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April 30, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE – Lauren Aumiller (women’s lacrosse), Kiamesha Otey (women’s track & field) and Alecko Eskandarian (men’s soccer) were honored as the University of Virginia’s top female and male athletes for the 2002-03 academic year at Virginia’s annual awards dinner Wednesday (April 30) at University Hall. Aumiller and Otey shared the IMP Award as the top female athletes, and Eskandarian received the WINA Award as the top male athlete.
Aumiller, a senior from Baltimore, Md., earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors for the third consecutive season this spring and was named to the All-ACC Tournament Team. She was selected to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Team and received one of the conference’s Weaver-James-Corrigan postgraduate scholarships, recognizing excellence in athletics and academics. She leads the nation in scoring with 51 goals and 28 assists, and is a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, recognizing the top player in women’s lacrossse. Aumiller is an All-American and a member of the USA National Elite Team.
Otey, a senior from Quinton, Va., is an All-American and a two-time ACC Champion. She won the USA title in the long jump at the 2003 national indoor championships and won the 2003 ACC indoor title in the long jump. Otey is a four-time NCAA qualifier and has earned All-Conference honors seven times. She ranks second all-time at UVa in the long jump, 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. She is one of only two Virginia athletes to pass 21-feet in the long jump.
Eskandarian, a junior from Montvale, N.J., was the top pick in the 2003 Major League Soccer SuperDraft by D.C. United. He received the 2002 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy as the top men’s soccer player in Division I and was named Soccer America’s Player of the Year. He earned first-team All-America honors in 2002 and was honored as the ACC’s Player of the Year. Eskandarian’s 25 goals during the 2002 season established a UVa single-season record and he had nine game-winning goals. He ranks third on Virginia’s career list for game-winning goals (15), fourth in goals scored (50) and sixth in points (113).
Dr. Frank McCue, the medical director of the athletic department’s sports medicine program, received the Bus Male Service Award for his years of service to Virginia athletics.
Bob Seidel (Wall, N.J.) of the wrestling team and Mirjana Bosevska (Skopje, Macedonia) of the women’s swimming and diving team received Virginia’s ACC Scholar-Athlete Awards. Melanie Matthews (Waynesboro, Va.) of the women’s cross country and track and field teams received the Jettie Hill Memorial Award as the senior female student-athlete with the highest scholastic average through her four years at Virginia. Ryan Binder (Media, Pa.) of the men’s lacrosse team received the Gus Tebell Memorial Award as the senior male student-athlete with the highest grade point average through his four years at UVa.
Whitney Ashcraft (Yorktown, Ind.) of the volleyball team received the Craig Fielder Award for overcoming adversity and Jennifer Reck (Grosse Point, Mich.) of the rowing team received the Ralph Sampson Scholarship Award. Shannon Boyle (Cincinnati, Ohio) of the volleyball team received the Virginia Athletic Department’s Distinguished Student-Athlete Scholarship Award and Hannah Owings (Issaquah, Wash.) of the softball team received the Ernest H. Ern, Jr. Award for outstanding contributions to student life at Virginia.
Lane Cowin (Sterling, Va.) of the rowing team was the recipient of the Bob Goodman Memorial Award for her service to Virginia athletics as a team manager and Stephanie Lynch (swimming and diving, spring football) received the Tim Abbott Memorial Award presented to the assistant athletic trainer most dedicated to and possessing empathy for the student-athletes. Jen Gardner (Falls Church, Va.) of the women’s track and field team was the recipient of the Susan J. Grossman Memorial Award in recognition of outstanding service to student-athletes and contributions to the Student Athlete Mentor Program.
Virginia’s ACC Top VI Award recipients included Anna Crosswhite (women’s basketball, Castlecrag, Australia), Jen Gardner (women’s track and field, Falls Church, Va.), Ryan Gibbs (men’s soccer, West Chester, Pa.), Inge Jorgensen (women’s track and field, New Wilmington, Pa.), Natalie Randolph (women’s track and field, Washington, D.C.), and Luke Wagner (men’s swimming and diving, Englewood, Colo.).
Team Awards
Text of Award: To That Athlete Who Exemplified the Highest Qualities ofLeadership Cooperative Spirit and Unselfish Service in the Interest of Athletics at the University of Virginia
Baseball – Joe Koshansky
Basketball (m) – Travis Watson
Basketball (w) – LaTonya Blue
Cross Country Award (m) – Matt Ruhl
Cross Country Award (w) – Jane Maxwell
Field Hockey – Emily White
Football – Billy McMullen
Golf (m) – Justin Goodhue
Lacrosse (m) honors will be awarded at the conclusion of season
Lacrosse (w)- Tiffany Schummer
Rowing (w) – Molly Baker
Soccer (m) – Ryan Gibbs
Soccer (w) – Kelly Worden
Swimming (m) – Guy Yimsomruay
Swimming (w) – Katie Stanton
Softball (w) – Ruby Rojas
Tennis (m) – Michael Duquette
Tennis (w) – Jennifer Tuchband
Track and Field (m) – Brian Kollar
Track and Field (w) – Kiamesha Otey, Eliese Mitchell
Volleyball (w) – Whitney Ashcraft
Wrestling – Tim Foley
Special AwardLife-Skills Award – Cara Lane (women’s swimming and diving)