Ten SUNY New Paltz Athletes and Two Teams Honored at Athletics Award Banquet

NEW PALTZ, NY — Ten SUNY New Paltz student-athletes were recently honored at the annual Athletics Awards Banquet. Five student-athletes received the Donald Bishko Award, two garnered the Heinz Ahlmeyer Award and the Kenneth F. Burda Sportsmanship Award, the Carol Eckman Award, and the Floyd Patterson Award were each awarded to one student-athlete. The New Paltz Prize was presented to one male and one female team.

The Donald Bishko Award was awarded to the male and female athlete who had the highest grade-point average (GPA) at the conclusion of the fall semester. Three members of the women’s volleyball team, senior Jennifer Hollis (Livingston, NJ), junior Denee Miggins (Kingston, NY), and sophomore Kelly Long (Endwell, NY), were the female recipients of the award. All three had a 4.0 GPA in the fall semester. The male recipients were sophomore Jeff Cote’ (Mechanicsville, MD) of the baseball team and freshman John Hauser (East Williston, NY) of the men’s basketball team. Cote’ and Hauser earned perfect 4.0 GPA’s as well.

Seniors and twin sisters Allison and Lisa Taub (Greenlawn, NY) were presented the Heinz Ahlmeyer Award. This award is presented to a junior or senior athlete with two or more years of varsity participation whose dedication, perserverance, and service throughout his or her athletic career at SUNY New Paltz has been an inspiration to both his or her teammates and fellow students. Allison was a member of the field hockey and track & field teams and Lisa was a member of the field hockey and softball teams. The sisters were each named to the All-State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Second Team in field hockey. Both were outstanding individuals both on the field and in the classroom.

Senior John Zarella (Mahopac, NY), a member of the cross country and track & field teams, was honored with the Kenneth F. Burda Sportsmanship Award. This award is presented to a male or female athlete, who in the estimation of the athletics department, displayed the elements of commitment, fair play, and service to his or her team.

The outstanding female athlete of the year was presented with the Carol Eckman Award. Senior Rebecca Sparacin (Goshen, NY) of the women’s tennis team was this year’s recipient. Sparacin performed at a high level both on the tennis court and in the classroom. On the court, she finished the regular season with a 5-1 record in both singles and doubles play. She also defended her title at number two singles at the 2003 SUNYAC Championship where New Paltz placed second while being named to the All-SUNYAC First Team. In the classroom, she had a 3.76 GPA.

Senior Mario Lavacca (Port Washington, NY) of the men’s soccer team received the Floyd Patterson Award as the outstanding male athlete. Lavacca capped off a four-year career by earning the Huntley Parker Award, which is given to the SUNYAC Player of the Year. He became the first player in the history of the New Paltz men’s soccer program to win the award. Lavacca led New Paltz and finished third in the SUNYAC with a career-high 14 goals and 29 points. He was also named to the All-SUNYAC First Team and garnered National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-New York Region Second Team honors for the second time in his career.

In addition, the baseball and women’s cross country teams were presented with the New Paltz Prize. The award is given to the men’s and women’s team that had the highest grade-point average at the conclusion of the fall semester.