SAGE DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS NAMES 2015-2016 ATHLETIC AWARD WINNERS
Albany, NY—The Sage College's department of athletics gathered to recognize and honor the outstanding performances of the 2015-2016 year with the naming of the athletic award winners for the 15 varsity athletic teams. In addition to awarding the Gator Award, for the Most Outstanding Player, the department also named the 2015-2016 Female and Male Athletes of the Year as well as the Dean Sharon Robinson Senior Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year, which is given to the senior student-athlete with the highest overall grade point average, as well as the Aggie Stillman Perseverance Award.
In her nearly forty year career at Sage, Aggie was a friend, mentor, professor, class advisor, and the Gators' biggest fan. She radiated pride and enthusiasm in everything she did, while embodying the Sage spirit of patience and perseverance against any and all odds. In her honor, Sage bestows The Aggie Stillman Perseverance Award to the person affiliated with Sage Athletics that best exemplifies those traits which made Aggie so special. Aggie waged a personal battle with cancer for over 20 years finally succumbing to the disease on May 13, 2008.
Sage selected senior men's soccer player TJ Zehner (Beacon, NY/Beacon) as the Male Athlete of the Year, while women's soccer goalie and women's lacrosse attacker Nicole Maher (Glen Cove, NY/Saint Dominic) earned Female Athlete of the Year honors.
Earning the Dean Sharon Robinson Senior Male Scholar-Athlete Award was men's soccer player Chris Dunham (Valley Falls, NY/Grace Christian), while women's and men's tennis performer Katie Schultz (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park) earned the Award as the Dean Sharon Robinson Female Scholar-Athlete Award recipient.
Men's soccer player Luis Teran (Farmingville, NY/Newfield) and women's volleyball and softball player, Katy Rimawi (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) were tapped as the recipients of the Aggie Stillman Perseverance Award.
Zehner was named to the 2015 National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division III East Regional First Team this past fall. A two-year captain for the Sage soccer team. He led the Skyline Conference in goals-against-average (0.77), save percentage (.856) and shutouts (11). He helped Sage garner the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the league championship. He set multiple single-season and career records over his four years as a Gator in goal. Over the course of his career, he was also named to the Skyline All-Conference three times, the ECAC Division III Metro Second Team and earned the Gator Award as the team's Most Valuable Player. The program's all-time leading goalie, he capped his career with records for most saves (260), most wins in goal (36), while standing No. 1 as well with a 0.94 career GAA and 22.6 shutouts. He added a 0.77 GAA in 2015, while playing and starting all 20 matches. He started 62 of 63 games played in goal, while playing a record 5,351 minutes in goal.
Maher, who played for Sage's women's soccer team for four seasons, added women's lacrosse to her resume this spring as well. In soccer, she played her first three years as a field player and capped her senior campaign performing as both a goalie and field performer. She helped lead the Gators to the first Skyline Conference regular-season championship after a record setting campaign. She earned 2015 Skyline Conference First Team honors as a goalie and became the first player in the program's history to earn acclaim as a 2015 National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division III East Regional Third Team honoree. She went 13-2-1 in net with a 0.80 GAA, while allowing just 10 goals in 16 games. She also tallied 16 points this fall on six goals and four assists. In the final NCAA Division III statistics, Maher ranked No. 70 in the country with her 0.80 goals against average. Offensively, Maher finished as the program's No. 3 all-time leader in career goals with 34, while adding 18 assists, which was No. 2. She tallied 86 career points, which is No. 3 at Sage.
In women's lacrosse, the talented attacker tallied 34 points to finish second in scoring. She helped the women's lacrosse team to the best finish in school history. Her 2016 accomplishments also rank among the program's all-time career highs as she stands No. 7 in goals (29), No. 8 in assists (5), and No. 7 in points (34).
Honored for their accomplishments in the classroom, Chris Dunham helped lead the Gator men's soccer team to the school's first Skyline Conference men's soccer championship and an NCAA berth. A goalie, he is a business administration and marketing major at Sage with a 3.85 grade point average. He is also a Sage Scholar-Athlete honoree and a member of the Athletic Honor Society. He also earned honors as well as a Skyline Conference Scholar-Athlete honor roll recipient and caps the year as the Dean Robinson Scholar-Athlete Honoree.
Katie Schultz, who played for three years as a member of Sage's women's tennis team and also helped the men's tennis team the past two springs, earned the Dean Sharon Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award after excelling as an occupational therapy major at Sage with a 3.935 major. A two time ITA Scholar-Athlete honoree, she is also a member of Sage's Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll and the Sage Athletic Honor Society.
Luis Teran, who missed the 2014 season with an injury battled back this fall to help anchor the defense on the men's soccer team and lead the team to a league championship and an NCAA berth. Honored as an outstanding defender by the Skyline Conference and as a 2015 NSCAA All-East Second Team performer, Teran was recognized by the department for his perseverance in overcoming his athletic injury.
Katy Rimawi, who was just named to the 2016 Skyline Conference Softball All-Star First Team, has also excelled for the women's volleyball team at Sage, which also captured the 2015 Skyline Conference regular-season championship. Rimawi was recognized by the department for her strength and perseverance in overcoming tremendous personal obstacles.
Brian Cady (Albany, NY) who has served as the public address announcer for Sage's basketball teams, while also being a champion for Sage's student-athletes and coaches, was named an Honorary Gator. Tom Berkery (East Greenbush, NY) was named the Sage Fan of the Year for is support of all of the Gator varsity programs.
The Sage College's Intercollegiate Athletic Honor Society recognizes junior, senior, or graduate level student-athletes, who have maintained a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.3 or better and have participated as a member of a varsity team for at least two seasons.
Below is a list of the individuals named to the Honor Society at this year's banquet.
Rachel Ball
Maggie Brenenstuhl
Victoria Bunk*
Sara Campolieta
Christopher Dunham
Leanne Egan*
Alexandra Faas
Krystal Lambert
Sean Lanza*
Courtney Laughlin
Lai Le
Kyle LeClerc
Rachel Liebig
Alex Lilac
Mickey Mango*
Ashley Maresca*
Savannah Mason
Amanda Millington*
Sarah Montgomery
Katy Rimawi
Morgan Robinson*
Morgan Rush
Juan Reyes-Alvarez*
Elaina Ryan
Katie Schultz *
Siena Wilder
*Indicates Previous Inductee