2014-2015 Year in Review
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2014-2015 YEAR IN REVIEW AWARDS BANQUET St. Francis Brooklyn hosted the 2015 Athletics Awards Dinner on Thursday, April 30th in the Genovesi Center. Senior forward Jalen Cannon (men’s basketball) was named the Male Student-Athlete of the Year while seniors Jaymee Veney (women’s basketball) and Sarah Benedetti (wom- en’s basketball) were named the Co-Female Student-Athletes of the Year. Katie Fox (women’s basketball) was named the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and David Lonnberg (men’s water polo, swimming) took home the honor on the men’s side. Student Patrick McCormack received the Ed Aquilone Spirit Award for his work in the Office of Athletic Communications and Ruben Gonzalez (Associate Director of Student Activi- ties) was honored with the Administrator of the Year Award. Cannon arrived on Remsen Street four years ago as an under-recruited power forward and leaves with his name etched in both St. Francis Col- lege and Northeast Conference record books. A three-time All-NEC pick and two-time first team selection, the Allentown, Pennsylvania native eclipsed Quinnipiac’s Justin Rutty to become the league’s career rebound leader on February 7, 2015 and finished with 1,159 boards. Likewise, he is St. Francis’ all-time rebound king and was the NCAA’s active career rebound leader through this past season. His 48 lifetime double- doubles ranked him third among all Division I competitors this past season, and he is one of just two players in NEC history who have amassed 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in their careers. On February 26th, 2015, he also became the men’s all-time scoring leader at St. Francis and finished his tenure with 1,720 points. Along with his historical numbers, Cannon led the Terriers to a school-record tying 23 victories and their first NEC regular season title since the 2003-04 campaign. The team went on to compete in the prestigious N.I.T. Tournament, the first time the program has appeared in a major post-season tournament in 52 years. A five time NEC Player of the Week award winner, he became just the third Terrier to win the NEC Player of the Year, joining Ray Minlend (1998-99) and Robert Jackson (1983-84). Just last week, he became the first player in St. Francis College’s history to earn First Team All-Metropolitan honors. He will graduate this spring with a degree in Communications Arts. Veney is a seven-time Dean’s List member at St. Francis College and has been inducted into both the International Psychology Honors Society and prestigious Duns Scotus Honor Society. A double major in Psychology and Criminal Justice, she maintains a 3.79 GPA. On the court, the Fairborn, Ohio native finished her stellar career ranked seventh on the All-Time SFC scoring list with 1,307 points and is fifth in career rebounds with 784. Her 494 points this season ranks seventh all-time for most points in a single season. Her 267 rebounds in her senior season ranks ninth all-time for most rebounds in a single season. She converted 196 field goals, which is the fifth most in a single season in program history. The Second Team All-NEC selection was named to the NEC All-Tournament Team after recording 24 points and 11 rebounds in the NEC semifi- nals at Central Connecticut State, and then adding 14 points against Robert Morris in the NEC Championship game. Benedetti is also a seven-time Dean’s List selection and a member of the Duns Scotus honor society. A double major in History and Political Sci- ence with a 3.96 GPA, she was recently awarded the Brother Donald Sullivan Scholarship for academic achievement. The Canton, Connecticut native ranks sixth on the all-time St Francis Brooklyn scoring list with 1,379 pts. She is the all-time leader in three-point field goals made with 280. Benedetti has the second-highest free throw percentage (81.1 %) and second-highest 3-point percentage (35.1%) all-time at SFC. She will be fondly remembered for her clutch performance against Robert Morris in the 2015 NEC Championship game, which was televised live on ESPN U. To nobody’s surprise, she was named the Most Valuable Player of the NEC Tournament after scoring a career-high 29 points against the Co- lonials, leading the Terriers to their first ever Northeast Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance against eventual national champion UConn. Benedetti also led the Terriers with 13 points at UConn and scored the first tournament points in program history. The St. Francis College Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards are presented to two student-athletes, one male and one female. The criteria for these awards is simple. The recipients are student-athletes who have completed their athletic eligibility and own the highest cumulative grade point averages through the end of the fall semester. We have been presenting these awards for over 20 years, and this is the closest we have ever come to having a pair of 4.0 senior student-athletes as recipients. Both of them excelled for their respective Terrier teams, helping their teams reach the NCAA tournament during their careers, and will receive their conferred degrees at next month’s Commencement. The 2015 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year is David Lonnberg, a dual sport student-athlete who has competed for the men’s water polo and men’s swimming teams. David was not only a member of two NCAA Final Four teams in men’s water polo, he was selected as the Elite 89 win- ner, presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average among all participants at the NCAA final championship site. David was also awarded the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship; he was the only water polo student-athlete selected to receive this from among the 29 fall sport male student-athletes nationally. A double major in Political Science and Economics/International Economics, David owns a 3.97 cumulative grade point average through the end of the fall, 2014 semester. He will graduate at spring Commencement. The 2015 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year is Katie Fox, a member of the women’s basketball team. As a senior, Fox was the point guard on the first Terrier women’s team in any sport to win a Northeast Conference Championship and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. One of three Terriers to start in all 34 games, she led the team by playing an average of 36 minutes per game, and paced the squad with 121 assists. As a junior, she was named to the National Association of College Directors of Athletics Division I-AAA Scholar-Athlete Team. In addition to being the Terriers’ floor general on the court, Katie held down a double major in English and History, and compiled a cumulative grade point average of 4.00 through the fall, 2014 semester. She will also receive her degree at spring Commencement. AWARDS BANQUET Team-by-Team Individual Winners Men’s Basketball Jalen Cannon (Co-MVP) Brent Jones (Co-MVP) Men’s Golf Anders Vestunis (Coaches Award) Brendan Cornies (Coaches Award) Men’s Swimming & Diving Jon Pepaj (MVP) Baraa Abdelrahman (Rookie of the Year) Men’s Tennis James Chung (Coaches Award) John Wisniewski (Coaches Award): Men’s Water Polo David Lonnberg (Coaches Award) Vuk Vujosevic (Coaches Award) Men’s Soccer Andy Cormack (Coaches Award) Ricky Milano (Coaches Award) Men’s Outdoor Track (2014 Season) Adian Ewart (MVP) Akeem Brooks (Coaches Award) Men’s Indoor Track & Field Adian Ewart (MVP) Lamar Gillespie (Coaches Award) Men’s Cross Country Aaron Nieves (Rookie of the Year) Luis Porto (MVP) Women’s Golf Nikki Liucci (MVP) Michelle Provenghi (Most Improved) Women’s Swimming & Diving Anne Kuczynski (MVP) Laura Toth (Rookie of the Year) Women’s Tennis Natasha Edwards (Coaches Award) Jovana Bojinovic (Coaches Award) Women’s Water Polo Kristen Kleist (Rookie of the Year Bernadett Laszlo (Coaches Award) Women’s Volleyball Maggie Niu (Most Valuable Player) Gabrielle Herrera (Most Improved) Women’s Bowling Jamie Kelly (Coaches Award) Shanna Chepelsky (Most Valuable Player) Women’s Basketball Jaymee Veney (Most Valuable Player): Katie Fox (Coaches Award) Women’s Outdoor Track (2014) Kristal Williams (Most Valuable Player) Maya McDuffie (Coaches Award) Women’s Indoor Track & Field Kristal Williams (Most Valuable Player): Grace Vixama (Coaches Award) Women’s Cross Country Inelsi Diaz (Most Valuable) Lena Janoda (Coaches Award) Athletic Director’s Award (GPA) Men’s Water Polo Women’s Basketball Rocky Awards (Voted on Social Media) Female Newcomer of the Year Laura Toth (Women’s Swimming & Diving) Male Newcomer of the Year Bora Dimitrov (Men’s Water Polo) Record-Breaking Performance (Female) Sarah Benedetti (Women’s Basketball) Record-Breaking Performance (Male) Jalen Cannon (Men’s Basketball) Team Spirit Award Women’s Basketball 2014-2015 Play of the Year Alex Delaney (Women’s Basketball) INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS NCAA Championships Soccer College Cup Participant Women’s Basketball NCAA First Round National Invitational Tournament Men’s Basketball NIT First Round Northeast Conference Tournament Soccer First-place Women’s Basketball First-place Men’s Basketball Runner-up Northeast Conference Regular-Season Men’s Basketball First-place Bowling Second-place Northeast Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Andy Cormack Men’s Soccer Sarah Benedetti Women’s Basketball Northeast Conference Player of the Year Jalen Cannon Men’s Basketball Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year Amdy Fall Men’s Basketball Northeast Conference Coach of the Year Glenn Braica Men’s Basketball Dawn Gugliaro Bowling NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year David Lonnberg Male Katie Fox Female NEC Scholar-Athlete of the