The Case Western Reserve University Department of Athletics announced its annual award winners at the 2023 Student-Athlete Awards Banquet on May 1 at the Kevin & Eleanor Smith Foundation Ballroom inside the Tinkham Veale University Center.
Seniors Jack Begley of the men's cross country and track and field teams, John Kasner of the men's tennis team, Sara Rogers of the volleyball team, Jonathan Simon and Nick Talarico of the baseball team, Carli Tucci of the softball team, Helina VanBibber of the women's soccer team, and Victoria Zhao of the women's track and field team each received the Patricia B. Kilpatrick Award, presented to the four-year varsity participant with the highest cumulative grade point average. All four had perfect cumulative 4.0 GPAs during their collegiate careers.
The 2022-23 Nancy Gray Rookie of the Year, presented annually to a first-year female student-athlete who has made an outstanding contribution to her sport during her first year of competition, was presented to Jamie Goldfarb of the women's soccer team. Goldfarb made an immediate impact on a team filled with veteran players. She played in all but two of her team's games, making starts in a majority of the contests. Goldfarb was also a key member of her team's NCAA championship run, earning All-Tournament Team honors for her performance. After scoring the game-winning goal in the conference championship-clinching match, she had a goal and three assists during the women's soccer team's postseason run, finishing the season with nine points on three goals and three assists.
Josh Bates of the men's track and field team was named the Robert Del Rosa Rookie of the Year, after earning All-America honors as part of the distance medley relay at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, placing seventh. He set the school record in the indoor 500-meter dash and was a member of the record-setting distance medley relay and outdoor 4x100-meter relay. In the spring, Bates also earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the distance medley relay.
Sophomore Lexi Miskey of the softball team received the Dorothy L. Hoza Award, given to the first-, second- or third-year female 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. Miskey has been the ace of the third-ranked softball team's staff over the last two seasons, earning UAA Pitcher of the Year and UAA First Team honors in back-to-back campaigns. This season, she tied the program record with 22 wins and her 180 strikeouts are five away from setting a new program record.
The 2022-23 Arthur P. Leary Award winner, presented to the outstanding first-, second- or third-year 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, was sophomore Calvin Cai of the wrestling team. Cai was one of the most versatile members of the wrestling team this season, competing at four different weight classes during the campaign. At the regional championship, he placed fifth at 157 pounds, helping the team to its highest finish in the region in 10 years. Cai completed the season with a winning record (21-19), earning Scholar All-America honors for his academic and athletic performances.
The Emily R. Andrews Award was given to senior Isabella Mills of the women's basketball team, for making a strong contribution to the program, maintaining a high level of academic achievement, showing leadership in team, and contributing service to the department and University. She was named a finalist for the prestigious Jostens Trophy earlier in the year, which recognizes the top all-around student-athlete in women's basketball. Over her career, Mills has been a constant guiding presence for the team, leading the program as one of only two seniors this year and starting in every single game for the program since she arrived on campus. This season, she set a single-game program record with 10 three-pointers made against WashU, set a single-season program record of 74 three-pointers, and became the 15th player in program history to reach 1,000 points, needing just three seasons to accomplish the feat. Mills averaged 18.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game and was named to the All-Region Second Team and All-UAA First Team.
Senior Joe Jaster of the men's cross country and track and field teams received the 2022-23 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. During the cross country season, Jaster became the second runner in program history to win the UAA individual championship, earning All-UAA First Team honors, and placed fourth in the Great Lakes Region to earn All-Region honors. He was a member of the All-America distance medley relay during the indoor track and field season and captured the UAA title in the indoor 3,000-meter run in addition to placing second in the outdoor 5,000-meter run.
The Doug Mooney Program of the Year is presented annually to the CWRU varsity team with the highest NCAA Championship finish from the spring of the previous year through the winter of the current year. The men's tennis team and women's soccer teams both matched the best national finish ever by a team in CWRU Athletics history, finishing as the national runners-up in 2022. The men's tennis team reached the national championship match for the second consecutive season last spring, falling to Chicago 5-2. This season, the team has reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament and will face Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday in Orlando, Florida. The women's soccer team earned the highest national finish for any women's program in Case Western Reserve history with its run to the NCAA Championship, finishing the season with an overall record of 20-1-1 after falling to Johns Hopkins 2-1 in the championship match.
The Glenn and Peggy Nicholls Female Athlete of the Year award, presented annually to the female student-athlete who has made outstanding contributions to her sport, was given to graduate student Camryn Hartman of the women's soccer team. Hartman completed one of the best seasons in program history after transferring to CWRU from the University of Cincinnati. She was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team, All-UAA First Team, and NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. Hartman finished the season with 38 points on 14 goals and 10 assists, tying program records in assists and game-winning goals (seven). Both her points and goals totals ranked second in a single season in program history. During the NCAA Tournament, Hartman scored four of the team's Division III Championship record 23 goals and contributed three assists for 11 points.
Graduate student men's basketball player Mitch Prendergast was named the Dr. David Hutter Male Athlete of the Year for the second straight academic year. Despite missing the first eight games of the season due to injury, Prendergast was the first player in program history to earn D3Hoops.com All-America honors after being named to the Second Team. The first UAA Player of the Year in program history, Prendergast averaged 17.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. He helped lead the Spartans to their first-ever UAA Championship and their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Second Round. Prendergast eclipsed the 20-point mark in eight of his 17 starts, including twice scoring a season-high 29 points against Emory and WashU.
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 James Hopper of the men's tennis team claimed the 2022-23 honor. After claiming the 2022 NCAA Division III Doubles Championship last spring with former Spartan Jonathan Powell, Hopper continued his success on the courts in the 2022-23 season. In the fall, he won the ITA Cup Division III Doubles Championship with junior Vishwa Aduru to earn All-America honors for the fourth consecutive year. This season, he is 23-3 in singles play and 37-4 in doubles play, tying his own program record for doubles wins in a single season. Of his seven losses this season, just three have been to Division III opponents, including one loss to teammate Ansh Shah in singles play. Hopper was selected to compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships this spring for the third consecutive year.
The banquet concluded with the 2022-23 CWRU Athletics highlight video, which can be seen below:
