REGIS CELEBRATES ANNUAL ATHLETICS AWARD BANQUET

WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College athletics department celebrated its annual awards banquet on Friday, April 27th in the Fine Arts center on campus. The department handed out 12 major awards during the ceremony to honor its athlete's accomplishments over the past year.

The 2012 Junior Athletes of the Year repeated in 2013, this time capturing the Male and Female Regis-Casserly Awards. Senior Kara Donovan (Woburn, Mass.) was named the Female Regis-Casserly Award winner, previously known as the Mother Regis Award. Donovan was a three year member of both the soccer and softball teams, and was a member of three All-NECC Academic Teams while also being an All-NECC First Team selection in women's soccer this past fall. Donovan was also awarded the 2013 Senior Scholar Athlete Award after posting a 3.683 GPA in the nursing program.

Stephan Bottex (Norwood, Mass.) was selected as the Male Regis-Casserly Award Winner, an award that had previously been called the Casserly Award. Bottex graduates from Regis College with a degree in nursing and leaves as the men's lacrosse program's all-time leader in games (52), groundballs (218), face-off wins (210). Bottex was a four-year captain of the lacrosse team and was a 2013 All-NECC First Team selection. The senior was a two-year ambassador to the Team Impact program as well.

Mouhamed Diallo (Boston, Mass.) was awarded the Male Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year after posting a 3.843 GPA in the Management program, while double minoring in Math and Economics.

A pair of lacrosse players were honored with the Outstanding Freshman of the Year awards as Sam Salamone (Milford, Mass.) was selected as the Female Freshman of the Year and Nicky Rodrigo (Miami, Fla.) was selected as the Male award winner. Salamone currently leads the Pride lacrosse team in goals (80), assists (22), points (102), groundballs (91), and draw controls (116). Nicky Rodrigo ranks inside the top five in both the NECC and Pilgrim League in goals (28), assists (21), and points (49).

Emily Marro (Bedford, N.H.) and Alex Graf (Newton, Mass.) were selected as the Outstanding Sophomore Athletes of the Year. Marro, a women's basketball player, helped lead the Pride to the NCAA Tournament by leading the team in points (355), rebounds (184), assists (100), and minutes played (30.6 minutes per game). Graf had an outstanding year in the pool for the Pride as he broke five GNAC records and several school records this season. Graf already owns nine (9) school records in just two years with the Pride.

Men's basketball player Ryan Chambers (Abington, Mass.) was honored as the Outstanding Junior Athlete of the Year. Chambers was one of the leading scorers on the team and ranked in the top 10 in the NECC in minutes (6th), steals (8th), three-pointers (2nd), and points (9th). The Female Outstanding Junior Athlete of the Year went to Sara Gold (North Hollywood, Calif.), who led the NECC in digs (574) and was 10th in the league in service aces (44). Gold helped lead the Pride to their first NECC Championship match appearance in 2012.

Two soccer players took home the Outstanding Senior Athlete of the Year awards in Michelle Sirois (Easton, Mass.) and Steve Tavares (Bellingham, Mass.). Sirois helped lead the Pride to the NECC Championship match this past fall and ranks second all-time in program history in points (53) and goals (21), while being ranked fifth in career assists with 11. Tavares rewrote the record books with his outstanding 2012 campaign, setting the single season record for goals (13) and points (28) and ranks first all-time in both of those categories as well.

The Judith W. Burling Award for Academic Excellence was awarded to the Women's Tennis team. The award is named for long-time and beloved Director of Athletics, Dr. Judy Burling, who served Regis with over 20 years of service. The award is given to the team with the highest cumulative GPA.

Other awards handed out included recognition of All-NECC selections, New England Qualifiers, and the 21 senior class members were awarded for their participation in the athletics program. Sports Information Director Chris Barroso was awarded the SAAC Appreciation award which recognizes a Regis College faculty or staff member for their dedication and support to Regis College.