Beliauskas, Wilson Are Florida Tech Athletes of Year
By Florida Tech // April 24, 2014
Awards Were Presented at Florida Tech’s Athletics Banquet Wednesday Night
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA — Mindaugas Beliauskas of the men’s rowing team and Kayk Wilson of the women’s basketball team were named Florida Tech’s Athletes of the Year at the university’s Athletics Banquet, presented by Carrabba’s Italian Grill of Palm Bay, Wednesday night at the Clemente Center.
The award was one of several handed out by FIT President and CEO Anthony J. Catanese and Athletics Director Bill Jurgens.
Earning Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year were John Bocinsky of the men’s soccer team and Daniel Schultz of the men’s cross country and track & field teams. Receiving the female honor were Alyson Vezina and Ashley Vezina of the women’s soccer and women’s track & field teams.
Men’s track & field’s Chris Bridgeman was the recipient of the Andy Seminick Sportsmanship Award. Women’s basketball’s Rita Acevedo was honored with the Martha Work Sportsmanship Award.
A new accolade this year was the Comeback Player of the Year Award, voted on by the athletic trainers. The first-ever honorees were Isaac Spence of the men’s basketball team and Jasmire Brown of the women’s basketball team.
The Athletic Director’s Leadership Award went to Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President Brooke Smith of the softball team.
Baseball’s pitching coach Lee Stange was given a Volunteer Service Award for his nine years of coaching the Panthers.
Kristina Huba was presented with a plaque for becoming FlT women’s tennis’ all-time winningest singles player. She finished with 80 victories in her four-year career.
MALE TEAM GPA AWARD
The men’s cross country team was awarded the Male Team GPA Award for posting the highest cumulative GPA among FIT’s men’s sports through the fall 2013 semester at 3.20. The women’s tennis team had the highest cumulative GPA among FIT’s women’s sports through the fall 2013 semester at 3.48.
In addition to the overall awards that were presented for Athlete of the Year, a member of each team was recognized as being an Athlete of the Year for their sport.
Earning the honor from the men’s sports were Austin Allen (Baseball), Ray Badenhorst (Men’s Golf), Mindaugas Beliauskas (Men’s Rowing), Brian Dumont (Men’s Swimming), Twaine Gordon (Men’s Track & Field), Patrick Hernandez (Men’s Tennis), Jermaine Jackson (Men’s Basketball), Justin Kalanquin (Men’s Golf), Justin McMaster (Men’s Cross Country), Xavier Milton (Football), CJ Nichols (Men’s Lacrosse) and Sam Sawyer (Men’s Soccer).
FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
Receiving female Athlete of the Year on behalf of their sport were Connor Ahlborn (Women’s Track & Field), Sara Bienvenu (Cheerleading) , Kristi Hicks (Women’s Rowing), Inka Homeyer (Women’s Cross Country), Angie Lassman (Volleyball), Johanna Larsson (Women’s Golf), Rachel Pence (Softball), Dar Raz (Women’s Swimming), Natasa Vukovic (Women’s Tennis), Aubri Williamson (Women’s Soccer) and Kayk Wilson (Women’s Basketball).
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARD
A member of each team was also presented with a Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.
Earning the honor from the men’s sports were Manny Abad (Football), Ray Badenhorst (Men’s Golf), Andrew Bartlett (Baseball), Alec Bertossa (Men’s Rowing), John Bocinsky (Men’s Soccer), William Comaskey (Men’s Track & Field), Patrick Hernandez (Men’s Tennis) , Kaikea Nakachi (Men’s Swimming), Daniel Schultz (Men’s Cross Country), Cameron Stahl (Men’s Basketball) and Dominic Troese (Men’s Lacrosse).
Receiving Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year on behalf of their sport were Kaitlin Brennan (Volleyball), Alyssa Carney (Cheerleading), Kelsey Donahue (Softball), Kristina Huba (Women’s Tennis), Felicia Leftinger (Women’s Golf), Dori Magee (Women’s Cross Country), Samantha McCuskey (Women’s Rowing), Jessica Mellinger (Men’s Rowing), Katie Reid (Women’s Lacrosse), Liana Soileau (Women’s Swimming), Morgan Steinert (Women’s Basketball), Alyson Vezina (Women’s Track & Field), Ashley Vezina (Women’s Track & Field) and Aubri Williamson(Women’s Soccer).
FLORIDA TECH VOLLEYBALL WON PANTHER CUP
The volleyball team won the 2013-14 Panther Cup, which is a points-based competition among 21 of FIT’s varsity teams.
It is designed to give each team the opportunity to be recognized for its academic and athletic performances, personal and career development, community involvement and support for one another throughout the year. The volleyball team totaled the most points among FIT teams in the following categories: athletes supporting other athletes at competitions, career and personal development, community service and their involvement with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Awards were also presented to 53 Panther seniors and certificates were given for the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. In all, 210 Panthers were named to the honor roll for achieving a 3.2 cumulative GPA through the fall 2013 semester. The Athletic Director’s Honor Roll list can be found at the link below the picture for this article.
