On Monday, members of the
Longwood athletics community
gathered in Blackwell Hall to
honor the accomplishments
of this year’s student athletes.
All athletic teams were in
attendance, in addition to the
coaching staffs, select groups of
faculty, the Lancer Lunatics and
members of the media. The night
kicked off with a video of Big
South Conference Commissioner
Kyle Kallander recapping
Longwood’s inaugural season
of conference play. When the
video finished, Scott Bacon,
assistant athletics director for
Development and “Voice of the
Lancers,” took the floor as the
night’s Master of Ceremonies.
After some brief opening
remarks, the microphone was
passed on to Director of Athletics
Troy Austin for his initial
comments.
“This is always a fun night for
me,” Austin said to the crowd.
“It’s something I look forward to
each year, getting an opportunity
to thank some of the groups
of people … that have been so
good in supporting our athletics
endeavors.”
Austin, at the end of his
welcome, invited Longwood
alumna Mary Milne to the
stage for the program’s formal
welcome. Milne, a former field
hockey and lacrosse player for
the Lancers during the Division
II era, serves as the Vice President
of Operations for the Tampa Bay
Lightning. Milne spoke to her
experiences as a student-athlete
as the driving force behind her
success and motivating her
to “always say yes” when an
opportunity presents itself.
Milne was followed by the
first awards of the night. Field
hockey’s Kaye Goulding,
SAAC President, and women’s
lacrosse’s Jenna Weyant, SAAC
Vice President, took the stage to
present the A.C.E.S. and SAAC
Coach of the Year Awards.
The A.C.E.S. award, given to a
Longwood faculty/staff member
who has gone above and beyond
to support student athletes, was
awarded to Dr. Jason Milne.
SAAC also unanimously voted
to present Bill Reinson, the
women’s basketball head coach,
with Coach of the Year honors.
The awards continued as
student-athletes were recognized
for their hard work and
commitment to their on – court
merits, school work and service
to the community. Bethany Law
and Edward Becker, members
of the women’s and men’s
tennis teams respectively, were
awarded the Academic PRIDE
award. Next, Amelia McConnell
of the women’s soccer team and
Bharani Sankar of the men’s
tennis team were honored
as recipients of the Lancer
Outstanding Service Award.
The Cormier Award for
Academic Excellence was
distributed next. The award,
given each semester to the men’s
and women’s team with the
highest GPA, was awarded to the
men’s golf team and women’s
tennis team for both semesters.
Men’s golf boasted a 3.26 GPA,
while the women’s tennis team
was just shy of a 3.5.
A special presentation
followed the Cormier Award’s
presentation that was not listed
in the program, as Austin
paid homage to Baseball Head
Coach Buddy Bolding. Bolding,
who will retire after this year
following 35 years of coaching,
received a standing ovation from
all of those in attendance.
Following the short intermission
for Bolding’s ceremony, members
of Longwood’s basketball teams
swept the race for Freshman
Athlete of the Year. Daeisha
Brown and Michael Kessens took
home the awards for the women’s
and men’s teams respectively.
When Brown and Kessens took
their seats, Tim Pierson, vice
president for Student Affairs,
took the stage to announce
the winner of the Jimmy M.
Yarbrough Inspiration Award,
given to the athlete who
“exemplifies the qualities that
Jimmy Yarbrough possessed and
left as a legacy for Longwood.”
Edward Becker of the men’s
tennis team was named the
recipient, while Jeylani Dublin
of men’s basketball and Ryan
Schubert of baseball were among
the nominees.
The second-to-last honor given
out of the evening was Athlete
of the Year. Kelsey Pardue of
women’s soccer and Tristan
Carey of men’s basketball were
the year’s recipients. Both were
taken aback when hearing they
received the award.
“It feels amazing,” Pardue
said. “When I heard my name, I
was shocked. I credit it all to my
team. I could have never gotten
here if it wasn’t for all of them.
It’s almost a team award at this
point.”
“It was surprising,” said Carey.
“I wasn’t expecting to get it. It’s
the first major award I’ve gotten
here. It’s very exciting; I’m
very honored, and I’m looking
forward to try and do the same
thing next year.”
The final award of the night
given was the Henry I. Willett
Scholar-Athlete award. This
year’s recipients were Stephen
Shockley of men’s basketball
and Lindsey Ottavio of women’s
soccer. Both seniors earned the
honors for “their outstanding
sport contribution and
exceptional achievement in the
classroom.”
The night wrapped up with
an emotional send off for the
seniors delivered by Women’s
Soccer Head Coach Todd Dyer.
Dyer praised the seniors, saying
they had set the bar for following
classes of student- athletes in the
future.