St. John's Hosts 72nd Annual Athletic Awards Celebration

5/1/2018 12:00:00 AM | General

May 1, 2018

Photo Gallery | Athletic Banquet Awards Video Recap

QUEENS, N.Y. - On a night that featured countless cheers, standing ovations, and even some tears of joy, the St. John's Athletic Department hosted its annual awards banquet in Carnesecca Arena on Monday night.

The 72nd edition of the festivities celebrated another successful academic year for St. John's, as well as provided motivation for the remaining Red Storm teams still competing.

The evening began with mass led by Campus Minister for Athletics, Fr. Richard Rock C. M. at St. Thomas More Church. Following the mass, Director of Athletics Anton Goff kicked off the awards celebration with introductory remarks, addressing the crowd of student-athletes and recognizing the many special guests in attendance. Among those he mentioned was Athletics Director Emeritus John W. Kaiser, who has been present at all 72 St. John's Athletic Awards Banquets so far.

Goff delivered remarks about the importance of student-athletes following the St. John's motto of "Win. Graduate. Serve." as well as the importance placed on the community that the university creates.

Following dinner, Co-Masters of Ceremony Associate Vice President for Athletics Kathleen Meehan and Associate Provost for Academic Support Services Dr. Nancy Kaplan introduced the winners of various team MVP and special recognition awards.

Listed below are the night's award winners:

Team Awards
Christian L. Thomsen Memorial Award: Shamorie Ponds, Men's Basketball
Victoria Porter MVP Award: Maya Singleton, Women's Basketball
John T. "Doc" Gimmler Golf MVP Award: Gerald Mackedon, Men's Golf
Women's Golf MVP: Linda Wang, Women's Golf
George Santelli Award: Sean White, Men's Fencing
Women's Fencing MVP Award: Karolina Cieslar, Women's Fencing
George Seewagen Memorial Award: Andrei Crapcenco, Men's Tennis
Connie Kaiser Memorial Award: TBA following the conclusion of the women's tennis season
Kenneth F. Perrone Memorial Award: Harry Cooksley, Men's Soccer
Marianne Viscovich-Powderly Memorial Award: Jesse Schaefer, Women's Soccer
Indoor Track and Field MVP: Maya Stephens, Track and Field
Outdoor Track and Field MVP: TBA following the conclusion of the track and field season
Susan Kearns Memorial Award: Therese Gallagher, Cross Country
Dr. Margaret Mary Fitzpatrick, S.C. Award: Erica Di Maulo, Volleyball
Francis A. McCall Memorial Award: TJ Marron, Lacrosse
Softball MVP: TBA following the conclusion of the softball season
Lawrence R. Thomsen Memorial Award: Justin Simon, Men's Basketball
Marianne Noonan Memorial Award: Imani Littleton, Women's Basketball
The Excalibur Award: Fares Ferjani, Men's Fencing
Joseph J. Calcagno Award: Ally Ryf, Women's Fencing
Kathleen Murphy Meehan Award: Hanna Wagner, Volleyball
John Holohan Spirit and Dedication Award: Jhanesh Persaud, Pep Band
Cheerleading Team Spirit and Dedication Award: Marianne Smith, Cheerleading Team
Dance Team Spirit and Dedication Award: Natalie Affenita, Dance Team

Special Recognition Awards
John DaSilva Memorial Award: Mariela Jacome, Women's Soccer
Dr. Peter Vitulli Award: Daniel Skripnik, Men's Tennis
James Kevin Beatty Memorial Award: Mickey Bassett and Vinny Rapisardi, Baseball
Herbert V. Hess Award: Lauren Leo, Women's Tennis
Rickard F. McSwiney Award: Jesse Schaefer, Women's Soccer
Rickard F. McSwiney Award: TJ Marron, Lacrosse
John W. Kaiser Award: Maya Stephens, Track and Field
Frank C. Haggerty Memorial Award: John Valente, Baseball