship. A brand new scholarship, funded by University trustee Jill Smart and her husband Steve, was announced. It will be awarded for the first time at next year's banquet.
The men's tennis and women's golf teams were honored for having the highest overall team GPAs. Their respective head coaches shared remarks in videos that can be seen below.
Ten student athletes achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs over the last three semesters. They were recognized individually by Provost Poser. After the director of the Port Center,
Carolyn O'Connell, recognized her staff and made additional remarks, 4.0 athlete
Taylor Cairns addressed the crowd of athletes, coaches, administrators, and parents on behalf of the students. She reflected on the sacrifices that all student-athletes must make in an emotional speech.
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: Golf
3.0 And Above Student-Athletes
Men's Basketball
Mike Kelly
Women's Basketball
Deja Anderson
Catera Etheridge
Desiree Jackson
Gabrielle Johnson
Men's Cross Country
Tom Brennan
Zade Kurdieh
Nathan Mroz
Walmer Saavedra
Men's Track and Field
Sean Barber
Rodney Johnson
Laith Kanan
Luke Taccola
Women's Cross Country
Michelle Borycki
Allison Hansen
Natalie Jaramillo
Ai Kaisho
Madeleine Larock
Sahian Lopez
Women's Track and Field
Tanja Acamovic
Michelle Laygo
Ann Mikulecky
Roma Siddiqui
Toni Wilson
Women's Golf
Bailey Bostler
Jennifer Kim
Meghan Kramp
Brittany Norem
Kelly Sterling
Baseball
Reid Birlingmair
Ryan Campbell
Charlie Cerny
Alex Dee
Josh Figueroa
Riley Herbert
Chris Macahon
Noah Masa
Bowen Ogata
Scott Ota
Alex Padilla
Wyatt Trautwein
Men's Gymnastics
James Marden
Pratik Patel
Stephen Peluso
Keawe Winstead
Women's Gymnastics
Toni Alicke
Allison Broad
Riley Cholod
Abby Hasanov
Dani Maciel
Miki Northern
Amelia Rafferty
Katie Snyder
Men's Swimming & Diving
Tanner Alms
Nathan Bosse
Austin Bunker
Luke Hutchinson
Dimitar Kirilov
Nicholas-George Koto
Andrew Lewarchick
Max Pohl
Michael Tegeler
Women's Swimming & Diving
Daniela Cabrera
Brianna Hines
Natalie Lammers
Annette Lesnicki
Kelly McGowan
Misha Neal
Marisa Savegnago
Sophia Shalabi
Natalie Williams
Men's Tennis
Marcelo Dib
Johan Hedstrom
Piotr Lada
William Wale
Women's Tennis
Rachel Le Comber
Melika LeBlanc
Georgie Sanders
Bianca Zuzu
Softball
Claire Crane
Karissa Frazier
Alyssa Griman
Skylee James
Tiana Mack-Miller
Ria Smith
Jennah Speth
Alexandra Trudeau
Kayla Wedl
Emily Wetzel
Jasmine Willis
Volleyball
Carla Salvato
Alexandra Witt
Men's Soccer
Oscar Gonzalez
Abel Guzman
Cristian Sanchez
Sokratis Vasilas
Women's Soccer
Bekah Allen
Anne DiCanio
Olivia Everin
Kelly Fritz
Taraneh Khayam
Haley Kittle
Sam Messina
Jennifer Novak
Rebecca Pallo
Madison Pollard
Paige Proctor
Naomi Rushe
Jennifer Saviski
Madison Smith
Emily Wauer
Dance
Lexi Gaul
Gustavo Guillen
Jessica Kobylak
Darlin Oliva
