The Case Western Reserve University Department of Physical Education and Athletics announced the 2020-21 winners of its department awards during a virtual ceremony, which aired on YouTube on Wednesday, May 26.
For the second-straight year, CWRU student-athletes, coaches, staff, parents and other friends of the program were able to come together and celebrate the outstanding achievements of the Spartan student-athletes via a live premiere video on the CWRU Athletics YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/CWRUAthletics. The full awards show, which featured a variety of guest presenters and coaches commenting on their award-winning athletes, is available for on demand viewing below:
The Patricia B. Kilpatrick Award, given annually to the four-year varsity participants with the highest cumulative grade point average, was presented to five Spartan athletes, each with a perfect 4.0 GPA during their collegiate careers. The 2021 winners were Olivia Battistoni of the women's cross country team, Marlee Dingle of the volleyball team, Caroline Dudenhoffer of the women's swimming and diving team, Emma Hammelef of the women's track and field team, and Travis Johnston of the football team. The award was presented by Bud Baeslack, the former CWRU Provost, and current Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Faculty Athletics Representative.
The 2020-21 Nancy Gray Rookie of the Year Award, presented to the female student-athlete who has made an outstanding contribution to her sport during her first year of competition, was given to Cecelia Zielke of the women's outdoor track and field team. A sophomore who did not compete for the team as a first-year, Zielke made an immediate impact as a distance runner. She narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 10,000-meter run, as her time of 37:10.52 ranked 25th among all Division III competitors during the campaign. In addition, she registered a time of 17:51.87 in the 5,000-meter run, the 54th-fastest in Division III in 2021. The award was presented by its namesake, Nancy Gray, a former longtime coach and administrator at CWRU.
Zack Carinci, a third baseman and pitcher on the CWRU baseball team, was selected as the winner of the Robert Del Rosa Rookie of the Year Award, which is named after the long-time legendary CWRU wrestling coach and is presented to the top-performance male student-athlete in his first year of collegiate competition. Carinci was a standout on the baseball team as a first-year player, earning all-region and all-conference recognition. He started all 30 games at third base, batting .346 with a team-high 29 runs scored, while committing just six errors at the hot corner. In addition, he served as the team's closer, appearing in six total games out of the bullpen and converting all five of his save opportunities, while surrendering just two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts and no runs allowed in 7.1 innings of work. Presenting this year's Robert Del Rosa Award was former Spartan softball and women's basketball player and current President of the Spartan Club, Angel Rice.
The winner of the Dorothy L. Hoza Award, given to the female freshman, sophomore or junior student-athlete, who has made a strong contribution to the women's intercollegiate sports program, maintained a high level of academic achievement, shown leadership in the team, and contributed to the Department and the University, was Jenna Ruccolo, a junior on the women's soccer team. Jenna served as the current President of the CWRU Association of Student Athletes and is CWRU's representative on the UAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She was also one of two athletes selected to serve on the department's COVID action committee this year. She has been a three-year member of the women's soccer team and has not allowed a goal in any of her career appearances. Academically, she is an accounting and finance major with a 3.958 cumulative grade point average, and a two-time UAA All-Academic honoree. The Hoza Award was presented by the Spartans' Head Team Physician, Dr. Shana Miskovsky.
Men's tennis junior Chaitanya Aduru received the Arthur P. Leary Award, presented to the outstanding freshman, sophomore or junior male student-athlete who has demonstrated leadership in the team, maintained good academic standing in the University, demonstrated good sportsmanship, and contributed to the department and University. Aduru helped lead the men's tennis team to a runner-up finish at the 2021 NCAA Division III Championships, finishing the year with a 10-1 record in singles matches and an 8-4 mark in doubles play. His 43-7 singles record is good for the second-best career winning percentage (.860) in program history, while his .750 doubles winning percentage (45-15) is the eighth-best. He earned All-University Athletic Association honors this season for his doubles play for the second time over his career. In addition, Aduru is a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and UAA All-Academic honoree, while majoring in Biochemistry. He has also worked as a tutor in biology and chemistry and has volunteered at the St. David's Medical Center. Presenting this year's Leary Award was CWRU basketball play-by-play announcer and former Cleveland television sports reporter for WUAB and WKYC, Ron Jantz. The Leary Award is named in honor of former Athletic Director Arthur Leary, who played a leading role in the athletic program at CIT and CWRU over a 46-year period.
Senior swimmer Caitlyn VonFeldt was selected as the winner of the Emily R. Andrews Award, which is presented to the outstanding senior who has made a strong contribution to the women's intercollegiate sports program, maintained a high level of academic achievement, shown leadership in team, and contributed service to the department and University. VonFeldt was a multiple-time All-American and NCAA qualifier. She secured 2019-20 CSCAA All-America honors after qualifying for the National Championship meet as a member of the 400-yard medley relay team as well as individually in the 100-yard backstroke. She also competed in four relay events at the 2019 NCAA Championships, and placed 14th with her 200-yard medley relay team at the 2018 NCAA Championships with a mark of 1:44.62. She is the school record holder in the 200-yard backstroke and a member of four school record relay teams. In addition, VonFeldt has earned UAA All-Academic honors multiple times over her career as a Mechanical Engineering major. The 2021 Andrews Award was presented by CWRU Vice President for the Division of Student Affairs, Lou Stark. The honor is named for Emily Andrews, the former chairwoman of the Flora Stone Mather College physical education department for over twenty years, whose leadership and ingenuity resulted in the creation of a robust and innovative program.
The Philip K. "Nip" Heim Award, presented annually to the senior male student-athlete who has made the most outstanding contribution to Case Western Reserve University through the athletics program, was awarded to senior Tre Armstrong of the baseball team. The selection was based on demonstrated leadership in the team, good academic standing at the University, good sportsmanship, participation in at least two years in the CWRU athletics program, and demonstrated loyalty to team and University. Armstrong served as the vice president of the CWRU Association of Student Athletes and was one of the founding members of the Black & Latinx Athlete Coalition (BLAC). On the field, he hit a career-best .360 with 14 runs scored, a double, two triples and four runs batted in this season. He is also a biochemistry major on the pre-medicine track and has been named a UAA All-Academic honoree in each of his three eligible seasons. The Heim Award was also presented by Stark and is named after the eponymous long-time basketball coach at the Case Institute of Technology, who led the team to its first-ever PAC title in 1961.
The winner of the Glenn and Peggy Nicholls Female Athlete of the Year Award, given annually to the female student-athlete who has made the most outstanding contributions to her sport, was senior Madeleine Paolucci of the women's tennis team. Paolucci recently secured All-America honors for the fifth time in her career, reaching the round of 16 of the NCAA Division III Singles Championships in 2021. She finished the year with a 5-2 record in singles matches, and was 48-29 over her career in singles contests, good for the sixth-most wins and 10th-best winning percentage (.623) in program history. She also ended her career with a 50-31 doubles record, marking the 10th-most doubles wins and winning percentage (.617) in program history. Paolucci also secured All-UAA honors for both her singles and doubles play in 2021. The Nicholls Award was presented by one of its namesakes, Glenn Nicholls, who served as the Vice President for Student Affairs at CWRU and is a long-time friend of CWRU Athletics.
Sophomore men's tennis player James Hopper was the winner of the 2021 Dr. David Hutter Male Athlete of the Year Award, presented to the male student-athlete who has made the most outstanding contributions to his sport, and named after Dr. David Hutter, who served 19 years as Case Western Reserve University's director of athletics and chair of the Department of Physical Education and was a major contributor to the creation of the University Athletic Association. Hopper was a major contributor to the Spartans' runner-up finish at the 2021 NCAA Division III Championships, finishing the season with a 14-2 singles record and a 16-1 doubles record, and reaching the quarterfinals of both the NCAA Division III Individual Doubles and Singles Championship draws. He claimed All-America and All-UAA honors in 2021, each for the second-straight year. Hopper played in the no. 1 singles and doubles spots throughout the campaign. The Hutter Award was presented by Fred DiSanto, a former three-sport athlete at CWRU and the current Chairman of the CWRU Board of Trustees.
The Bill Sudeck Outstanding Student-Athlete Award honors the individual who best exemplifies the attributes of the Case Western Reserve University student-athlete in the spirit of legendary coach, mentor, and friend William "Bill" Sudeck. Coach Sudeck spent more than half his life - 46 years - shaping the young minds of cross country, basketball, and track and field athletes. The award is given to the student-athlete that has demonstrated and achieved significant athletic accomplishments, academic achievements, engagement in campus activities, and has shown leadership in athletics and in the classroom. Considered the program's most important award, senior Matthew Chen of the men's tennis team received the 2021 honor. Chen earned All-America honors in 2021 after reaching the quarterfinals of the doubles draw at the NCAA Individual Championships and helped lead the team to a second-place finish at the NCAA Team Championships. He also earned All-UAA singles and doubles honors for his efforts during the campaign. Chen went 7-3 in singles matches and 13-3 in doubles contests during the year. He ended his collegiate career with 95 doubles wins, the second-most ever by a Spartan player. Academically, he is a Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism major, and was named to the 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team, is a three-time Academic All-UAA honoree, a two-time UAA President's Council Scholar-Athlete selection, and a three-time ITA Scholar Athlete. The Sudeck Award was presented by Jim Wyant, a Spartan Club Hall of Fame inductee and former runner for coach Sudeck, and previous Chair of the Board of Trustees at CWRU.
The night concluded with the presentation of the Ultimate Spartan Awards, which is given to the person on each team that best embodies the true spirit of what it means to be a Spartan. This year's winners were Benjamin Stawicki (baseball), Jason Lewis (men's basketball), Arjun Thillairajah (men's cross country), Travis Johnston (football), Jad Oglesby (men's soccer), Tolik Borisov (men's swimming & diving), Neil Mabee (men's tennis), Jonathan Haling (men's track & field), Brian Kent (wrestling), Margaret Terry (women's basketball), Kiera Olson (women's cross country), Molly Whelan (women's soccer), Sarah Miller (softball), Anna Smith (women's swimming & diving), Pallavi Goculdas (women's tennis), Bailey Flint (women's track & field), and Maggie Sereika (volleyball).
