The Campus Chronicle

Volume 2, No. 27
May 31, 2002

Emily Avery, pictured with members of the volleyball team, won the Triple A Award from strength and conditioning coach Sam Carter at the athletics awards ceremony May 27.
Photo by Eduardo Angel

Athletes honored at annual awards ceremony

By Michael MacEachern

The Savannah College of Art and Design athletics department held its annual awards ceremony May 27 at the Trustees Theater.

Men’s golfer Clint Colbert and equestrian rider Ansley Grainger were named the Male and Female Athlete of the Year respectively by SCAD’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, while men’s golf coach Rick Fruisen was named the department’s Coach of the Year and the women’s basketball team earned the Team Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. The team had the highest grade point average this year out of the 17 sports that SCAD sponsors; the players earned a 3.66 grade point average in the classroom while going 19-7 this season on the court and earning the college’s second-ever bid to the NCAA Division III championship.

Colbert, a senior from Guthrie, Okla., was named to the PING Division III All-America team by virtue of his 10th place finish at the NCAA Division III Championship held at the Firethorn Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb., earlier this month. It is the second consecutive year that Colbert has earned All-America honors. Colbert, who has a scoring average of 71.32, has been selected to compete in the Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship July 17-19 at the Glen Club in Glenville, Ill. Teams consist of eight men and four women, competing in three days of medal match play. Colbert was the only golfer selected from an NCAA Division III institution.

Colbert, who captured medallist honors at the Wilson Gordin Intercollegiate and the Golden Isles One-Day Classic this season, finished in the top 20 in all 10 tournaments this season. He also finished in the top 10 in eight of the tournaments, including five in the top five.

Grainger, a sophomore from Savannah, earned national reserve champion honors in the Individual Intermediate Equitation on the Flat competition at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association’s 2002 National Championship earlier this month in Cazenovia, N.Y. It was the first time that a SCAD rider had earned this award.

Grainger also won the Intermediate Equitation on the Flat category at the Zone 5 finals in Midway, Ky., in early April. She also recorded three second-place finishes — at the Region 4 finals, at the SCAD Horse Show, and the Georgia Southern University Horse Show — this season.

Fruisen guided the SCAD men’s golf team to a ranking as high as No. 5, which is the highest national ranking achieved by any team in the history of the SCAD athletic program. He helped the Bees make their second appearance as a team and fourth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Division III championship earlier this month in Lincoln, Neb., where the Bees finished 16th.

The Bees finished in the top five in five of the 10 tournaments it played this season, including winning the 2002 Golden Isles One Day Classic in March. They also finished second at the Wilson Gordin Collegiate Classic and recorded third-place finishes at the Tom O’Briant Memorial and Lacey Gain Intercollegiate Tournaments.

He had three players earned All-America honors this season. Colbert was named to the PING All-America second team, while Seth Adair and Kevin Baker were recognized as All-America Scholars for the second consecutive season.

Adair and volleyball player Jori Semple received the Athletic Director’s Award, which is given to the senior male and female with the highest cumulative grade point average. Semple has earned a 3.97 grade point average as a graphic design major while Adair has a 3.80 grade point average as a photography major.

Below is the entire list of award winners:

Baseball
Most Valuable Offensive Player: Jorge Garcia; Most Valuable Defensive Player: Brad Kempson; Coaches’ Award: Ryan Fickle

Cheerleading
Leadership: Claire Sanchez; Coach’s Award: Tina Fino

Equestrian
MVP: Lilly de Sousa; Most Improved: Ashley Kelly; Coach’s Award: Ansley Grainger

Men’s Basketball
Most Valuable Player: Marcus Ross; Most Improved Player: Wesley Adams; Coach’s Award: Kyle Jones

Men’s Cross Country
Most Valuable Runner: Garrett Johnson

Men’s Rowing
Most Improved Power: Pat Faino; Golden Link Award: Evan Miga; Coach’s Award: Nick Huber

Men’s Soccer
Most Valuable Player: Freddie Bennett; Most Improved Player: Shawn Monaghan; Coach’s Award: Paul Wielt

Men’s Tennis
Most Valuable Player: Tony Gottlieb; Coach’s Award: Steve Paddit; Coach’s Award: Javier Angel

Softball
Most Outstanding Defensive Player: Natalie Polenychko; Most Outstanding Offensive Player: Larissa Stec; Coach’s Award: Kayla Timulak

Volleyball
Most Valuable Player: Jessica Clark, Amanda Taylor; Most Improved Player: Erin Sanders; Coach’s Award: Kim Edwards

Women’s Basketball
Most Valuable Player: Laura Hagwood; Coach’s Award: Becki Tower

Women’s Cross Country
Most Valuable Runner: Melanie Clarke; Most Improved Runner: Michaela Cantwell; Coach’s Award: Beth O’Brien

Women’s Golf
Most Valuable Player: Dana Cooley; Most Improved Player: Courtney Dawley

Women’s Rowing
Most Improved Power: Erika Harvey; Golden Link Award: Jennifer Levo; Coach’s Award: Brooke Shelton

Women’s Soccer
Most Valuable Player: Verena Geisselmann; Most Improved Player: Victoria Mier; Freshman of the Year: Emily Bohart

Women’s Tennis
Most Improved Player: Natalie Garber; Coach’s Award: Ana Ardon

Strength and Conditioning
Triple A Award: Emily Avery, volleyball; Female Athlete of the Year: Jennifer Levo, women’s rowing; Male Athlete of the Year: Marcus Ross, men’s basketball.

MacEachern is the sports information director.