BIG EAST Announces Winners of 2015-16 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference has announced the winners of the 2015-16 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards, which recognize academic and athletic achievement as well as community service.
The Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Awards are given to one student-athlete in each BIG EAST-sponsored sport based on academic credentials, athletic accolades or performances and volunteer service to the community. Student-athletes who have attained junior academic standing and a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 are eligible. The winners are chosen by the BIG EAST Faculty Athletics Representative Council.
The list of 22 honorees includes 16 seniors, three juniors and three graduate students. Fourteen of the winners competed in the NCAAs in their respective sports this past year. Fifteen were or have been BIG EAST Players of the Year or Individual BIG EAST Championship winners. DePaul, Marquette and St. John’s each had three student-athletes make the list; Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier had two; Butler, Creighton and Temple, an affiliate member in women’s lacrosse, had one.
For more information on the 2015-16 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award winners please visit each school’s respective site.
Baseball: Thomas Hackimer, St. John’s, Sr., Physics
- Cumulative GPA of 3.63; 2015 Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society
- 2016 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year
- 2015-16 BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- 2016 third team Collegiate Baseball Newspaper All-American; Two-time First Team ABCA All-Northeast Region (2015, 2016)
- 2015 & 2016 All-BIG EAST First Team (unanimous); 2016 Senior CLASS Award First Team All-American, two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District, 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team; three-time Academic All-BIG EAST honoree
Men’s Basketball: Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova, Sr., Liberal Arts
- Cumulative GPA of 3.17; Minored in Communication
- Member of 2016 NCAA National Championship team & 2015 BIG EAST Tournament Championship team
- 2016 First Team All-District II by United States Basketball Writers Association
- 2015 Co-BIG EAST Player of the Year
- 2016 All-BIG EAST Second Team; 2015 All-BIG EAST First Team; 2014 All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention, 2013 BIG EAST All-Rookie Team (unanimous); two-time Academic All-BIG EAST honoree
Women’s Basketball: Chanise Jenkins, DePaul, Grad Student, Sport Fitness & Recreation Leadership
- Grad Cumulative GPA of 3.74; Undergrad Cumulative GPA: 3.481 (B.A. Communication and Media)
- 2016 BIG EAST Player of the Year; Member of the 2014 and 2015 BIG EAST Tournament Championship teams
- 2015-16 WBCA Honorable Mention All-American; Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American
- 2016 All-BIG EAST First Team (unanimous); four-time Academic All-BIG EAST honoree
Men’s Cross-Country: Patrick Tiernan, Villanova, Sr., Mathematics
- Cumulative GPA of 3.20
- First male runner in conference history to win three-consecutive BIG EAST individualCross Country Titles (2013-15); Three-time All-BIG EAST
- Three-time USTFCCCA Cross Country All-American; Two-time USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year; Runner-Up at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championship
- Villanova Institutional BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete for 2015-16; 2013-14 All-Academic BIG EAST honoree
Women’s Cross-Country: Sarah Collins, Providence, Sr., Biology
- Cumulative GPA of 3.73
- Three-time USTFCCCA Cross Country All-American (2012, 2013, 2015); Three-time All-Northeast Region; Member of the 2013 NCAA Championship Cross Country team; Member of the 2012 NCAA Cross Country Runners Up team; Member of the 2013 and 2015 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship team
- 2015 BIG EAST Cross Country IndividualChampion; Member of the 2013 and 2015 BIG EAST Cross Country Championship team
- Three-time All-BIG EAST Cross Country (2012, 2013, 2015)
- Four-time USTFCCCA All-Academic Team (2012-15); Four-time BIG EAST All-Academic team (2012-13-2015-16) honoree
Men’s Indoor Track & Field: Julian Oakley; Providence, Sr., Finance
- Cumulative GPA of 3.28; Minored in Economics
- First Team USTFCCCA All-American in the Mile (2016); Second Team All-American in the Mile (2015); Two-time All-Northeast Region (2014, 2016)
- Four-time runner up in the men’s mile at the BIG EAST Championships (2013-16); All-BIG EAST Indoor Track four times (2013-2016)
- Three-time Academic All-BIG EAST honoree
Women’s Indoor Track & Field: Katrina Coogan, Georgetown, Sr., Human Science
- Cumulative GPA of 3.74
- Eight-time All-American, earning honors in the distance medley relay and 3,000-meter run (2013-16); member of the 2016 NCAA Championship distance medley relay (DMR) squad
- Four-time BIG EAST Champion (2014 & 2016 DMR, 2016 3,000-meter run, 2016 4x800-meter relay)
- Three-time All-Academic USTFCCCA Track & Field (2013-15); Two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American (2015, 2016); Four-time Academic All-BIG EAST honoree
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field: Erik Peterson, Butler, Sr., Accounting and Management Info Systems
- Cumulative GPA of 3.186
- 2016 First Team USTFCCCA All-American honors (10K); 2015 USA Track & Field 10,000-meter participant
- 2016 BIG EAST Championship Runner Up in the 5,000-meter run; 2014 and 2016 Outdoor Track & Field All-BIG EAST
- Two-time Academic All-BIG EAST honoree
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field: Tatyana Pashibin, Marquette, Sr., Exercise Physiology
- Cumulative GPA of 3.932; Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society (2014-16); Chi Alpha Sigma Leadership Council (2015, 2016)
- Two-time BIG EAST Outdoor Champion (2014 Heptathlon, 2015 High Jump) and three-time All-BIG EAST selection
- 2013 USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree
- Three-time BIG EAST All-Academic team honoree (2013-15)
Field Hockey: Aliyah Graves-Brown, Georgetown, Jr., Government
- Cumulative GPA of 3.38
- 2015 All-BIG EAST First Team (first in Georgetown field hockey history)
- 2014 All-BIG EAST Second Team
Men’s Golf: Lloyd Jefferson Go, Seton Hall, Jr., Accounting
- Cumulative GPA of 3.563; 2016 Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society
- Selected to compete as the top overall individual seed at the Kohler NCAA Men’s Golf Regional in 2015-16; Two-time Ping Northeast All-Region Team (2013-15)
- 2016 BIG EAST Individual Champion; 2014 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
- Three-time All-BIG EAST team honoree
- Two-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree
Women’s Golf: Shane Crutchfield, Xavier, Sr., Finance
- Cumulative GPA of 3.904; member of the Xavier honors program
- 2016 BIG EAST Individual Champion
- Three-time All-BIG EAST selection
- Four-time WGCA All-American Scholar; three-time BIG EASTAll-Academic Team honoree
Men’s Lacrosse: BJ Grill, Marquette, Grad Student, MBA
- Graduate Cumulative GPA of 3.5; Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a undergraduate GPA of 3.3; Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society (2015-16)
- 2016 Senior CLASS Award First Team Senior All-American
- 2016 USIL A Third Team All-American
- 2014 and 2015 All-BIG EAST First Team (unanimous); 2016 All-BIG EAST Second Team; member of the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament Championship team
- Two-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree; USILA Scholar All-American
Women’s Lacrosse: Jaqi Kakalecik, Temple, Sr., Biochemistry
- Cumulative GPA of 3.87; member of the Temple honors program
- 2014 & 2016 All-BIG EAST Second Team
- 2014 & 2016 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Lacrosse Team; 2016 IWLCA All-Region Second Team
- 2016 Temple Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Men’s Soccer: Fabian Herbers, Creighton, Jr., International Business
- Cumulative GPA of 3.567
- 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy National Player of the Year Runner Up; 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist
- 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Assists Leader and Points Leader; Two-time NSCAA First Team All-American(2014, 2015); Two-time NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team
- Two-time BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year (2014, 2015); 2015 and 2014 All-BIG EAST First Team; 2013 BIG EAST All-Rookie Team
- 2015 Creighton BIG EAST Male Institutional Scholar-Athlete of the Year; 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team; 2014 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team; CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team (2014, 2015); Two-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree
Women’s Soccer: Rachel Daly, St. John’s, Sr., Sport Management
- Cumulative GPA of 3.50; 2016 Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society
- 2015 NSCAA First Team All-American; 2015 Honda Sport Award Finalist; 2015 MAC Herman National Player of the Year Semifinalist; Three-time NSCAA First Team All-Region ; 2013 ECAC Offensive Player of the Year
- Two-time BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year (2013, 2015); 2013 BIG EAST Newcomer of the Year
- Three-time All-BIG EAST First Team member (2013-2015)
- 2015-16 BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-American; 2015 NSCAA Scholar All-America First Team; 2014 NSCAA Scholar All-America Second team; 2014 CoSIDA Academic All-District; three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree
Softball: Morgan Maize, DePaul, Sr., Psychology and Sociology
- Cumulative GPA of 3.775
- 2016 BIG EAST Player of the Year
- Two-time All-BIG EAST First Team (2016, 2015), part of the 2014 and 2016 BIG EAST Regular Season Championship team
- Three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree
Men’s Swimming/Diving: Luke Johanns, Xavier, Sr., Life Sciences for Business
- Cumulative GPA of 3.30
- Sixteen-time BIG EAST Championship title winner (individual and relays) over the past three years; part of three-straight BIG EAST Championship team titles (2014-16)
- Three-time All-BIG EAST team honoree; 2016 Xavier Male Athlete of the Year
- 2016 CCSAA Scholar All-America Honorable Mention; three-time BIG EAST All-Academic team honoree
Women’s Swimming/Diving: Gabrielle Signorelli, Seton Hall, Sr., Marketing and Information Technology
- Cumulative GPA of 3.061
- Three-time qualifier for the NCAA Zone A Regionals in Diving
- Six-time BIG EAST Championship title winner (both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards)
- Three-time BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Female Diver (2014-2016)
- Three-time All-BIG EAST team honoree
- Part of Seton Hall’s three-time CCSAA Scholar All-America team; three-time BIG EAST All-Academic team honoree
Men’s Tennis: Roberto Livi, St. John’s, Sr., Communication Arts
- Cumulative GPA of 3.31
- 2016 BIG EAST Player of the Year; 2015 Co-BIG EAST Player of the Year; 2014 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year; 2016 BIG EAST Championship most Outstanding Player
- Part of the three-time BIG EAST Championship team (2014-16)
- Three-time All-BIG EAST team honoree; 2014-15 BIG EAST All-Academic Team
Women’s Tennis: Rebeca Mitrea, DePaul, Grad Student, MBA – Finance
- Graduate school cumulative GPA of 3.763; Bachelor of Science in Business with an undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.02
- Qualified for NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship
- 2015 BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player
- Two-time BIG EAST All-Conference honoree; part of 2014 and 2015 BIG EAST Championship teams
- 2016 ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award; ITA Midwest Regional Cassie Leary Award for Sportsmanship; Four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2012-16); Four-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team honoree
Volleyball: Meghan Niemann, Marquette, Sr., Elementary Education and Math
- Cumulative GPA of 3.739; Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society (2013, 2014, 2015)
- 2013 AVCA All-American Honorable Mention; 2013 AVCA All-East Coast Region
- Three-time All-BIG EAST First Team (2013-15)
- Part of a team that won the AVCA Team Academic Award three-straight years (2012-13 – 2014-15)
- Three-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team (2012, 2013, 2014); Marquette’s Institutional BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year