Many of the individuals honored during the ninth annual SAAC Tiger Awards pose with their hardware after the event on April 27.
Photo by Erin Pence
Springfield, Ohio – The ninth 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 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 2013-14 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, 24 inductees into Wittenberg's chapter of the national student-athlete honorary Chi Alpha Sigma were recognized, as were senior softball pitcher Rachel Ross (Westerville, Ohio/South) and senior men’s basketball guard Zack Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford), Wittenberg's 2014 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Scholar Athlete award-winners.
Other award-winners included:
Male and Female Newcomer of the Year Awards – freshman women’s track and field sprinter Frankie Bowsher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) and freshman men’s cross country/track and field distance specialist Jon Osman (Troy, Ohio/Troy)
Male Academic-Athlete Awards – sophomore men’s cross country/track & field distance specialist Courtland Johnson (Versailles, Ky./Woodford County) and senior men’s basketball guard Zack Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford)
Female Academic-Athlete Awards – junior volleyball setter Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Perry) and senior swimmer Sarah Wilson (Centennial, Colo./Arapahoe)
Male and Female Tiger Spirit Awards, given to one male and one female who best supports and encourages Wittenberg student-athletes – senior women’s basketball guard Kiley McCollough (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and junior men’s basketball guard Ben Bowen (Arcadia, Ind./Hamilton Heights)
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 track and field/cross country distance specialist Andrew Ziminski (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) and junior women’s basketball guard Heather Schroeder (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora)
Male and Female Record-Breaking Athlete Awards – senior football cornerback/track and field sprinter Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) and sophomore swimmer Dani Lacy (Louisville, Ky./Louisville Collegiate School)
Male and Female Best Overall Athlete – senior men’s basketball forward Scott Masin (New Carlisle, Ohio/Bethel) and senior softball pitcher Rachel Ross (Westerville, Ohio/South)
Male and Female Collegiate Achievement Awards – senior swimmer Molly Gustafson (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) and senior men’s golfer Ben Hogenkamp (Minster, Ohio/Minster)
Most Improved Team Award – softball
Male and Female Coach’s Awards – men’s golf head coach Jeff Roope and women’s lacrosse head coach Beth Hemminger
Best Team Performance – women’s lacrosse
Witten-spiration Award, given to a student-athlete who has risen above and beyond unusual circumstances to be an inspiration to all around them – women’s swimmer Tori Fout (Westerville, Ohio/South)
The event marked the final SAAC meeting of the 2013-14 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