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.
Senior tri-captain Morgan Robinson (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa) earned Gator of the Year acclaim for her outstanding efforts as a member of the women’s volleyball team at Sage, while junior Katy Rimawi (Ballston Spa, NY/Ballston Spa) was tapped as the recipient of the Aggie Stillman Perseverance Award recipient.
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’s women’s volleyball team had numerous honors bestowed to the members of the 2015 squad as Rimawi, who was also a member of Sage’s softball team was recognized. She was also named to the 2016 Skyline Conference Softball All-Star First Team after also excelling 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. Her outstanding play on the softball diamond also earned her a sport on the 2016 NFCA All-Region Third Team.
Associate Director of Athletics and Head Women’s Volleyball Coach, Sandy Augstein-Collins said of Robinson, “Morgan has been the ultimate team mate during her four years on the Gator volleyball team.” She continued, “She has displayed her leadership on the court, off the court, in the community, and in the classroom! She has demanded the best from herself and from her teammates. It has been an absolute joy to have such a talented student-athlete on the women's volleyball team. She will be greatly missed.”
Augstein-Collins said of Rimawi and her award, “The Aggie Stillman Perseverance Award means a great deal to me personally because of who Aggie was to me when I was an undergraduate at Russell Sage.” She added, “Having one of my team members win the award just makes it that much more special. Katy Rimawi is very deserving of the Aggie Award. She is a great teammate, a fierce competitor, a scholar-athlete, and a tremendous young woman.”
A senior tri-captain on the women’s volleyball team, Robinson earned Gator of the Year acclaim for her outstanding efforts as a member of the women’s volleyball team at Sage. A four-year letterwinner at Sage, Robinson helped the team to Skyline Conference regular-season championship titles in 2013, 2014, and 2015, while the 2014 team captured the league’s tournament championship and earned an NCAA Tournament berth. She capped her outstanding career with 604 kills, which ranks No. 12 all-time at Sage. As a senior, she added 178 kills with 59 digs with 26 total blocks and 197.5 points. She finished her outstanding career with a .189 career attack percentage and ranks No. 8 in career kill percentage.
The women’s volleyball team also seven members named to the Sage College’s Intercollegiate Athletic Honor Society. The 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. Two members, Robinson and senior Mickey Mango (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) were repeat honorees, while senior Maggie Brenenstuhl (Melrose, NY/Hoosic Valley) and juniors Siena Wilder (Ballston Spa, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Lake), Sara Campolieta (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley), Rachel Liebig (Hartford, NY/Hartford), and Rimawi were all first-time honorees.