Tiger Awards banquet honorees show off their hardware following the event on Monday, April 27.
Photo by Blake Nelson '17
Springfield, Ohio – The 10th annual Tiger Awards, recognizing excellence in athletic and academic performance by Wittenberg University student-athletes during the 2013-14 school year, were handed out during a banquet on Monday, April 27.
Hundreds of student-athletes attended the banquet, which is organized and led annually by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Voting by SAAC members resulted in 21 different team and individual awards encompassing a wide range of athletic, academic and extracurricular achievements during the 2014-15 school year. The goal of the annual event is to highlight and showcase accomplishments across the department of athletics.
In addition to the Tiger Awards, 39 inductees into Wittenberg's chapter of the national student-athlete honorary Chi Alpha Sigma were recognized, as were senior men’s tennis player Alexey Topolyanskiy (Moscow, Russia/School 712) and senior women’s volleyball setter Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Perry), Wittenberg's 2015 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Scholar Athlete award-winners.
Tiger Award recipients included:
Male and Female Newcomer of the Year Awards – freshman men’s basketball post player Chris Sloneker (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) and freshman golfer Jane Hopkinson-Wood (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School)
Male and Female Tiger Spirit Awards, given to one male and one female who best supports and encourages Wittenberg student-athletes – senior women’s lacrosse and field hockey midfielder Megan Loofbourrow (Prospect, Ky./Ballard) and freshman men’s swimmer Patrick Rittenhouse (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead)
Male and Female Extracurricular Athlete of the Year Awards, given in recognition of students’ outstanding performance in the classroom, involvement in honoraries, clubs and organizations outside of varsity athletics and excellence in competition – junior men’s swimmer Sean Oberschlake (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) and senior women’s volleyball setter Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Perry)
Male and Female Academic-Athlete Awards – junior women’s volleyball right-side hitter Bryanna Jay (Girard, Ohio/Girard) and sophomore men’s swimmer Nick Rittenhouse (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead)
Male and Female Record-Breaking Athlete Awards – junior football wide receiver Zach Culvahouse (Fort Myers, Fla./Estero) and senior women’s basketball guard Darbie Zirkle (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham)
Male and Female Best Overall Athlete – junior women’s volleyball right-side hitter Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) and senior football cornerback/track and field sprinter Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin)
Male and Female Collegiate Achievement Awards – senior men’s golfer Alex Andrews (Kirtland, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) and senior women’s basketball player Katelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings)
Most Improved Team Awards – women’s basketball and men’s swimming and diving
Male and Female Coach’s Awards – men’s and women’s cross country/track and field assistant coach Craig Binkley and women’s basketball head coach Sarah Jurewicz
Best Team Performance – women’s basketball
Witten-spiration Award, given to a student-athlete who has risen above and beyond unusual circumstances to be an inspiration to all around them – men’s diver Eric Roberts (Willits, Calif./Willits)
The event marked the final SAAC meeting of the 2014-15 school year. SAAC is an organization that represents and advocates the interests of Wittenberg student-athletes to the rest of the university community. Through bi-weekly meetings, student-athletes are able to network and organize events.
Written By: Ryan Maurer