FREDONIA, N.Y. – Senior women's soccer player
Reilly Condidorio (LeRoy, N.Y.) and senior men's pole vaulter Broncho Rollins (Ithaca, N.Y.) were named the top Fredonia State athletes for 2011-12 at the SAAC Awards Gala held Sunday on campus.
Also, a pair of freshmen, women's track and field athlete Nicole Desens (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) and hockey player Jared Wynia (Calgary, Alberta), were named Female Rookie of the Year and Male Rookie of the Year, respectively.
Matt Beebe (Rochester, N.Y.), a member of the men's swimming and diving team, received the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for having the highest grade-point average among graduating seniors. The women's volleyball team won the award for Team Academic Excellence.
Retiring university president Dr. Dennis Hefner and his wife Jan received the first Fredonia State Athletics' Service Award.
In addition to the awards ceremony, each senior was introduced and brought up on stage in front of a photo-action backdrop of them. Four-year participants received a Blue Devil wristwatch and seniors who wore the blue-and-white for fewer than four seasons were given a plaque as a gift.
Speakers included Dr. Hefner, Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. David Herman, Director of Athletics
Greg Prechtl, Faculty Athletics Representative Dr. Andrea Zevenbergen, women's tennis coach Joe Calarco, and SACC co-presidents Ashley LaPorta (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Liz Wierbinski (Camillus, N.Y.).
Award presenters were coaches and Fredonia State alums
Chris Case and
Tom Wilson, coach
P.J. Gondek, and Assistant Director of Athletics
Megan Valentine.
Kevin Sylvester of the Buffalo Sabres, and a Fredonia State graduate, served as master of ceremonies.
A reception for seniors and their families was held prior to the Gala.
Here is a breakdown of the awards:
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Condidorio was chosen Female Athlete of the Year from a field of four nominees. She broke single-season and career goals and points records last fall after missing the entire 2010 season with a knee injury. As a result, she retained a year of NCAA eligibility and plans on returning to play in the fall.
A three-time First Team All SUNYAC and all-region selection and former SUNYAC Rookie of the Year, Condidorio earned the distinction of becoming Fredonia State's first All-American in women's soccer when she was recognized on the 2011 National Soccer Coaches Athletic Association second-team list. She carries a 3.50 grade-point average (out of a possible 4.0) as an Early Childhood Education major and has done volunteer work at community blood drives, as a youth coach for a local club soccer team, and at St. Columban's On The Lake retirement home.
The other Female Athlete of the Year nominees were junior diver Sarah Ficarro (Owego, N.Y.), senior lacrosse player
Amy Simon (Amherst, N.Y.), and senior volleyball player Sarah Zureck (Lancaster, N.Y.). Ficarro is a six-time All-American, a three-time SUNYAC Diver of the Meet, and a Chancellor's Award winner. Simon is the all-time team record-holder in career points and goals, a NCAA all-region, and a three-time All SUNYAC. Zureck earned two NCAA all-region regions and an All SUNYAC honor.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Rollins was chosen as Male Athlete of the Year from among four nominees. A transfer student from Alfred State, Rollins has participated in two NCAA Division III track and field championship meets for the Blue Devils. His best performance came at the 2012 indoor meet in March when he finished sixth in the country and earn All-American status.
He holds both the school indoor and the SUNYAC outdoor pole vault records. Just last Friday, he won the 2012 SUNYAC championship – the first Fredonia State pole vault champ since his head coach,
Tom Wilson, in 2002. Majoring in Psychology, Rollins has assisted with the Move-In Crew, the Fall Sweep, and the track and field team's Habitat for Humanity house-renovation project.
Junior distance runner Peter Francia (Rochester, N.Y.), junior diver
Ryan Fuller (Endicott, N.Y.), and senior hockey player Bryan Ross (Livonia, Mich.) were the other Male Athlete of the Year nominees. Francia was All SUNYAC last fall and participated in the NCAA cross country championship meet. Fuller won both SUNYAC diving titles this season and was named Diver of the Meet. Ross is fourth all-time on the Fredonia State scoring list and a two-time All SUNYAC.
ROOKIES OF THE YEAR
On the women's side, Desens was cited for her strong season in throwing events during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. She finished third in the shot put at the SUNYAC indoor championships at 10th in the same event at the ECAC indoor meet. She has the third best put indoors in program history. She was fifth in both the discus and shot at the SUNYAC outdoor meet Saturday.
She was selected ahead of freshman lacrosse player Jenna Cuddeback (Pittsford, N.Y.) and freshman tennis player Sara DiFulvio (Rochester, N.Y.).
On the men's side, Wynia added the department award in addition to the SUNYAC coaches' 2011-12 Rookie of the Year honor he received last February. Despite missing the final seven games of the season with an injury, Wynia was among the NCAA leaders in two goal-scoring categories. He was also second in the conference in power-play goals despite playing four fewer games that the leader. Off the ice, Wynia was active in Pink The Rink, Skate With The Blue Devils, Senior Citizen Work Day, and the Northern Chautauqua County Youth Hockey Association's Learn To Skate Program.
The other nominees were freshman distance runner Chris Shartrand (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and freshman baseball player Zachary Jordon (Akron, N.Y.).
ACADEMIC/SERVICE AWARDS
Beebe earned the distinction of Scholar-Athlete of the Year on the strength of his 3.83 GPA over seven semesters as a Childhood Inclusivve Education/Biology major. He was a four-year member of the swimming and diving team.
The women's volleyball team, coached by
Geoff Braun, earned the Team Academic Excellence award for having the highest group GPA in the department. The women had a overall team GPA of 3.39 during the spring 2011 and fall 2011 semesters. Co-captains Zureck and senior Brittany Lis (Lancaster, N.Y.) accepted the award on behalf of the team.
Mr. Prechtl, the Fredonia State athletic director, made the Service Award presentation to Dr. Hefner, who was attending his final athletics function on campus. In his remarks, Mr. Prechtl cited Dr. Hefner for his dedication and involvement in athletics over 16 years on campus.
"As CEO of the university," Mr. Prechtl said, "Dr. Hefner has presided over unprecedented expansion of both the physical plant and the academic program. He has shown an interest in athletics that few of his predecessors have exhibited. Whether attending a soccer or basketball game, serving as presidential liaison to the conference, sending a congratulatory email to a successful student-athlete or coach, or reviewing plans for a new athletic facility, President Hefner has demonstrated his exceptional support of the athletic program on an every-day basis."
