Individual SAAC Tiger Award-winners

Volleyball - Women's Team of the Year

Soccer - Men's Team of the Year

Tennis - Men's and Women's Teams Most Improved

Click on photos to enlarge

Springfield, Ohio — The fourth annual Tiger Awards, recognizing excellence in athletic and academic performance by Wittenberg University student-athletes during the 2008-09 school year, were handed out during a banquet on May 3 in Pam Evans Smith Arena, inside the Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) Center.

More than 300 student-athletes, representing each of the university's 23 varsity athletic teams, were in attendance. The banquet, organized and led by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), included a formal dinner and awards presentation.

Twenty-one different team and individual awards were presented during the event after voting by SAAC members, encompassing a wide range of athletic, academic and extracurricular achievements during the 2008-09 school year. The goal of the annual event is to highlight and showcase accomplishments across the department of athletics.

In addition to the Tiger Awards, 2009 inductees into Wittenberg's chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma, the national student-athlete honorary, were honored during the event, as were senior volleyball standout Jackie Williams (Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat) and senior men's track and field standout Manny Lamarre (Miami, Fla./Bellen Jesuit), Wittenberg's 2009 NCAC Scholar Athlete award-winners. Click here to read related news release.

Among the night's highlights was the first-ever "Witten-spirational" award, given by Wittenberg's SAAC reps to senior basketball player Rachel Dixon (West Liberty, Ohio/Salem). After a stellar freshman year on the hardwood, Dixon tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) prior to both her sophomore and junior seasons, limiting her contributions to assistant coaching from the sidelines. Rehabbing for a third time (including a knee injury in high school as well), Dixon came back in 2008-09 to serve as a team captain, averaging 7.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game as Wittenberg posted a 14-12 overall record.

The Most Outstanding Men's Team of the Year Award went to the soccer team for the second year in a row. The Tigers finished 16-4-1 on the year, including a mark of 6-3 in the NCAC, and a trip to the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament finals for the first time in school history. Their remarkable play resulted in a trip to the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time in 12 years. Wittenberg's 16-win season set a new school record, as did the Tigers' 13-game win streak to open the 2008 season.

The volleyball team took the Outstanding Women's Team of the Year honors for the fourth year in a row. The Tigers went undefeated in NCAC play, including their 12th conference championship in 13 years. Wittenberg finished with an overall record of 33-3 and No. 7 in the national coaches poll, the team's fifth straight top-10 national finish. The volleyball team boasted of three first-team All-NCAC athletes, two All-Great Lakes Region awards and one All-American.

Male Athlete of the Year went to senior track and field standout Manny Lamarre (Miami, Fla./Bellen Jesuit). Lamarre was a three-year letterwinner (he missed the majority of the 2008 season while studying in Washington, D.C.) and earned multiple All-NCAC awards. A standout in the classroom as well, Lamarre was a contributor to the sprint medley team that broke a seven-year-old school record by two seconds early in the 2009 season.

Junior Adeline Brym (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) was awarded Female Athlete of the Year for her achievements with the swimming and diving team. After posting NCAA B cut times (meeting provisional qualifying standards) in each of her first two collegiate seasons, Brym earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving meet in the 200-yard backstroke, where she finished eighth in the country, setting a school record with her time and becoming the program's first All-American in five years. She also placed 25th in the nation 500-yard freestyle, where she set another school record.

Male Newcomer of the Year went to freshman football and basketball standout Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South). Cooper worked his way into the receiving rotation midway through the 2008 football season, eventually finishing third on the team with 20 receptions and 292 yards. He also added two blocked kicks as a special teams standout. Despite a late start on the basketball court following football season, Cooper started 12 games and averaged eight points a game. His field-goal percentage of 55 percent was among the best on the team.

Freshman Kari Domiano (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) was recognized as the Female Newcomer of the Year for her performance on the women's track and field team. During the indoor season, Domiano ran the opening leg of the 4x200-meter relay team that took second place at the NCAC relays. In her first outdoor meet, Domiano placed first in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at Cedarville. She was also a member of the 4x100-meter relay team that took first place at the NCAC Outdoor Championships. She also earned an all-conference award for her third-place finish in the 100-meter dash.

Extracurricular Male Athlete of the Year went to junior Ted Winders (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) of the lacrosse team, and Extracurricular Female Athlete of the Year was awarded to senior Rachel Dixon (West Liberty, Ohio/Salem), a basketball player. Winders, the president of SAAC in 2008-09, serves as corresponding secretary of his fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta, and he was selected to represent Wittenberg at the NCAA Division III Regional Leadership Conference in Chicago in January. In addition, he was recently elected by the student body to serve as Student Senate vice president for the 2009-2010 school year. Dixon is a house manager for her sorority, Delta Gamma, a tour guide for the Office of Admission and a member of SAAC. She also traveled to the impoverished African kingdom of Lesotho in 2006 on a service trip.

The Tiger Spirit Awards, given to one male and one female student-athlete who best supports and encourages fellow student-athletes, went to senior Anthony Morolo (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) of the football team and junior Erin Slattery (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) of the volleyball team.

The tennis program took home the Most Improved Men's Team of the Year as well as Most Improved Women's Team of the Year for their accomplishments this spring. The men's tennis team finished the season with an overall record of 15-8, which tripled their win total from 2007-08, when they finished 5-11. The women's tennis team had an eight-match win streak, including a perfect Spring Break trip to Hilton Head, S.C. The Tigers finished the 2008-09 season with a record of 15-5, tying the school record for total wins in a season. Both the men and women took second place in the NCAC West, in each behind only nationally ranked Denison.

Senior Matt Borland (Kettering, Ohio/Alter) was named Record-Breaking Male Athlete of the Year. Borland served as team captain as the Tigers set a school record for most wins in a season and winning streak, and he set two school records of his own along the way. He set the record for assists in a season at 13, and career assists at 30. He was named All-NCAC all four years of his career, NCAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008 and became just the second Tiger player to earn multiple All-America awards.

The Record-Breaking Female Athlete Award went to senior volleyball standout Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula), who broke the Wittenberg record for career digs. Fender was a four-year starter for the Tigers, and she broke the record in her last game in a Wittenberg uniform. The old record stood at 2,690, before Fender finished her career with 2,697. She accomplished this feat despite missing nine games early in the season due to an injury.

Two career achievement awards were also distributed. Matt Borland (Kettering, Ohio/Alter) won the men's award after he was named first-team All-NCAC three straight years and NCAC Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Great Lakes Region each of the last two years. He was an All-American student-athlete at the conclusion of his junior and senior years with third-team and second-team honors, respectively.

The Female Collegiate Achievement Award honor went to senior Suzanne Medwid (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), a four-year starter for the Tiger women's soccer team. A first-team All-NCAC selection three straight years, Medwid concluded her career with 13 goals and 18 assists. She was a captain and key contributor to the Tigers' unprecedented national tournament run during her junior year, and she was a four-year starter on a team that captured the first three conference titles in program history. Medwid capped her career with NCAC Offensive Player of the Year, first-team all-region and second-team All-America awards in 2008.

Two coaches were also recognized at the event, with men's soccer Head Coach Steve Dawson taking home the Men's Coach of the Year and assistant volleyball coach Brittany Baume garnering Women's Coach of the Year. The men's soccer team started the season 13-0 and went on to set the school record for most wins in a season. The 2008 season was capped by a tie in the NCAC Tournament championship game and a stellar performance in a 3-2 loss in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Baume, who recently earned an American Volleyball Coaches Association's inaugural "Top Thirty Under Thirty" award, helped her alma mater's program to a fourth straight NCAA Division III Tournament after three straight national semifinal appearances.

Finally, two athletes were recognized for their academic achievements. Junior Laura Schumaker (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) took home the Female Academic Award after earning a 3.8 grade point average during the volleyball season. A double major in biology and Spanish, Schumaker scored significant points for the Tiger women's track and field team in both the indoor and outdoor championships in 2009. The Male Academic Award was given to junior Jeff Boucher (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills), a member of the men's lacrosse team. Boucher holds a 3.9 GPA, and is a political science major, with a minor in Russian and Central Eurasian Studies.

The event marked the final event for SAAC during the 2008-09 school year. SAAC is an organization that represents and advocates the interests of Wittenberg student-athletes to the rest of the university community. Through bi-weekly meetings, student-athletes are able to network and organize events.

Written By: Erin Slattery '10
Photos By: Erin Pence