Then day-long celebration on social media recognized the outstanding achievements of Elon student-athletes this year.
The Elon University Department of Athletics held its 47th annual athletics awards banquet on Monday, May 10, to recognize and remember many of the outstanding achievements of the 2020-21 school year.
Held online via social media for the second year, this year’s banquet maintained the tradition of addresses to student-athletes from Director of Athletics Dave Blank, each of the department’s head coaches and Elon University President Connie Book. All of Elon’s senior student-athletes were also commemorated with a staple of the Elon Banquet, the senior slideshow.
The following student-athletes are award winners from the 2020-21 Elon Athletics Banquet:
Department Awards
Student Service – Kendall Cage
Browne Memorial Sportsmanship Awards – Tristen Cox and Kayla Hodges
A.L. Hook Scholar-Athletes – Duru Tasman and Maxwell Zucker
Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Female Athlete Award – Maria Ahm
Stein H. Basnight Outstanding Male Athlete Award – Kyle Frankel
Football Awards
Outstanding Offensive Player – Jaylan Thomas
Outstanding Defensive Player – Torrence Williams
Co-Outstanding Special Teams Player – Hunter Stephenson
Co-Outstanding Special Teams Player – Chandler Brayboy
Team MVP – Tristen Cox
Volleyball Awards
Top Newcomer – Gabi Croll
Most Improved Award – Claire Richey
Coach’s Award – Isabella Seman
Team MVP – Leah Daniel
Women’s Soccer Awards
Defensive Player of the Year – Abby Fusca
Midfielder of the Year – Beky Myers
Attacking Player of the Year – Carson Jones
Team MVP – McKenna Dalfonso
Men’s Soccer Awards
Academic Award – Charlie Kurz
Co-Leadership Award – Marco Vesterholm
Co-Leadership Award – Sam Bacon
Team MVP – Jeppe Jordoson
Women’s Cross Country Awards
Commitment to Excellence Award – Melissa Anastasakis
Team Builder Award – Bridget Kanaley
Most Improved Senior – Rachael Wesolowski
Team Health & Safety Award – Alexandra DeCicco
Team MVP – Maria Ahm
Men’s Cross Country Awards
Attitude of a Champion Award – Mark Szilagyi
Commitment to Excellence Award – Aidan Tierney
Most Valuable Freshman – Zane Jackson
Team MVP – Andrew Miller
Cheerleading Awards
All Female Team Rookie of the Year – Alexandra Aveno
Co-Ed Team Rookie of the Year – Kristina Gutierrez
All Female Team Coaches Award – McKenzie Boyd
Co-Ed Team Coaches Award – Joshua Lim
All Female Team MVP – Cameron Barnhardt
Co-Ed Team MVP – Zachary Wallace
Dance Team Awards
Rookie of the Year – Isabella Venziale
Coach’s Award – Hana Sedivy
Team MVP – Brielle Ricciardi
Men’s Basketball Awards
Coach’s Award – Simon Wright
Team Defensive MVP – Ikenna Ndugba
Team MVP – Hunter McIntosh
Women’s Basketball Awards
Coach’s Award – Duru Tasman
Best Offense Award – Saadia Munford
Best Defensive Award – Brie Perpignan
Team MVP – Saadia Munford
Women’s Track & Field Awards
Co-Outstanding Track Award – Scolasticah Kemei
Co-Outstanding Track Award – Melissa Anastasakis
Outstanding Field Award – Lauryn Carlton
Coach’s Award – Piper Jons
Team MVP – Maria Ahm
Men’s Tennis Awards
Leadership Award – Akram El Sallaly
Coach’s Award – Nicholas Campbell
Heart and Hustle Award – Camilo Ponce
Team MVP – Kyle Frankel
Women’s Tennis Awards
Fire of the Phoenix Award – Victoria Saldh
Most Inspirational – Sofia Edo
Team MVP – Lizette Reding
Men’s Golf Awards
Most Improved – Cristian Del Vecchio
Leadership Award – Josef Dransfeld
Coach’s Award – William Frodigh
Team MVP – Max Ferrari
Women’s Golf Awards
Leadership Award – Adel Vadkerti
Coach’s Award – Sophia Mancuso
Team MVP – Apple Ngamwong
Women’s Lacrosse Awards
Scholar-Athlete Award – Sara Bouwman
Team MVP – Paulina DiFatta
Baseball Awards
Top Newcomer Award – Cole Reynolds
Coach’s Award – Brian Edgington
Pitcher of the Year – Joe Sprake
Team MVP – Alex Iadisernia
Softball Awards
Best Offensive Player Award – Rebecca Murray
Top Pitcher – Kenna Quinn
Golden Glove Award – Gabi Schaal
Co-Phoenix Award – Megan Grant
Co-Phoenix Award – Claudia Penny
Team MVP – Ally Repko