Athletics Department Celebrates 2014-15 Season
It was a night to celebrate, as the Carnegie Mellon University Athletics Department hosted its annual awards banquet on Wednesday, April 29. More than 300 student-athletes attended the event, which honored athletic and academic achievement during the 2014-15 season.
The program started with Director of Athletics Josh Centor congratulating the Carnegie Mellon student-athletes for the way they represent the university on and off the playing fields. Centor also thanked the athletics department staff for the hard work and dedication that is brought into the office every day. Following Centor’s remarks, each head coach presented a student-athlete with a Tartan Award.
“We have had a banner year in many regards. Our student-athletes have made a mark with their academic and athletics success, as well as their significant work in the community,” Centor said. “The athletics banquet is a special night for us to take a moment to celebrate the incredible contributions our intercollegiate athletics make to our university.”
Following the coaches’ presentation of their team’s Tartan Award, Carnegie Mellon Faculty Athletics Representative Eric Grotzinger presented the Dr. William Brown Academic Athletic Achievement Award to two students on Wednesday evening. The award is presented annually to the male and female student-athletes who are four-year letter winners and have earned the highest grade-point average while participating in intercollegiate athletics.
The award was named in honor of the Tartans' first-ever NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative, William Brown, following his passing in 2007.
This year's recipients of the sixth annual Dr. William Brown Academic Athletic Achievement Award were women’s cross country and track and field athlete Sara Kelly and men’s golfer Justin Fischler. Kelly has a 4.0 GPA and will graduate with a degree in chemical engineering. She will be conducting research in Germany upon graduation after being awarded a grant as part of the Fulbright Scholarship. Fischler, who will graduate with a degree in finance, holds a 3.91 GPA and will be working for SIG, Susquehanna International Group, starting in August.
Prior to a highlight video recognizing the student-athletes, the entire senior class was honored.
Below is a list of the Tartan Award winners in each sport. Tartan Awards are presented based on program-specific criteria developed by each head coach.
Matthew Loebbaka of Men’s Basketball (Thomas B. Craig Award (E’53))
Chandler Caufield of Women’s Basketball (John N. Wiernicki Award)
George Degen of Men’s Cross Country
Liz Snyder of Women’s Cross Country (Kelly Chin de Csepel Award (TPR’02))
Eric Myers of Football; Defense (Walter H. and Antoinette V. Haupt Award)
Tim Swanson of Football; Offense (Thomas B. Craig Award (E’53))
George Qian of Men’s Golf (Thomas B. Craig Award (E’53))
Summer Kitahara of Women’s Golf (Thomas B. Craig Award (E’53) and LaVerne Craig)
Colin Shaffer of Men’s Soccer (W. Young Kang Award (E’92))
Savina Reid of Women’s Soccer (Jared L. (H’14) and Maureen B. Cohon Award)
Josh Lucheon of Men’s Swimming & Diving (Scott (TPR’88) and Lara Morrison Award)
Nicole Crimi of Women’s Swimming & Diving (Joseph (E’48) and Myrna Stein Award)
Bryce Beisswanger of Men’s Tennis (Michael H. Ference Award (DC’91, TPR’92))
Bryn Raschke of Women’s Tennis (Ellie (Wiseman) Ference (E’64) and Thomas P. Ference Award (E’64, TPR’66, ‘67))
Jacob Schofel of Men’s Track & Field; Field Events
Thomas Vandenberg of Men’s Track & Field; Running Events (Gary L. Meckley Award)
Sasha Spalding of Women’s Track & Field; Field Events
Erin Kiekhaefer of Women’s Track & Field; Running Events (Dario Donatelli Award (TPR’81))
Casey Salandra of Volleyball (Robert S. (DC’93) & Ann Feng Simon Award (TPR’93))