Athletic Department Holds End Of Season Banquet

NEW PALTZ — In a night full of fun, honors, and farewells, the SUNY New Paltz Athletic Department held their end of year banquet on Wednesday night. It was a time to honor coaches, athletes, and supporters of the Hawks for all their hard work during the course of the school year.

Newly appointed Director of Athletics Stuart Robinson presided over the nights festivities, which included the presentation of each teams MVPs as well as the departments major awards. The following is the MVPs for each sport: Women’s Soccer Erin Scherf, Men’s Soccer Tim Van Wyen, Field Hockey Liz Clarke, Women’s Volleyball Crystal Smith, Men’s Volleyball Beau Warren, Men’s Basketball Rob Jones, Women’s Basketball Maura McShane, Men’s Swimming Mark Otto, Women’s Swimming Christine Foster, Baseball Vinnie Perry, Softball Kelly Mcfarlane, Lacrosse Katie Sharp, Men’s Tennis Bradly Breakstone and Bobby Calise, Women’s Tennis Jennifer Lipp, Men’s Cross Country Matt Brown, Women’s Cross Country Rebecca Demeri, Men’s Track and Field Dale Eberhardt, and Women’s Track and Field Andrea Drayss.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the major award winners. The Donald Bushko Award for academic excellence went to Stephen Ferrara of the Men’s Soccer team and Dawson Gerhardt of the Women’s Cross Country team for both earning 4.0 grade-point averages.

The Kenneth F. Burda Award for sportsmanship was presented to Heather Downey of the Field Hockey team and Ricky Abramson of the Men’s Swimming and Diving team for their overall contributions to New Paltz Athletics.

The Athletic Director’s Award is an award is an award that solely chosen by the A.D. and given to an individual who contributes an enormous amount to the athletic department as a whole. This award was given to Jason Bryden for his contributions to and his knowledge of the Hawks.

The Floyd Patterson Award for the most outstanding male athlete was awarded to Dale Eberhardt of the Men’s Track and Field team.

The Carol Eckman Award for the outstanding female athlete of the year went to Erin Scherf of the Women’s Soccer team.

The most prestigious award of the night was the Heinz Ahlmeyer Award. This award is the single most highly regarded award in the department. It is awarded to the individual whose perseverance and dedication to sport and compassion for others is evident among their peers. This award was bestowed upon Debralyn Trivisonno of the Women’s Basketball team.

The night concluded with a highlight video produced by Larry Korytny, Sports Director of WNPC-TV, of the year’s sports action. It was the perfect ending to a special night of honoring those who have given so much to the Athletic Department.