The 31st Annual Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner for the CUNY Athletic Conference was held at Queens College on May 18th, 2017. The night was a tribute to CUNYAC's superb student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and supporters. The evening's honorees represent the very best CUNY has to offer in quality academics and athletics.
This year, Vice Chancellor Christopher Rosa, has named 138 CUNYAC senior student-athletes to his Honor Roll. This year’s average GPA for the Honor Roll is a remarkable 3.53. From this larger group, 45 nominees came to the Awards Committee’s table with the charge to select just four. Annually, one male and one female student-athlete from both the community and four-year colleges is chosen to receive the Scholar-Athlete of the Year distinction.
These students demonstrate the true meaning of “student-athlete” with their ability to balance commitments in the classroom and on the field of play beyond any ordinary standard. These four individuals,Lindsey Pero, Timothy Sweeney, Carmen Clavijo and Stephen Cadogan, represent the top percentage of our senior student-athletes and you will learn about their accomplishments tonight.
2016-17 was definitely one to remember as the Commissioner’s Cup race at the four-year college level was once again a hotly contested battle, where the Hunter Hawks would claim victory at the conclusion of the last championship of the season, Outdoor Track & Field. On the community college side, it was a wire-to-wire victory for Queensborough, which was most significantly helped by a strong Fall season.
Hostos Community College’s women’s basketball team set school-records throughout the 2016-17 season. The Caimans, led by head coach DeVernie Winston, finished the season with a 31-4 record, winning both the CUNYAC and the NJCAA Region XV Championship Titles. Their tremendous 2016-17 season was capped off with their first-ever appearance in the NJCAA National Championships; winning two games in the national tournament.
The Queensborough Community College Women’s Volleyball team finished a stellar year which saw them finish undefeated in CUNYAC and Region XV play. They finished as the top team in NY State #7 nationally. The amazing year was capped off by the Kingsborough Wave’s Men’s and Women’s Track & Field teams sweeping the NJCAA National Outdoor Track Championships. With this outstanding finish to the year, Kingsborough helped bolster the number of CUNYAC All-Americans to 41 total for the 2016-17 year.
The Hunter Hawks’ men’s volleyball team excelled tremendously in 2016-17. The Hawks finished the regular season undefeated in conference play. After claiming the CUNYAC Championship title for the second consecutive time, the Hawks, lead by head coach Austin Voges and AVCA All-American Steven Tarquinio, won their first round matchup in straight sets over Penn State Altoona in the 2017 NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championship.
Senior Kaitlin Hicks from John Jay College capped off her illustrious cross country collegiate career finishing first amongst all women at the 2016 CUNYAC Championships with a time of 24:58.2. The 2016 CUNYAC Performer of the Year later went on to finish third overall at the ECAC Championships with a race time of 25:04.5. In her last collegiate performance, she set a new school record in the 6-kilometer distance at the NCAA Division III Atlantic Regional, with a time of 23:15 and currently holds school records in the 3,000, 5,000, and 6,000 races.
The “Friend of CUNY” Award went to Brooklyn College (‘05) alum and Rhodes Scholar Winner, Eugene Shenderov. While CUNYAC Appreciation & Recognition Awards went to longtime track & field announcer, Mike Rauh, and CUNYAC basketball assignor, Jack Sweeney.