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Herons honor top student-athletes of 2001-02

Laura Maier '05

Sheila McKevitt '03

Susanna Young '02

Rebecca Splain '04

Kelly VanGorden '02

Leah Cornwell '02

Nicky Livingston '02

Liz Dedrick '02

April 30, 2002

GENEVA, N.Y.–The William Smith College Athletics Department and the Heron Society honored the top student-athletes of the 2001-02 academic year on April 30. Two-sport standout Leah Cornwell (Wheatland-Chili/Scottsville, N.Y.) took home top honors, winning the Marion Harrison Greene ’20 Award presented to the outstanding senior athlete.

A first-team All-American in soccer this fall, Cornwell was named the 2001 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year. She led the UCAA in goals against average and ranked second in save percentage. She started all 20 games for the Herons this season, boasting a 0.55 goals against average and an .863 save percentage. She posted a 17-2-1 overall record, while recording seven shutouts. In three seasons, Cornwell owns a 0.70 goals against average, an .859 save percentage, a 45-11-2 record, and 19 shutouts.

As a Heron basketball player this winter, Cornwell was named a WBCA honorable mention All-American. She led William Smith in scoring (15.7 ppg), rebounding (8.2 rpg), blocked shots (28), and was second in shooting percentage (.432). The senior became just the 10th Heron to score 1,000 points in her career and ranks ninth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,192 points. Cornwell, the Rochester Area College Athletics Player of the Year and a member of the RACA, UCAA, D3Hoops.com East Region, and ECAC Upstate first-teams, guided William Smith to the UCAA Championship game and an ECAC Tournament berth.

Nine other department-wide awards were presented, as well as individual team awards.

First-year Laura Maier (Lancaster Country Day/Reading, Pa.) received the Stephanie Christie ’82 Award, presented to the outstanding first-year student-athlete. In tennis this season, Maier put together an outstanding record, compiling a 20-4 mark in singles action, including an 11-match win streak to start the season. She won the C Flight Championship of the annual William Smith Tournament to close out the season. In doubles play, Maier was 8-3, including C Flight championships in the William Smith and St. Lawrence tournaments.

Junior Sheila McKevitt (Clinton/Clinton, N.Y.) was named the Hazel Nettleship Hardy ’65 Award winner, presented to a sophomore or junior who has contributed to the growth of William Smith Athletics. A first-team Regional All-American in field hockey, McKevitt was second on the team in scoring this season with 10 goals, including two game-winners, and four assists for 24 points. The forward has scored 29 goals and assisted on 12 others for 70 points in her three seasons. An exceptional student, as well, she was named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-Academic Team for the second straight season.

The Melissa Mulliken ’80 Award, presented to the William Smith student whose team participation and leadership in intercollegiate athletics combined with off-the-field endeavors has led to the advancement of William Smith athletics, was presented to senior Nicky Livingston (Whitney Point/Whitney Point, N.Y.). A first-team All-American, Livingston was third on the team in scoring this season with six goals, including two game-winners, and 10 assists for 22 points. The midfielder completed her William Smith career with 40 goals and 38 assists for 118 points, tying her for fourth place on the William Smith all-time scoring list. She holds the Heron records for career assists and single-season assists (17). On Sept. 22, she became just the seventh player in school history to score 100 points in her career. Livingston was a second-team All-American in 2000.

Livingston also received the Joseph N. Abraham Award, for perseverance through injury. During her career, she had three knee surgeries and three fractured bones and missed only one game.

The Evaleen C. Harrison ’19 Award is presented to a student-athlete in her junior or senior year that best exemplifies a consistent commitment to the pursuit of excellence both in the classroom and in the athletic arena. This year the award was presented to senior Susanna Young (Cleveland/Cleveland Heights, Ohio). A midfielder on the lacrosse team, she has registered 22 goals and three assists for 25 points and is second of the team in ground balls with 48. In her career, she has scored 54 goals and assisted on 5 others for 59 points, while collecting 148 ground balls. Young has played in all of William Smith’s 61 games, starting 59, in her four seasons. A member of the Laurel Society and Hai Timiai, William Smith’s junior and senior honor societies, she was recently named Phi Beta Kappa.

Sophomore Rebecca Splain (Middlebury Union/Middlebury, Vt.) was presented the Betsy Mitchell ’65 Award in recognition of a student-athlete’s success in the face of significant personal challenges. Following her first-year, Splain was diagnosed with Prolonged QT Syndrome, a condition that causes her heart to inexplicably race. On June 8, 2001, she had a defibrillator surgically attached to her heart. She sat out the 2001 soccer season, where she had been a back-up goalie as a first-year, but returned to the lacrosse team this spring.

In 31 career starts, Splain has posted a 28-3 record, including a 13-1 mark this season and a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament. She sports a meager 6.43 goals against average and a .574 save percentage this season. She was named to the 2001 All-UCAA second-team.

Senior Elizabeth Dedrick (Horseheads/Erin, N.Y.) received the Cynthia Oyler ’93 Award, presented to the senior who will be continuing her education at the postgraduate level and displays outstanding athletic abilities, excellent academic records, and exemplary leadership. A midfielder on the soccer team (17-2-1, NCAA quarterfinalist), Dedrick played in 53 career games scoring seven goals, including three game-winners, and assisted on two others. A member of the Laurel Society, Hai Timiai, and Phi Beta Kappa, she plans to enroll at the University of South Florida to pursue a graduate degree in women’s studies.

Senior swimmer Kelly VanGorden (Palmyra-Macedon/Geneva, N.Y.) earned the Winn-Seeley Award, presented to the outstanding athlete who has contributed to many areas of William Smith athletics. VanGorden, a psychology and sociology major, is a three-time All-American for the Herons. The William Smith record holder in the 50-yard breaststroke, the 100 breaststroke, the 200 breaststroke, the 100 individual medley, and the 200 IM, she qualified for the NCAA Championship meet in each of her four seasons. She won three UCAA individual championships and two NYSWCAA championships during her career.

An accomplished student as well, VanGorden has been named to the UCAA All-Academic team in each of the past three seasons, while twice earning NYSWCAA All-Academic honors. She was named to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America All-Academic team in 2001 after earning honorable mention in 2000. She is a member of William Smith’s Laurel Society and Hai Timiai.

For the second year in a row, the William Smith soccer team won the Dean’s Award for attaining the highest grade point average during its season. In addition to winning the UCAA Championship and advancing to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, the Herons earned a collective 3.289 GPA during the fall semester.


TEAM AWARDS

CROSS COUNTRY
Coach’s Award—Molly Rider ’05 (Concord/Concord, N.H.)
Sharon Peckham Best ’62 Most Valuable Award—Amy Young ’03 (Hugh C. Williams/Canton, N.Y.)

FIELD HOCKEY
Beverly Singer ’74 Coach’s Award—Sheila McKevitt ’03 (Clinton/Clinton, N.Y.)
Charles P. Boswell, II ’50 Award—Jackie Hall ’02 (Berkshire School/Newport, R.I.) and Nicky Livingston (Whitney Point/Whitney Point, N.Y.)

SOCCER
Coach’s Award—Carla Manganaro ’05 (Natick, Mass.)
Aliceann Wilber Award—Kristin Falzarano ’03 (Morristown/Morris Plains, N.J.)

BASKETBALL
Barbara Easton Regan Coach’s Award—Jeanne Marie Vinchiarello ’02 (Our Lady of Lourdes/Dover Plains, N.Y.)
Basketball Leadership Award—Leah Cornwell ’02 (Wheatland-Chili/Scottsville, N.Y.)

SQUASH
Coach’s Award—Lara Glaister ’05 (Westminster School/Salt Point, N.Y.)
Irene Graves Harer ’28 Award—Mary Scattergood ’05 (Agnes Irwin School/Haverford, Pa.)

SWIMMING AND DIVING
Coach’s Award—Lisbeth Engst ’04 (Christian Brothers Academy/Fabius, N.Y.)
Anne Richardson Rowley ’82 Most Valuable Award—Kelly VanGorden (Palmyra-Macedon/Geneva, N.Y.)

CREW
Coach’s Award—Julie Deprez ’04 (Bancroft School/Paxton, Mass.)
Most Valuable Award—Elisabeth Weick ’04 (Fairport/Fairport, N.Y.)

LACROSSE
Shirley Zornow ’48 Coach’s Award—Amy Bowen ’02 (Concord Carlisle/Carlisle, Mass.)
Patricia Price Genovese Award—Susanna Young ’02 (Cleveland/Cleveland Heights, Ohio)

SAILING
Coach’s Award—Kathryn Kana ’05 (Gunston School/Easton, Md.)
Ady Symonds ’96 Most Valuable Award—Sonya Smith ’03 (Falmouth/Falmouth, Mass.)

TENNIS
Elizabeth Laird Redway Heia ’84 Coach’s Award—Diana Harmann ’04 (St. Joseph’s/Southport, Conn.)
Mary Hosking Award—Laura Maier ’05 (Lancaster Country Day/Reading, Pa.)

 

   

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