BROOKLYN, N.Y. --- LIU Brooklyn men's basketball senior Joel Hernandez was named the Male Athlete of the Year, while Anna Grigoryan and Shantae McDonald were named the Co-Female Athletes of the Year at LIU Brooklyn's 2018 athletic awards banquet Monday evening at the Steinberg Wellness Center. Seniors Frej Engberg of the men's soccer team and Marlee Tyler of the bowling team earned LIU's Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, while the women's track & field team earned the Blackbird Cup.
The Blackbird Cup is an award given every year as the culmination of a friendly competition among the LIU Brooklyn varsity student-athlete community. Individuals and teams can accumulate points based on five different categories: Academic Excellence, Athletic Accomplishments, Community Involvement, Social Media Presence and LIU Blackbird Unity. The LIU Brooklyn women's track & field team took home the award for the first time this year.
Hernandez spent his senior season as one of the league leaders in scoring, averaging 20.2 points per game during the regular season, the second-highest total in the NEC. He also averaged 6.0 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game. Early in the season, he became just the 35th player in LIU Brooklyn basketball history to eclipse the 1,000 point mark. Since then, he's tallied 1,421 career points, ranking him 15th on the all-time scorers list. After being named First Team All-NEC, Hernandez earned NEC Tournament MVP, finished with 32 points and seven rebounds, to send the Blackbirds to the NCAAs for the first time since 2013. He also garnered First Team All-NEC, All-District from the NABC and from the Met Basketball Writers. During this season, he was named the Lou Henson National Player of the Week by College Insider, Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, and College Sports Madness National Mid-Major Player of the Week, after averaging 31.0 points on 48.9 percent shooting from the field in two games.
Grigoryan has been a dominant force in her time in Brooklyn. From winning the NEC Rookie of the Year award as a freshman to becoming a back-to-back NEC Player of the Year recipient has built a portfolio that's second to none over her first three years. Grigoryan compiled a 23-7 singles mark this season, highlighted by a 16-2 record at the #1 spot. She went 7-0 against conference competition, including a pair of wins in the postseason to capture the inaugural NEC Tournament MVP award. Grigoryan ranks first in the NEC in overall (23) and #1 flight (16) victories, and second in win percentage (.767). The junior enters the NCAA Tournament with a 15-1 record in her last 16 singles matches and can boast of victories over opponents from Yale, Cornell, Seton Hall, UMass and Columbia. Grigoryan was a three-time NEC Player of the Month and two-time NEC Player of the Week. She was also named to the All-NEC first team at #1 doubles with Ana Leonte for the second straight season.
McDonald helped lead her team to record-setting success in two seasons this year. This winter, she led the women's indoor track & field team to it's record-setting seventh NEC Championship, earning a pile of hardware in her own right. She was named the meet's Most Valuable Performer and the meet's Most Outstanding Sprint Performer, winning a gold medal in the 200 meters, and setting a new NEC meet record in the process. She also won gold in the 60 meter hurdles, and finished two other events in the top five, to account for 26 of LIU's 109 team points. And this past weekend at the outdoor championships, she won another title in the 100 meter hurdles, helped her relay team win gold in the 4 by 100, and took second in the 200 meters. She was named the league's Most Outstanding Sprint Performer for the second time this year.
LIU also announced award winners from each sport and the winners of the department's other major awards:
Male Athlete of the Year: Joel Hernandez, R-Sr., Men's Basketball
Female Athletes of the Year: Anna Grigoryan, Jr., Women's Tennis
Shantae McDonald, Jr., Women's Track & Field
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Frej Engberg, R-So., Men's Soccer
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Marlee Tyler, Sr., Bowling
Michelle Hamdan Memorial Award: Taylor O'Connor, Gr., Women's Lacrosse
Dolly King Athletic Excellence Award: Brian Paredes, 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.
Claire Isicson-Merle Athletic Excellence Award: Victoria Zamora, Sr., Softball
Presented to the student-athlete who exemplifies leadership, sportsmanship and achievement that Claire Isicson-Merle personified as a student and an athlete.
Leonard Ching International Student-Athlete Award: Milly Furneaux, Sr., Swimming
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: Brian Paredes, Sr.
Joe Machnik Ambassador: Michael Ramsey, R-Jr.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
MVP: Aline Allmann, Jr.
Blackbird: Erin Harbison, Sr.
VOLLEYBALL
MVP: Victoria Fink, Jr.
Blackbird Award: Alexandra Lilliquist, Sr.
FIELD HOCKEY
MVP: Molly Jannell, So.
Blackbird Award: Olivia Dennis, So.
CROSS COUNTRY
Most Valuable Athlete: Sarah Northup, Sr.
Blackbird Award: Adjovi Simpini, Sr.
WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Most Outstanding Athlete: Shantae McDonald, Jr.
Most Improved: Ashley Blackwell, Fr.
MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Most Improved: Ernest Agyeman, Jr.
Most Improved: Collin Sewell, So.
WOMEN'S BOWLING
MVP: Lauren McKowen, Sr.
Blackbird Award: Kristina Genova, Sr.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING
MVP: Briana Vega, Jr.
Blackbird: Amanda Peren, Fr.
CHEER
Coaches Award: Jessica Caseli & Deanna Lashley
MEN'S BASKETBALL
MVP: Joel Hernandez, R-Sr.
Blackbird: Jashaun Agosto, So.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
MVP: DeAngelique Waithe, Sr.
Blackbird: Denisha Petty-Evans, Gr.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
MVP: Sierra O'Connor, Sr.
Blackbird: Taylor O'Connor, Gr.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
MVP: Anna Grigoryan, Jr.
Blackbird: Clemence Krug, Jr.
MEN'S GOLF
MVP: Daniel Reale, Jr.
Lonnie Barton Memorial: Kyle Maihi, Sr.
WOMEN'S GOLF
MVP: Carolina Ronchel, So.
Lonnie Barton Memorial: Lauren Rutherglen, Sr.
WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Most Outstanding Athlete: Eugenie Hue, Jr.
Most Outstanding Athlete: Shantae McDonald, Jr.
MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Most Outstanding Athlete: Braylon Wilkerson, Jr.
Most Outstanding Athlete: Collin Sewell, So.
SOFTBALL
MVP: Victoria Zamora, Sr.
SP Award: Patricia Griffin, Jr.
SP Award: Katie Hinkle, So.
BASEBALL
Frank Giannone Award: Andrew Turner, Sr.