BROOKLYN, N.Y. – LIU Brooklyn senior volleyball standout Vera Djuric was named Female Athlete of the Year, while sophomore Adam Walker-Khan of the men's track & field team earned Male Athlete of the Year honors at the school's annual athletic awards banquet held Monday evening at the Steinberg Wellness Center. Seniors Brice Merwine of the men's soccer team and Annika Foit of the volleyball team were named LIU's Scholar-Athletes of the Year.
 
The unanimous choice for NEC Setter of the Year, Djuric became the first player in league history to earn four straight Setter of the Year trophies after quarterbacking the Blackbirds to an undefeated finish in league play and a third straight Northeast Conference championship. She led both LIU and the NEC in assists per set and ranked in the top-10 in services aces. The senior finished her career with 4,835 assists to stand second on LIU's career list and also ranks amongst the all-time leaders in aces, blocks and digs.

One of the top overall athletes in the Northeast Conference, Walker-Khan took home Most Outstanding Field Athlete honors at the NEC Indoor Track & Field Championship, winning the long jump and triple jump titles and helping the Blackbirds to a team title. The sophomore also was a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that helped clinched the championship. During the outdoor season, Walker-Khan was named NEC Athlete of the Week twice, and won the long jump and triple jump events while also helping gold-medal winning performances in the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays.

The scholar-athlete awards are presented annually to the male and female student-athletes who will graduate in May and have the highest overall grade-point averages through the fall semester. Foit has been awarded numerous academic honors, including Capital One/CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America honors this past fall. Graduating in May with a 3.94 GPA in biology, she helped the Blackbirds to a three straight Northeast Conference Tournament titles and trips to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Merwine has been an important member of the men's soccer team for the past four seasons. In the classroom he has accumulated an impressive 3.93 grade point average as a mathematics major. He was named to the Northeast Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll four times and was also selected as a Capital One Academic All-American. On the pitch, he scored 12 goals to rank second in the NEC and third in all of NCAA Division I during the regular season, helping the Blackbirds to the NEC Tournament for the first time since 2004.
 
In addition to the Athlete of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, LIU also announced award winners from each sport and its other major award recipients.

Male Athlete of the Year: Adam Walker-Khan, So., Men's Track & Field
 
Female Athlete of the Year: Vera Djuric, Sr., Volleyball
 
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Brice Merwine, Sr., Men's Soccer
 
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Annika Foit, Sr., Volleyball
 
Michelle Hamdan Memorial Award: Jen Spicer, Sr., Women's Soccer
 
Dolly King Athletic Excellence Award: Matt Mummert, Sr., Men's Soccer
Presented to the student-athlete who exemplifies leadership, sportsmanship and achievement that the late William "Dolly" King personified as a student-athlete, administrator and coach.
 
Clair Isicson-Merle Athletic Excellence Award: Caroline Kaplan, Sr., Women's Soccer
Presented to the student-athlete who exemplifies leadership, sportsmanship and achievement that Clair Isicson-Merle personified as a student and an athlete.
 
Leonard Ching International Student-Athlete Award: Alice Boothroyd, Sr., Women's Golf
This award is in honor of Leonard Ching, a Brooklyn Campus administrator in the student activities office from 1967 until he retired in 1984. Through his efforts, the enrollment of international students increased and the student life was enhanced.
 
Men's Soccer
            Ledet Senior Leadership: Brice Merwine, Sr.
            Joe Machnik Ambassador: Matt Mummert, Sr.
 
Women's Soccer
            MVP: Lucy Gunton-Jones, Jr.
            Blackbird: Madison Gomez, So.

Volleyball
            MVP: Annika Foit, Sr.
            Blackbird: Vera Djuric, Sr.

Cross Country
            MVP: Esther Jean-Louis, Fr.
            Blackbird: Adjovi Simpini, Fr.
 
Women's Indoor Track & Field
            MVP: Kyaira Wright-Harmon, Jr.
            MVP: Stephanie Aidoo, Jr.
 
Men's Indoor Track & Field
            MVA: Brendon Rodney, Sr.
            Blackbird: Amir Armstrong, Sr.
 
Women's Bowling
            MVP: Brittany Hart, Sr.
            Blackbird: Marlee Tyler, Fr.
 
Men's Basketball
            Blackbird Senior: Gerrell Martin, Sr.
            Most Improved: Trevon Woods, Fr.
 
Women's Basketball
            MVP: Letava Whippy, Sr.
            Blackbird: Angelia Allen, Jr.
 
Lacrosse
            MVP: Jenn Peters, So.
            Blackbird: Tori Shinkowitz, So.

Tennis
            MVP: Marine Dans, So.
  
Women's Outdoor Track & Field
            Blackbird: Cemorne Davis, Jr.
            Blackbird: Elizabeth Adesanya, Fr.
 
Men's Outdoor Track & Field
            Blackbird: Adam Walker-Khan, So.
            Blackbird: Kemar Lewis, Sr.
 
Softball
            SP Award: Lauren Morizi, Gr.
            MVP: TBA*
 
Baseball
            Frank Giannone Award: Nate Struss, Jr.
            MVP: Tommy Jakubowski, So.
 
Men's Golf
            MVP: Rhys Jones, Sr.
            Lonnie Barton Memorial: Jake Spearpoint, So.
 
Women's Golf
            MVP: Cristina Felip, Sr.
            Lonnie Barton Memorial: Brianna Maynard, Sr.

* Award will be handed out following the conclusion of the season.