CHICAGO – The UIC Department of Intercollegiate Athletics celebrated another successful year of competition, scholastic achievement and community collaboration during the 12^th annual SPARKYs gala that took place Tuesday evening at the Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum on the UIC campus. Hosted by 2021 UIC graduate and the public address announcer for numerous Flames athletics venues, as well as legendary Wrigley Field, Jeremiah Paprocki, the SPARKYs once again delivered a night to remember, recognizing the cream of the crop in UIC Athletics this year. 
 
Here's a look at the 2024-25 SPARKYs nominees, with the award recipients highlighted in bold:
 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
One of the new awards presented at this year's SPARKYs, the Freshman of the Year is given to one male and one female student-athlete who sparkled during their rookie season at UIC.

Men's Nominees: Alan Alonso (soccer), Zac Close (cross country/track & field), Eldin Nokic (tennis)
Women's Nominees: Edit Cosmo (tennis), Antonie Kelnárová (volleyball), Samantha Wilson (swimming & diving)
 
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Another honor making its debut in 2024-25, the Newcomer of the Year goes to a UIC non-freshman male and female student-athlete who experienced great success in their first year as a Flame.

Men's Nominees: Artem Alekseychuk (tennis), Ahmad Henderson II (basketball), Rui Reis (soccer)
Women's Nominees: Arin Freeman (basketball), Hannah Howard (volleyball), Alessia Sarussi (cross country/track & field)
  
PLAY OF THE YEAR
The Play of the Year award recognizes a remarkable moment in time at a critical point in a game that resulted in a Flames' victory.  

Nominees: Triple play in road win at Charleston Southern (baseball), Tyem Freeman's late 3-pointer seals UIC's win over previously-unbeaten and Mid-Major #1 Drake (men's basketball), Hannah Gryzik's long-distance goal in the 72nd minute puts the Flames ahead for good in 4-2 MVC Tournament quarterfinal win over Illinois State (women's soccer)
 
FIRE UP AWARD
The Fire Up Award is given each year to one male and one female UIC student-athlete who gives tirelessly to support his/her fellow Flames' student-athletes while helping to build a strong and inclusive community and a sense of unity among the Flames Family.

Men's Nominees: Bruno Carrillo (swimming & diving), Luke Malone (cross country/track & field), Darien Martin (soccer)
Women's Nominees: Camille Belberka (tennis), Dee Dee Caskey (softball), Quinn Ruiz (soccer)
  
PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
The UIC Performance of the Year goes to one male and one female student-athlete who delivered an extraordinary performance, beyond one singular moment, for the Flames in competition.

Men's Nominees: James McCarthy (swimming & diving), Harrison Nolan (swimming & diving), Angel Solis (cross country/track & field) 
Women's Nominees: Molly Kroeger (swimming & diving), Ellie McDonald (golf), Mayu Ushio (tennis)
 
MISSION DRIVEN COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD (SPONSORED BY THE ALVIN H. BAUM FAMILY FUND)
The Mission Driven Service Award spotlights a UIC athletics program that has made a significant impact on the UIC and Chicagoland communities through a tradition of service. This year's award was sponsored by the Alvin H. Baum Family Fund. For the second year in a row, the 2024-25 recipient was the women's basketball team, which has spent numerous hours giving back to the campus and Chicago communities through teaching basketball to the visually disabled, working with "Team Impact", helping with area Special Olympics, volunteering at the Pilsen Food Pantry and partnering with the Chicago Youth Center.

CHANCELLOR'S CUP
The Chancellor's Cup celebrates the outstanding academic achievements of UIC teams, honoring the men's and women's program with the highest collective grade-point average (GPA) during the 2024 calendar year (spring and fall semesters). This year's Chancellor's Cups went to the UIC men's tennis team (3.48 GPA) and the Flames' women's golf team (3.865 GPA).
 
BACKBONE AWARD
A new addition to the awards' roster at this year's SPARKYs, the Backbone Award recognizes one male and female student-athlete whose hard work, determination and dedication, both within game situations and away from the spotlight in practice and in the locker room, have earned them the respect and admiration of their peers, coaches and the Flames' community as a whole.

Men's Nominees: Liam Davis (swimming & diving), James Harris (baseball), Darien Martin (soccer)
Women's Nominees: Paula Rodriguez Gregoris (tennis), Quinn Ruiz (soccer), Jojo Santiago (softball)

COACH OF THE YEAR
The UIC Coach of the Year award is given each year to a head coach who led his/her team to success during the prior season.

Nominees: Ashley Dell (swimming & diving), Jovan Parlic (men's tennis), Elizabeth Lumpkin Robinson (women's tennis)

TEAM OF THE YEAR
The UIC Team of the Year recognizes the Flames' program that enjoyed an extraordinary amount of success during its season.

Nominees: Men's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women's tennis (tie), volleyball (tie)

STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
One of the signature moments of the SPARKYs is the announcement of the UIC Student-Athletes of the Year. These honors are presented annually to one male and one female student-athlete who demonstrate superior athletic achievement, but also the finest attributes of leadership, sportsmanship and teamwork.

Men's Nominees: Eldin Nokic (tennis), Harrison Nolan (swimming & diving), Luke Nowak (baseball)
Women's Nominees: Riley Collett (soccer), Molly Kroeger (swimming & diving), Mayu Ushio (tennis)
 
ULTIMATE FLAME AWARD
The Ultimate Flame Award goes to a senior student-athlete who is, in every sense of the phrase, the ultimate Flame. Nominees must have a 3.0 GPA or higher, be a significant athletic contributor to their team's success, be actively engaged in mission-driven service, be a leader on their team and an outstanding representative of the Flames Family.

Men's Nominees: Luke Malone (cross country/track & field), Filip Skobalj (basketball), Joshua Torres (soccer)
Women's Nominees: Dee Dee Caskey (softball), Grace Fleming (softball), Kristian Young (basketball)

TEAM MVPs
Along with Tuesday's specialty awards, each UIC coaching staff recognized its team Most Valuable Player (MVP), honoring an individual who led the Flames to success this season. The 2024-25 UIC team MVPs were:
 
Fall 2024
Men's Soccer – Alan Alonso
Men's Cross Country – Daniel Chavez
Volleyball – Zahria Woodard
Women's Cross Country – Daniela Martinez
Women's Soccer – Riley Collett
 
Winter 2024-25
Men's Basketball – Tyem Freeman
Men's Indoor Track & Field – Zac Close
Men's Swimming – Rafe Dolan Peterson
Men's Diving – Harrison Nolan
Women's Basketball – Keimari Rimmer
Women's Indoor Track & Field – Alessia Sarussi
Women's Swimming – Molly Kroeger
Women's Diving – Kerry-Leigh Morrison
Spirit – Celeste Marin
 
Spring 2025
Baseball – Luke Nowak
Men's Outdoor Track & Field – Amare Harris
Men's Tennis – Eldin Nokic
Softball – Dee Dee Caskey
Women's Golf – Camille Rosier
Women's Outdoor Track & Field – Alessia Sarussi
Women's Tennis – Mayu Ushio
 
For more information on UIC athletics, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UICFlames) and Instagram (@uicflames).