May 6, 2009
2009 GOLD WAVE STUDENT ATHLETE AWARDS CEREMONY
Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College Athletic Department
and the Gold Wave sponsored the annual Student-Athlete Awards
Ceremony on Tuesday, May 5th at 10:00 a.m. at the Henninger
Athletic Center.
Following mass at 9:00 a.m. at the Panasci Family Chapel, the
students and athletic staff headed over to the athletic center to
begin the annual recognition ceremony. Shortly after everyone was
seated, Chris Watson, sports anchor from News 10 Now, was announced
as the Master of Ceremony.
The first group of athletes honored was for excellence in the
field of academics with the second annual James F. Welter Academic
Merit Award. The awards were given out to the student-athletes with
the top-ten cumulative GPA having been enrolled for two or more
semesters. All recipients this year had cumulative GPA’s
ranging from 3.8 to 3.94.
The next award given out was the Leadership and Service Award.
This was given to two student-athletes for their commitment to the
community and Le Moyne’s ideals of leadership and service.
Lindsey Gleason, a member of the women’s volleyball team,
received this award for her contributions with the Scholar-Athlete
Recognition Breakfast, Le Moyne’s Make-A-Wish fundraising and
serving as a peer mentor and on the executive board of the
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The other award recipient was
men’s basketball player Damani Corbin. Corbin represented Le
Moyne at last year’s NCAA National Student-Athlete
Development Conference, in addition to serving as a peer mentor, a
member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council executive board and
has helped coordinate the first year Student-Athlete Orientation
program and Make-A-Wish fundraising efforts.
This year's Director’s Award winner was Patrick J.
O’Neill. The award is given annually to a member of the
campus and community that contributes and lends support to the
athletic department far beyond the call of duty. O’ Neill is
the Director of Facilities, Operations and Maintenance.
After each of the 16 teams awarded their individual Most Valuable
Player (MVP), two Le Moyne students, one male and one female, were
announce as Athlete of the Year. The awards were based on not only
what the student-athlete did on the field, but also in the
classroom. The Female Athlete of the Year was presented to Jennifer
Farrelly, a senior on the softball team. Farrelly was the
Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year and leads the Dolphins
in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.
Laurence Ekperigin, a junior on the men’s basketball team,
was named the male Athlete of the Year. Ekperigin was the first
ever Northeast-10 Player of the Year in Le Moyne history and an
All-American. He helped lead the Dolphins to their first 20-win
season since 1998 and was second in the nation in rebounding and
third in the conference in points per game.
Once the Athletes of the Year were presented with their awards, all
members of the senior class were honored at the front of the stage
to receive their senior gift.
The last award of the morning was the Rev. J.J. O’Brien
Senior Athlete Achievement Award. As the most prestigious honor
given to a Le Moyne student-athlete, this award is presented to the
student-athlete who was achieved unparalleled levels of success in
areas of athletics, academics, leadership and service during their
career at Le Moyne.
The first honoree was Kelsey Ryan, a member of the women’s
cross country team. Ryan, who didn’t even start cross country
until arriving at Le Moyne, became one of the best runners in the
region, earning All-Conference and All-Region honors in each of her
last two seasons. Ryan, a team captain, is a Presidential Scholar,
Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-American. She volunteers at the
Dorothy Day House and Salvation Army Day Care Center and was a
two-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Ryan
majors in Political Science and Psychology and is Le Moyne
College’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year.
The second student-athlete honored was Ricky Chidsey, a member of
the men’s swimming and diving team. Chidsey who earned
All-American Honors in his final season, is a two-time Northeast-10
Athlete of the year, 2006 Freshman of the year, 10-time league
champion and an honorable mention All-American each of his four
seasons. Chidsey owns seven school records and is a dean’s
list recipient. He volunteers at the Wescott Cultural Fair and at
the Senior Citizens Residence and majors in Biology and Natural
Science.
Academic Merit
Medal Winners
| Leah Lazarz | Women's Lacrosse |
| Sara Poreda | Women's Soccer |
| Daniel St. Jacques | Men's Soccer |
| Meg Turley | Women's Soccer |
| Meg Corcoran | Women's Soccer |
| Rich Brown | Baseball |
| Kathleen Gladstone | Women's Basketball |
| Jack McAndrew | Cross Country |
| Kelsey Ryan | Cross Country |
| Daniel Jason | Men's Basketball |
Team MVP Awards
| Matt Nandin | Baseball |
| Laurence Ekperigin | Men's Basketball |
| Courtney Coryea | Women's Basketball |
| Peter Gratien | Men's Cross Country |
| Gina Micaroni | Women's Cross Country |
| Tim Martins | Golf |
| Drew Bezek | Men's Lacrosse |
| Kelly Fucillo | Women's Lacrosse |
| Brandon Morse | Men's Soccer |
| Megan O'Shea | Women's Soccer |
| Jennifer Farrelly | Softball |
| Ricky Chidsey | Men's Swimming & Diving |
| Meghan Nugent | Women's Swimming & Dving |
| Joe Persia | Men's Tennis |
| Tirzah Walrath | Women's Tennis |
| Elizabeth Cheek | Volleyball |
