Photo GalleryStony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook University's Department of Athletics held its annual Awards Ceremony Sunday night at the Student Activities Center on campus with more than 475 people in attendance. Headlining the honorees were Stony Brook Male Athlete of the Year Nick Tropeano (West Islip, N.Y.) of the baseball team and Stony Brook Female Athlete of the Year Lucy Van Dalen (Wanganui, New Zealand) of the women's cross country/track & field teams.
Tropeano has established himself as one of the best pitchers in the Northeast region, going 10-1 with a 1.94 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 78-2/3 innings. The 10 wins match Stony Brook's all-time single-season record. He leads America East in wins and strikeouts, and is third in ERA behind teammates Brandon McNitt (Chino Hills, Calif.) and Tyler Johnson (Chatsworth, Calif.). He is in the top 15 in the nation in wins, ERA, strikeouts, strikeouts per nine innings and hits per nine innings. He has been named America East Pitcher of the Week five times this season and combined with McNitt to throw a no-hitter at Army in March. Tropeano is a finalist for the College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year Award and a candidate for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation's top collegiate student-athlete.
Van Dalen, who was previously named Stony Brook Female Athlete of the Year in 2009, has already been named All-America twice this year, finishing sixth at the NCAA Cross Country Championship and third in the 3000 at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship. She went nearly undefeated during the cross country season, winning the America East and NCAA East Regional championships. She broke a 16-year America East record in the indoor mile and then ran the fastest time in the nation in the indoor mile the very next week. Van Dalen was named Northeast Region Athlete of the Year in both cross country and indoor track and was also the America East Track Performer of the Year. Most recently, Van Dalen won the America East Championship in the outdoor 1500 is currently competing for a spot to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.
Jawara Dudley (Roosevelt, N.Y.) of the football team and Evann Slaughter (Clinton, Md.) of the volleyball team were named recipients of Stony Brook's Rookie of the Year Award. Dudley finished third among all Big South rookies in tackles with 49, starting seven games for a Seawolves team that captured a share of the Big South championship for the second consecutive season. Dudley finished with five tackles for a loss and also intercepted a pass. Slaughter was named America East Rookie of the Year after ranking third in the league in hitting percentage and blocks per set during conference play. Overall, she led the Seawolves in blocks and was third in kills.
Anastasia Kiryushkina (Moscow, Russia) of the women's swimming & diving team and Ivan Rummel (Budapest, Hungary) of the men's tennis team were the recipients of the Stony Brook Senior Scholar-Athlete Awards, given to the male and female student-athletes with the highest GPAs among the senior class. Kiryushkina is a business major and sports a 3.92 GPA. Rummel is a business major with a 3.87 GPA. The pair led a senior class that had 38 student-athletes with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Pat Cantwell (West Islip, N.Y.) of the baseball team and Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn.) of the volleyball team were each named recipients of the Athletic Director's Award for their contributions to their teams and their representation of the ideals of Stony Brook Athletics. Debbie Aller (Stony Brook, N.Y.) of the women's soccer team and Michael Coulter (Yorba Linda, Calif.) of the football team were both honored with the Faculty Athletic Representative Award for their contributions to their teams and to the Stony Brook community.
Chris Martin (Springfield Gardens, N.Y.) of the men's basketball team was the recipient of the Courage Award, which is given to a student-athlete who has overcome personal tragedy or serious injury and has demonstrated uncommon bravery in the face of adversity. Kevin Crowley (New Westminster, British Columbia) of the men's lacrosse team was named the Swagger Award winner, given out by members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee who helps select a student-athlete that best exemplifies his or her team's definition of swagger.
In addition to individual awards, Most Valuable Player and Coaches Awards were handed out to each of Stony Brook's 20 varsity teams.
