The 2014 SUNY Cortland C-Club Athletic Awards Ceremony, held April 28 at 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.
 

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BANQUET PHOTO GALLERY

RED LETTER AWARD VIDEO PLAYLIST

AWARDS BANQUET PROGRAM (PDF)

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The SUNY Cortland C-Club Male Senior Athlete of the Year Award was presented to men's lacrosse player Joe Slavik (Binghamton/Seton Catholic) and the C-Club Female Senior Athlete of the Year Award was presented to women's lacrosse player Jessica Lavelle (Fayetteville/Fayetteville-Manlius). The awards were sponsored by the C-Club and were voted upon by Cortland athletic administrators.

Slavik earned first-team All-America honors at midfield as a junior and second-team All-America recognition as a sophomore. He was named both the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Offensive Player of the Year and SUNYAC Player of the Year during the 2013 season and is a three-time, first-team All-SUNYAC honoree.

Lavelle was chosen as the 2013 IWLCA National Defender of the Year and was a first-team All-American. She also received first-team all-region, All-ECAC and All-SUNYAC honors, was named to the NCAA Div. III Final Four all-tournament team and was the SUNYAC tournament MVP.  She's helped Cortland to a 17-0 record, as of April 26, and the top spot in the Div. III poll.

Other finalists for Male Senior Athlete of the Year were football tailback Justin Autera (Mahopac), wrestler Brian Bistis (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central), basketball forward Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) and baseball first baseman Max Rosing (Rockville Centre/South Side). Other Female Senior Athlete of the Year finalists were softball outfielder Meaghan Kohler (Franklin, NJ/Warren Hills Regional), gymnast Courtney Mangini (Dix Hills/Commack), field hockey back Erin Smith (Greene) and women's golfer Rebecca Studin (Ithaca).

Autera received the Carl "Chugger" Davis Award, which is given to a senior male athlete for strong leadership skills and athletic achievement. Autera finished his career ranked third at Cortland in both rushing yardage (2,596) and points scored (198). He was an All-American and the NJAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2010. Davis was Cortland's head football coach from 1932 to 1962 and also coached baseball, basketball and golf.

Smith received the M. Louise Moseley Award, which goes to a senior female athlete who has demonstrated both strong leadership skills and athletic achievement. Smith earned first-team All-America honors last fall and ranks 12th at Cortland in career scoring (94 points) and tied for seventh in assists (28). 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.

Women's distance runner Emily Cotey (Norwood/Norwood-Norfolk) earned the Whitney T. Corey '43 Award, which is presented to the senior female student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average. Cotey is an exercise science major with a 4.18 overall GPA entering 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.

Men's soccer midfielder Sam Kirschenbaum (Oceanside) won the Robert J. Weber Award as the senior male student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average. Kirschenbaum is a psychology major with a 4.11 GPA prior to the spring semester. 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.

Student event manager Caitlin Lewandowski, a Lockport, N.Y., native and a sport management major, won 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.

The 18th annual C-Club Coach of the Year Award was presented to wrestling coach Brad Bruhn, who guided the Red Dragons to a 13-4 dual record, the NCAA Div. III Northeast Regional title and a tie for sixth place at the NCAA Div. III Championships. Bruhn, in his 12th year at Cortland, became the wrestling program's career leader with 169 dual-match victories. He was named both the NCAA Northeast Region and Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Coach of the Year.

Bill Shaut, Cortland's Vice President for Finance and Management, 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 soccer team (2.97 GPA) won the award for the third time in the last four years and the women's gymnastics team (3.27 GPA) won the award for the first time since 2008. 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 2013-14 Red Letter Award winners, by sport, are as follows:

Baseball:  Max Rosing, Sr. (Rockville Centre/South Side)
Men's Basketball: Kevin McMahon, Sr. (Hoosick Falls)
Women's Basketball: Grace Williamson, Sr. (Olean)
Men's Cross Country: Pat Fannon, Sr. (West Islip)
Women's Cross Country: # Emily Cotey, Sr. (Norwood/Norwood-Norfolk)
Field Hockey: Erin Smith, Sr. (Greene)
Football: Joe Kirchner, Sr. (Holbrook/Sachem North)
Women's Golf: Rebecca Studin, Sr. (Ithaca)
Women's Gymnastics: Stephanie Sladky, Sr. (East Islip)
Men's Ice Hockey: Nick Zappia, Jr. (Manlius/Fayetteville-Manlius)
Women's Ice Hockey: Caralie Fennessey, Sr. (Fairport)
Men's Lacrosse: Joe Slavik, Sr. (Binghamton/Seton Catholic)
Women's Lacrosse: Liz Beville, Sr. (Jamesville/Jamesville-DeWitt)
Men's Soccer: Ian Cusack, Sr. (East Northport/Northport)
Women's Soccer: Samantha Gardner, Sr. (Fairport)
Softball: Alicia Hibbard, Sr. (Canastota)
Men's Swimming and Diving: Reeve Callen, So. (Oswego)
Women's Swimming and Diving: % Sarah Culmo, Sr. (West Islip)
Women's Tennis: Mary Claire Kopcienski, Jr. (Spencerport/Brockport)
Men's Indoor Track and Field: Melique Garcia, Sr. (Watervliet)
Women's Indoor Track and Field: Taylor Hudson, Jr. (Victor)
Men's Outdoor Track and Field: Tom Hopkins, Sr. (Syracuse/West Genesee)
Women's Outdoor Track and Field: # Sarah Bonnell, Sr. (Norwich)
Women's Volleyball: Liz Roberts, Fr. (Island Park/West Hempstead)
Wrestling: Sean Kempf, Sr. (Wantagh/MacArthur)

# also won award in 2012-13
% also won award in both 2011-12 and 2012-13

(For information about individual award winners, please contact Cortland Sports Information Director Fran Elia at (607) 753-5673 or by e-mail at eliaf@cortland.edu)

Banquet Award Winners (since 1988)