WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Rally Awards 2009
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5/5/09
BURLINGTON, VT - The University of Vermont Athletic Department hosted the fifth annual Rally Awards on Tuesday night at the Flynn Theatre in downtown Burlington. The all-sports year-end event celebrated the accomplishments of the UVM student-athletes. The department handed out seven major awards, honored each team's MVP and senior student-athletes, and showed a multimedia presentation highlighting the 2008-09 season.
Patty Corcoran, an Assistant Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences at UVM, was the recipient of the Athletic Department Award. The award is presented annually to a member of the faculty, staff or community in appreciation of loyal support and continuing devotion to the University of Vermont athletic program.
Corcoran has been a mentor to numerous colleagues and countless students over the years. She has ushered more than a few Catamounts through to graduation and has been a model of support for all to emulate. The UVM Athletic Department is grateful for her unwavering support of its student-athletes and staff.
Sophomore Brittnie Booker (Wilmington, Del.) and senior Tom Cheney (Milton, Vt.) were named winners of the Jeff Stone Memorial Award. Presented for the fifth time in 2009, the award recognizes exceptional contributions by a male and female student-athlete, in any class, in the area of community service and campus leadership. The award is presented in memory of Jeff Stone, an outstanding tennis player at UVM who died tragically in 1984.
Booker, a sophomore on the field hockey team, played in nine games this year, making two starts. She helped the Catamounts post a pair of wins over nationally ranked squads in No. 15 Ohio State and No. 18 Providence this season. Off the field she is a member of the Alpha Phi Omega Society. The primary purpose of Alpha Phi Omega is to provide service to the campus, the community and the nation. Students have opportunities to enhance their leadership skills through leadership development seminars and workshops at various conferences. During her first year, she volunteered three to four hours a week on several different community service projects. She has cooked for the DISMAS House, volunteered for the Mardi Gras Parade, volunteered at a dinner for an organization helping recovering drug and alcohol addicts, and pitched in at Green Up Day. In addition, Booker has worked with "Take Back the Night" as a traffic guard. She volunteered for the past two April's with various Dismantling Rape Culture Conference events with the Women's Center. Booker also excelled in the classroom, earning a spot on the America East Academic Honor Roll this past season.
Cheney, a member of the cross country team, has been a member of UVM's Student-Athlete Advisory Council since 2006 and served as chair this season. He has been an active participant in several organizations on and off campus. Besides being a member of S.A.A.C., Cheney is also a Student Ambassador, President of the Resident Hall Community Action Board and a voting member of the Campus Life Task Force II. In the community, he serves as Director of Fundraising and a counselor for Vermont HOBY (an annual leadership seminar for high school sophomores). In 2003 Cheney founded and now directs Milton's Freedom 5K/Walk. Cheney, who owns a 3.72 cumulative GPA as a political science and sociology major at Vermont, also serves on the Milton Board of Civil Authority as the town's Justice of the Peace, which he was elected to in 2007. He served as a captain for the cross country team this year and was among the top five UVM runners in three of six races this season. He led Vermont to three first-place team finishes in 2008. Last spring, he spent the semester in an exchange program at American University and worked as an intern on Capitol Hill. Since January Cheney has been working as an intern for Senator Peter Shumlin in Montpelier. Cheney is a member of the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll and the league's Men's Cross Country All-Academic Team.
The 2009 Rally Awards also marked the fifth presentation of the Underclass Athletic Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding athletic accomplishments by a male and female student-athlete in the freshmen, sophomore and junior classes. Juniors Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario) and Viktor Stålberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) were named winners of the 2009 Underclass Athletic Achievement Award.
Pilypaitis, the winner of the 2008 Underclass Athletic Achievement Award, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2009 America East Women's Basketball Championship after leading Vermont to the tournament title with upset wins over No. 2 Hartford and No. 1 Boston University. Pilypaitis, an America East All-Conference First Team selection, averaged 20 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and shot 91.3 percent from the foul line in the tournament. She posted back-to-back double-doubles, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds versus the Hawks and followed that with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game. Vermont won its first America East title since 2000 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine years. In the season opener, Pilypaitis became the 17th player to reach the 1,000-career point milestone and the seventh to reach the mark prior to her senior year. She would later grab her 500th career rebound to become the 12th member of the 1,000-pont/500-rebound club. Pilypaitis finished the season leading the team in scoring for the third straight year and ranked among the America East leaders in nine of 10 statistical categories for the second consecutive season.
Stålberg was a finalist for the 2009 Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top men's hockey player in the country, on his way to leading Vermont to the 2009 Frozen Four. Stålberg also picked up Division I First-Team All-American by the American Hockey Coaches Association. He ranked fifth in the country in goals (24) and led Vermont in points with 46 and was named a First-Team Hockey East All-Star and was runner-up for Hockey East Player of the Year. In addition to leading the team in goals and points, Stålberg also led the team in assists (22), power-play goals (7), power-play points (15), short-handed goals (2), short-handed points (3) and shots (165). He posted a career best 11-game scoring streak and ended the season recording at least one point in 26 of the final 29 games. Stålberg signed an NHL contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in April.
The 53rd annual Semans Trophy was awarded to seniors Jilyne McDonald (Bellevue, Wash.) and Dean Strong (Mississauga, Ontario). The Semans Trophy is presented to the senior male and female student-athlete who has demonstrated a high level of athletic achievement and earned the respect and regard of his/her fellow students for leadership, loyalty and service to the university.
McDonald, a ski team captain, completed a sensational career in 2009 by earning NCAA All-American honors for the fourth time. She did so while maintaining an impressive 3.49 grade point average as a public communications major. McDonald earned a pair of podium finishes in four NCAA Ski Championships. She grabbed third in the slalom at the 2009 NCAA Ski Championships and was second in the slalom at the NCAA's as a sophomore in 2006. McDonald was named First-Team All-East in 2006, 2008 and 2009. Amazingly, she had a total of 22 podium finishes in her career while posting six victories. She won the slalom at the E.I.S.A. Championships in 2005 and was victorious in the giant slalom at the E.I.S.A. Championships in 2008. McDonald also is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council at UVM. She has been part of several community service activities with the ski team including: The Vermont Walk for Life to benefit the S.D. Ireland Cancer Research Fund, Green Up Day in Burlington, the MS Walk in Burlington and the RunVermont half marathon in Colchester.
Strong, a two-time captain for the men's hockey team, played in all 155 games in his career and led Vermont to 75 victories in his four seasons as well as a berth in the 2009 Frozen Four. Strong was the recipient of the 2009 Hockey East Sportsmanship Award and was a finalist for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award given annually to the Division I men's hockey student-athlete that displays numerous accomplishments across four award pillars: classroom, community, character and competition. Strong became the 41st Catamount to reach 100 points and ended his career ranked 35th all-time in scoring at Vermont. Strong was named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team in each of the last two years while maintaining a 3.18 grade point average in agriculture and resource economics. UVM went 51-15-14 in games that Strong recorded at least one point in his career. He won 55-percent of his face offs in his career and was named runner-up for Best Defensive Forward in Hockey East in 2008. Strong has been involved in several community service activities throughout his four years, including: UVM's annual Teddy Bear Toss, several Jarred Williams Foundation events (foundation raises money for chronically ill children), Green Up Day, Burlington Amateur Hockey Association events (hockey clinics) and reading to kids at local schools in the community.
The Russell O. Sunderland Memorial Trophy was presented for the 70th time at the 2009 Rally Awards. The honor is given to the senior male and female student-athlete who, throughout their college careers, has demonstrated a high level of athletic achievement and exemplified the qualities of character, leadership and persistence in overcoming obstacles. The 2009 winners of the Russell O. Sunderland Memorial Trophy were Sarah DeStefano (Eliot, Maine) and Lee Stephane Kouadio (Woodlyn, Pa.)
DeStefano made a terrific comeback from knee injuries to become one of the top offensive players for the women's lacrosse team over the past two years. She was robbed of her freshman season after tearing her ACL in her left knee. She went through the work of rehab and came back ready to play for her sophomore season. Five games into her sophomore year, she tore the PCL in her right knee and was sidelined for the rest of the season. DeStefano went through the rehab process again and returned as one of the leading scorers on the team and played in more than 30 games over the past two seasons. She finished her junior year with 25 points and 17 goals, including the game-winning tally with 1.8 seconds left to lift UVM past Albany for the Catamounts first-ever victory over the Great Danes. DeStefano's play also bolstered Vermont's back-to-back appearances in the America East Championships. She finished her career at Vermont averaging a goal per game and went over the 50-point plateau.
One of the most exciting players ever to play soccer for the Catamounts, Kouadio's path to UVM was unlike many of the other student-athletes. He grew up in the Ivory Coast and left the war-torn African nation prior to high school with his grandparents. The family settled in suburban Philadelphia and was later joined by his parents. French is his primary language but he quickly learned English and combined with his athletic ability, was able to pursue a college education. Kouadio made an immediate impact as a freshman at Vermont and was named the 2005 America East Striker and Rookie of the Year while leading the conference in scoring. He suffered a serious knee injury late in 2005 and spent the winter working hard to regain his strength. He helped the Catamounts advance to the 2006 America East title game and as a junior he led the team in scoring as UVM won the 2007 America East Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. This past fall he was a key contributor as Vermont reached the conference semifinals for the third straight year and he was named to the 2008 America East All-Championship Team.
Seniors Diana Purtz (Powell, Ohio) and Connor Tobin (Fort Collins, Colo.) were the 2009 recipients of the Wasson Athletic Prize. The award, handed out for the 80th consecutive year, is presented to the senior male and female student-athletes who have demonstrated a high level of athletic achievement and have maintained the highest standard of academic scholarship.
Purtz, a three-time cross country team MVP, is a double-major in Spanish and psychology and owns a 3.72 GPA. She served as a team captain in 2008 and has been Vermont's top runner every year she has competed. She helped lead UVM to a fourth place finish at the America East Championships and was 15th overall this fall. Purtz finished her outstanding career with four straight top-15 finishes at the league championship and was UVM's top runner in 17 races throughout her career. Purtz earned a spot on the America East Cross Country All-Academic Team this past fall and has been named to the America East Academic Honor Roll several times for both track and field and cross country.
A member of UVM's Honors College and one of the top mechanical engineering students in his class, Tobin was named the America East Men's Soccer Scholar-Athlete in 2007 and 2008. This past year he was a finalist for the 2008 Lowe's Senior Class Award and was the first UVM men's soccer player named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American First Team. He was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team in 2007 and 2008 and last fall was selected to the NSCAA Scholar All-American Second Team. Tobin is a four-time member of the America East Commissioners Honor Roll and earned a spot on the league's all-academic team the last three years. On the field, Tobin has been named to an all-conference team each of his four seasons and was the 2008 America East Defender of the Year. For the 18th consecutive year, the J. Edward Donnelly Award was presented to the senior male and female student-athlete who displayed the greatest accomplishments in individual athletic performance and who significantly contributed to their team's overall performance. The 2009 winners of the J. Edward Donnelly Award were Kristen Millar (Whitby, Ontario) and Juergen Uhl (Muhlenbach, Germany).
Millar, a four-time team MVP, is arguably the best player in the program's history. She is Vermont's all-time leader in points, assists, draw controls, caused turnovers and ground balls, setting all those marks during her junior campaign. As a senior this season, Millar added the all-time mark in goals at Vermont to her resume. She also became the all-time leader in draw controls in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse history in 2009. Millar, UVM's first-ever three-time regional All-American, has been UVM's leading scorer all four years and owns various single-season and single-game records. This season, she surpassed the 200-career point milestone, again becoming the first Catamount to reach that mark, and became the first player to score over 100 goals and hand out over 100 assists. Behind Millar's play, the Catamounts have become one of the top teams in America East, making back-to-back appearances in the league's postseason tournament.
Uhl is one of the most accomplished Nordic skiers in UVM's history. He is a four-time NCAA All-American and was named to the NCAA All-Academic Team four straight years while maintaining a 3.81 grade point average in mechanical engineering. In 2008 he was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I Team. Uhl capped off a brilliant career by winning the 10k classic at the 2009 NCAA Ski Championships to earn Vermont's first individual national championship in a Nordic event since 1998. He won the race by more than 10 seconds. He finished his collegiate career with 10 first-place finishes and 22 top-five performances. He won three classic races as a senior and as a junior went a perfect 5-for-5 in classic races on the E.I.S.A. Circuit. Uhl was also named First-Team All-East in each of his four years and was a team captain in 2009.
For the third straight year fans were invited to vote for the "Top Moment in UVM Athletics". After receiving over 700 votes via UVMathletics.com, the fans choice for the "Top Moment in UVM Athletics" for the 2008-09 season was Dan Lawson's goal going through the net versus Air Force in the NCAA Men's Hockey East Regional Finals. The goal, which proved to be the game-winner after a 12 minute review by officials in a double-overtime game, propelled UVM to the 2009 Frozen Four.
---COURTESY UVM ATHLETICS
