HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College Athletic Department
hosted its annual Senior Award Ceremony on Tuesday, May 14,
presenting several awards to student-athletes from the Class of
2013.
After an opening welcome from Director of Athletics Wendy Smith
'87 and Martha Denney, Dean of the College, the program continued
with a video
tribute to the senior athletes (YouTube). Jordan
Schilit, of the men’s cross country and track teams,
then offered a few remarks on the senior seasons.
Following Schilit’s address, Smith and Denney began the
awards portion of the program recognizing those seniors who etched
their names into Haverford's record books. The administrative duo
then began to announce the senior award presenters and
recipients.
The A.W. "Pop" Haddleton Award is presented for perseverance,
dedication and loyalty, recognizing senior student-athletes for
outstanding contribution to an athletic team but who may have not
received the recognition that, for example, a regular starting
players does. Charlie
Michele of men’s soccer, Benjamin
Walter of men’s tennis and David Block from
men’s lacrosse shared the 2013 award.
Dominique
Meeks of women's basketball and track & field was presented
with the Stephen G. Cary '37 Award which is given to the senior who
made the greatest overall impact on the Haverford athletic program
during a collegiate career through some combination of athletic
participation and achievement, leadership, sportsmanship, off-field
athletic department involvement or other athletically-related
contributions.
Earning second-team all-Centennial Conference recognition
for the second straight year, Meeks topped the team in scoring
(9.8 points per game), rebounds (7.6 per game) and steals (2.5 pg)
and took game-high scoring honors 11 times in her final
season. She registered four double-doubles to finish with 19 in her
career. Meeks graduates as the program leader in steals (229) and
second all-time in points (1,141) and rebounds (755). The forward's
heart and tenacity was a staple in the Haverford lineup
throughout her four years as she ranks tied for first in program
history with 100 starts.
Her efforts for the track team resulted in the third-longest
shot put toss, 38 feet, 7 inches, in program history. Meeks also
recorded the program’s eighth-longest throw, 104 feet, in the
javelin.
The Gregory Kannerstein '63 Award, formerly the Alumni-Varsity
Club award, was presented to men's soccer midfielder Matt Gorski.
The award is given to an individual whose combination of
outstanding athletic achievement and leadership has been a
significant factor in a team's competitive success, and whose level
of performance has brought distinction not only to the individual
and team but also the entire athletic program.
Gorski tied for the team lead in goals (seven) and points (16)
in his senior year. A fixture in the midfield throughout his
career, Gorski reached double figures in points in a season three
times. Ranked among the 2012 conference leaders in goals per game
(0.37) and points per game (0.84), Gorski tallied two game-winning
goals on the season and his penalty kick goal against McDaniel on
October 20 established a new program record for penalty kicks made
in a career (four).
A first-team All-Centennial Conference honoree in 2011 and 2012,
Gorski was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of
America (NSCAA) 2012 All-Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team, and was
voted to the Philadelphia Inquirer 2012 Academic All-Area
men’s Soccer Team. Also meriting honorable mention
all-conference honors in 2010, Gorski ranks 19th in program history
in assists with 16.
The final award of the night, the Varsity Cup, is presented
annually to the outstanding athlete or athletes in the senior class
and the 2013 honor was shared by Kevin
Caulfield of men’s tennis, Mary Hobbs of
field hockey, and Schilit.
Caulfield was voted first-team singles for the fourth
consecutive season this spring and teamed with senior Danny
Himelstein to earn first-team honors in doubles for the third
straight season. Caulfield has played at No. 1 singles and doubles
for the Fords since his opening match at Haverford. A three-time
member of the Centennial's academic honor roll and the 2012
Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Men's Tennis Performer of
the Year in 2012, Caulfield finishes his time at Haverford
with 56 singles wins which is tied for third-most in program
history. On Tuesday the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
announced that the senior from Hawaii was tabbed as the recipient
of the Atlantic South Region’s Arthur Ashe Leadership and
Sportsmanship award, and on Wednesday the Centennial office will
name Caulfield its 2012-13 Student-Athlete Sportsmanship
honoree.
A team captain for field hockey in 2012, Hobbs helped lead her
team into the championship game of the Centennial Conference's
postseason tournament. It was the second time (2010) in three
seasons that Haverford played its way into the tournament
final.
She was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer academic all-area
field hockey team for the second straight year in 2012, and was
tabbed a second-team Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches
Association (NFHCA) All-American -- just the fourth
all-American in program history -- after earning first-team
NFHCA All-South region honors. A first-team all-Centennial
player in 2012, Hobbs was chosen for and played in the NFHCA 2012
Senior Game. The Centennial's fall academic honor roll included
Hobbs for the third straight season with its November release.
Hobbs led the 2012 Fords in points (41), goals (15) and assists
(11), and recorded three game-winning goals, second-most on the
team. She closed out her career with all-time program records in
points (171), goals (65), assists (41) and game-winners (12), and
is among the conference's all-time leaders in goals (fourth),
assists (fifth) and points (171).
Schilit is among Haverford’s most highly honored athletes
at the national level, achieving five All-American honors with the
outdoor track season yet to be completed.
The individual winner of the 2011 Centennial cross country
championship, he went on to earn his second all-American honor at
the national race. Schilit ran to all-American status in the
5,000-meter run at the 2012 NCAA indoor track championship and was
part of an all-American distance medley relay quartet at the 2013
national meet. At the 2012 outdoor championship he finished as the
national runner-up in the 5,000 to add another all-American nod.
Schilit’s time of 13 minutes, 59.21 seconds in the outdoor
5,000 is both a school and Centennial record.
As men's cross country raced to the national championship in
2010 and followed with consecutive second-place finishes in 2011
and 2012, Schilit holds the distinction of being the only Haverford
runner on all three of those championship-caliber teams.
Also recognized at Tuesday’s ceremony was Aaron Buikema
'13, the recipient earlier in the spring of the William W. Ambler
'45 Award presented annually to the graduating student-athlete with
the highest cumulative grade-point average.
The senior Fords recognized early in Tuesday's ceremony as
owners of school records were: Gorski, Hobbs, Meeks, Schilit, Cam
Baker (men’s basketball), Kimberly Carlomagno (women’s
indoor track), Scott Chanelli (men’s lacrosse), Olivia
Coburn-Flynn (volleyball), Hannah Davis (women’s indoor
track), Perrin Downing (women’s lacrosse), Bridget Gibbons
(field hockey), Kevin Goff (baseball), Sara Hess (women’s
outdoor track), Alex Hudak (baseball), Sydney Hyder (field hockey),
Cara Keifer (women’s outdoor track), Kara McMahon
(women’s outdoor track), Ivo Milic-Strkalj (men’s
indoor track), Calla Miller (women’s basketball), Christie
Quake (field hockey), Sheera Rosenbaum (women’s outdoor
track), Victoria Sobocinski (women’s basketball).
Video
tribute to the athletic department's Class of 2013
(YouTube)
Video of senior award presentations
(YouTube)
