Albany, NY—Russell Sage College's department of athletics announced their award winners for the 2021-2022 academic year at the annual awards banquet. In addition to several honors bestowed for athletic and academic excellence, Sage also selected the Gator of the Year Award for the department's 21 varsity sports for the 2021-2022 year. In addition, the award as the 2021-2022 Sage Female Athlete of the Year for a Team sport was given to senior outfielder Arianna Papas (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill).
Head Softball Coach Erica Li noted, "Arianna has put together another outstanding season." She continued, "Ari's athletic ability paired with her high-level softball IQ makes her one of the top players in our conference and in the region. As a centerfielder, Ari controls the outfield and I am confident whenever a ball goes out that way. In the box, Ari is one of the toughest outs and continuously puts up competitive at bats. I am excited to see what she will be able to achieve next year."
Papas excelled once again as a member of the softball team and helped the program to their second consecutive Empire 8 Tournament appearance. Among the many other awards she collected in 2022, she was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region First Team in the outfield.
She capped the season also earning acclaim as the 2022 Empire 8 Conference Softball Player of the Year and earned a spot on the First Team.
Papas, who received first-team All-E8 honors for the second-straight spring, closed the regular season as the conference leader in numerous offensive categories, including: batting (.476), slugging percentage (.819), on-base percentage (.163), and ops (1.405). She also ranked in the top five in hits, RBI, doubles, triples, home runs, and runs scored.
On her career, Papas, who was also a NFCA First-Team All-Region honoree in 2021, now owns a .503 career batting average to go with her 96 career hits, including 23 doubles, seven triples, eight home runs, and 46 RBIs in her time in a Sage uniform.
