2009-10 SUNY Cortland C-Club Senior Athletes of the Year Andersen Gardner (second from left), Jessica Laing (middle) and Katie Finch (second from right) with Cortland Director of Athletics Mike Urtz '94 (far left) and C-Club President Karen Funk '72
The 2010 SUNY Cortland C-Club Athletic Awards Ceremony, held in early May in the College's Alumni Arena, honored the top student-athletes from among the 600-plus who competed on Cortland's 25 men's and women's intercollegiate teams during the past academic year.
The SUNY Cortland C-Club Male Senior Athlete of the Year Award was presented to baseball catcher Andersen Gardner (Fairport), while the C-Club Female Senior Athlete of the Year award was shared by basketball forward Jessica Laing (Bloomville/South Kortright) and softball pitcher Katie Finch (Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth). The awards were sponsored by the C-Club and were voted upon by Cortland athletic administrators.
Gardner batted .412 with 11 home runs, seven triples, nine doubles, 68 runs batted in and 59 runs scored in 42 games played this spring. He hit .500 with four home runs in six NCAA Div. III World Series games to help Cortland finish second nationally. Gardner finished his career as Cortland's career leader with 171 RBI and tied for Cortland's career lead in both home runs (24) and triples (21).
Laing averaged 20.4 points and 12.4 rebounds per game last winter as Cortland won the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title and played in the NCAA Div. III tournament. She was a three-time All-American, including first-team honors as a senior, and was a two-time SUNYAC Player of the Year. Laing scored a SUNYAC and school-record 2,166 points and set the school record with 1,305 rebounds during her career, and is the first player in NCAA Div. III history to register the combination of 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 100 three-pointers.
Finch finished this past spring with a 26-4 record and 0.68 earned run average in 33 appearances. She struck out 268 batters and allowed only 86 hits and 25 walks in 184 innings pitched. A three-time All-American, Finch threw seven career no-hitters, three as a senior, and set SUNYAC and school records with 93 wins and 1,025 strikeouts. She became the 11th player in NCAA Div. III history to reach the career 1,000-strikeout mark.
Other finalists for Male Senior Athlete of the Year were swimmer Dan Evans (Hamburg), ice hockey defenseman Gerard Heinz (Kings Park), wrestler Joe Murphy (St. James/Smithtown) and cross country/track and field runner Kyle O'Brien (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury). Other finalists for Female Senior Athlete of the Year were volleyball outside hitter Michelle Gaufman (Wantagh/MacArthur), swimmer Taylor Houseman (Rushford/Wellsville) and field hockey midfielder Christine McCabe (Greene).
Gaufman received the M. Louise Moseley Award, which goes to a senior female athlete who has demonstrated both strong leadership skills and athletic achievement. Gaufman was a two-time honorable mention All-American and is Cortland's career leader with 1,822 kills. Moseley was Cortland's Director of Women's Athletics from 1966-78. A pioneer for women's athletics, she played an integral role in the start of women's intercollegiate athletics at Cortland in the late 1960s.
Evans received the Carl "Chugger" Davis Award, which is given to a senior male athlete for strong leadership skills and athletic achievement. Evans was a two-time honorable mention All-American as a senior with a ninth-place national finish in the 100-yard freestyle and a 15th-place showing in the 50-yard freestyle. He was also the SUNYAC Men's Swimming and Diving Championship Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet as both a junior and a senior. Davis was Cortland's head football coach from 1932 to 1962 and also coached baseball, basketball and golf.
Women's ice hockey forward Jeanna Dippel (DuBois, PA/Cumberland Valley) earned the Whitney T. Corey '43 Award, which is presented to the senior female student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average. Dippel is a biology and kinesiology double major who had a 4.02 overall GPA entering the spring semester. Men's swimmer Tim Harroun (Tonawanda) won the Robert J. Weber Award as the senior male student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average. Harroun is a physical education major who had a 3.87 GPA prior to the spring semester.
Corey coached men's basketball at Cortland in the 1950s and early 1960s and also served as the school's vice president for academic affairs. The main gymnasium in Cortland's Park Center bears his name. Weber was Cortland's director of athletics for 12 years and the Chairman of the Men's Physical Education department for 15 years. He worked at Cortland from 1952-85.
Senior Brooke Sharpe received the Peter J. Cahill '66 Award. The award, named for Cortland's former swimming and diving and women's tennis head coach, is presented to either a current student-athlete for involvement in activities outside of sports, or to a current non-athlete student for contributions to the Athletics Department. Sharpe, a native of Madrid, N.Y., served as an event manager for the Athletics Department two years and was the Sport Management Club's representative to the Student Government Association.
The 14th annual C-Club Coach of the Year Award was presented to men's ice hockey coach Joe Baldarotta. In his third season at Cortland, Baldarotta was diagnosed with cancer prior to the 2009-10 season, yet did not miss a game despite his medical treatments. Baldarotta accepted his award to a standing ovation from the Cortland student-athletes, coaches and supporters in attendance at the banquet.
Mike Discenza, Cortland's women's golf coach and interim assistant director of athletics, was chosen as the Fraser Stokes Award winner for his dedication and service to Cortland athletics. The Judson and Elise Taylor Team GPA Awards, named after the former SUNY Cortland president and his wife, were presented to the men's and women's athletic teams with the highest cumulative grade point averages. The men's cross country team (2.95 GPA) claimed the men's award and the women's basketball team (3.28 GPA) was the women's winner. The award was first given in 2003.
Each year, the Cortland head coaches select a Red Letter Award winner in their respective sports. The Red Letter may be given for outstanding athletic skills, team leadership, personal development as a player, or for any combination of reasons. The 2009-10 Red Letter Award winners, by sport, are as follows:
Baseball: Steve Nickel, Sr. (Lake Ronkonkoma/Sachem North)
Men's Basketball: Dustin Marshall, Jr. (Newfield)
Women's Basketball: Jessica Laing, Sr. (Bloomville/South Kortright)
Men's Cross Country: Kyle O'Brien, Sr. (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury)
Women's Cross Country: Alyson Dalton, So. (Sherrill/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill)
Field Hockey: Christine McCabe, Sr. (Greene)
Football: Bryan Wiley, Sr. (Cape Vincent/Thousand Islands)
Women's Golf: Meghan Brunswick, Jr. (Oneonta)
Women's Gymnastics: Christine Haungs, Sr. (Derby/Lake Shore)
Men's Ice Hockey: Tim Lloyd, Sr. (Oswego)
Women's Ice Hockey: Jeanna Dippel, Sr. (DuBois, PA/Cumberland Valley)
Women's Tennis: Alyssa Tretter, So. (Batavia)
Men's Indoor Track and Field: Gino Bisceglia, Jr. (Norwood/Norwood-Norfolk)
Women's Indoor Track and Field: Nikki Schafer, Fr. (Troy/Columbia)
Men's Outdoor Track and Field: Kyle O'Brien, Sr. (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury)
Women's Outdoor Track and Field: Alyson Dalton, So. (Sherrill/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill)
Men's Lacrosse: Chris Dutkowsky, Sr. (Vestal)
Women's Lacrosse: Jess Fritz, Sr. (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker)
Men's Soccer: Steve Axtell, Gr. (Franklin/Sidney)
Women's Soccer: Laura Boucher, Jr. (Delmar/Bethlehem)
Softball: Emily Ringen, Sr. (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock)
Men's Swimming and Diving: % Dan Evans, Sr. (Hamburg)
Women's Swimming and Diving: $ Taylor Houseman, Sr. (Rushford/Wellsville)
Women's Volleyball: Ariel Rakita, Sr. (Lake Grove/Sachem)
Wrestling: Stephen Perez, Jr. (Bronx/Francis Lewis)
% also won award in 2008-09
$ also won award in 2007-08
Banquet Award Winners (since 1988)
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