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CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) department, along with many members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) played host to the ONE TEAM Awards in conjunction with the opening day of the Joe Nuxhall Baseball Classic at Marge Schott Stadium Tuesday, April 18. Along with the annual top awards, several student-athlete voted awards, such play of the year and top dynamic duo, were handed out before the Bearcats baseball team faced crosstown rival Xavier in the second of four games in the annual two-day baseball event.
Prior to the start of the game, Liz Burgee of the lacrosse team led the signing of the National Anthem before all senior student-athletes in attendance were honored. Then, the awards presentations began and opened with the presentation the Tobler Time Award. The award, created in 2015-16, is given to honor a student-athlete who makes a difference behind the scenes and is always motivating, supportive and focused on the goals and vision of the team as a whole. This year's recipient was Abby Lord of the lacrosse team.
The Ben Flick Memorial Award was the next honor given. The award, in its inaugural year, was created by members of the UC football team and given in the memory of Ben Flick, a football student-athlete who passed away in 2013. The award will be granted annually to a freshman who has made an impact on the Bearcat community and embodies the same characteristics of charisma, passion and dedication that Ben displayed. The award's creators, Grant Coleman and Mark Wilson, were on hand to present the award to football's Marquis Smith.
The final award given before the game began was the Dr. Simon Anderson Faculty Recognition Award, which was given to Sue Bourke. The award, which is named after Dr. Simon Anderson, who worked as a professor in CCM for 41 years, is presented annually to a faculty member who has shown continued support of education advancement of the student-athletes at UC through nominations by student-athletes. This year, UC student-athletes collectively nominated 14 faculty members for the honor. Bourke stayed on the field and served as a guest coach and assisted Head Coach Ty Neal by delivering the starting lineup card to home plate.
During the game, more awards were handed out between innings, starting with the Newcomer of the Year Award, which was given to Monica Borzillo of lacrosse. That was followed by the Nancy Hamant Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The award is given annually to the top male and top female student-athletes who have exhausted his/her eligibility and who have attained the highest University GPA during their academic career at Cincinnati. This year, the awards went to Juliana Madzia of the women's cross country/track & field program and Deyshawn Bond of the football program.
Two of the biggest awards of the year followed two innings later. First, the Helen Norman Smith Award was presented to Madzia before the Jimmy Nippert Award was presented to Pedro Diaz of the men's soccer program. Both awards are given annually to one senior female and one senior male student-athlete that have each exhausted his/her eligibility and has demonstrated over the course of his/her career the following characteristics: academic achievement; outstanding contributions and/or excellence in athletic performance; and documented community service.
Next up was the ONE TEAM Student-Athlete Award, which is given annually to a student-athlete who truly embodies the ONE TEAM culture at UC. This year's recipient was Samantha Wolkoff of the women's swimming & diving program.
The final award of the night, the Bearcats Cup, was handed out at the middle of the seventh inning. The award is given annually following a year-long competition, sees each team compete against one another to earn points by attending various sessions and attaining specific benchmarks which include: CPAWS session attendance; All Sports Night attendance; being on the Bearcat Honor Roll; being Bearcats STRONG; attendance at SAAC meetings; team community outreach; and attendance at personal development sessions. Heading into the game, the Top 3 teams in the running for the Cup included women's golf, lacrosse and women's soccer with women's golf earning the award. And, with their award, the golf team then led the gathered crowd in the singing of Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the seventh inning stretch.
2016-17 ONE TEAM Honors/Awards
Nancy Hamant Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Women - Juliana Madzia (cross country/track & field)
Nancy Hamant Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Men - Deyshawn Bond (football)
Jimmy Nippert Award - Pedro Diaz (soccer)
Helen Norman Smith Award - Juliana Madzia (cross country/track & field)
ONE TEAM Student-Athlete Award - Samantha Wolkoff (swimming & diving)
Ben Flick Memorial Award - Marquis Smith (football)
Newcomer of the Year Award - Monica Borzillo (lacrosse)
Tobler Time Award - Abby Lord (lacrosse)
Bearcats Cup - Women's Golf
Dr. Simon Anderson Faculty Recognition Award - Sue Bourke
2016-17 Nominees:
Dr. Thomas Aicher - Professor - CECH, Sport Administration
Sue Bourke - Professor - CECH, Criminal Justice
Maureen Bruns - Professor - LCB, Accounting
Dr. Daniel Carl - Professor - CAHS, Rehabilitation Sciences
Ben Feldmeyer - Professor - CECH, Criminal Justice
Michael Ferguson - Professor - LCB, Finance
Nora Honken - Professor - CEAS, Engineering Education
Brandon Jones - Professor - CECH, Information Technology
Dr. David Kelley - Professor - CECH, Sport Administration
Dr. Michael Lieberman - Professor - MED, Molecular Genetics
Dr. Michael Magazine - Professor - LCB, Operations & Business Analytics
David Rapien - Professor - LCB, Operations & Business Analytics
Patricia Clark Roper - Professor - A&S, Spanish
Ruth Seiple - Professor - LCB, Operations & Business Analytics