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Portsmouth, VA – The Portsmouth Sports Club honored a trio of Cavaliers Monday at its 64th annual Jamboree at the Renaissance Hotel and Waterfront Conference Center in Olde Towne.

UVa baseball coach Brian O’Connor, the featured speaker at the event, was named the College Coach of the Year. Jarrett Parker, a member of O’Connor’s team that advanced to the 2009 College World Series, was the Male College Athlete of the Year. UVa golfer Kristen Simpson was tabbed as the Female College Athlete of the Year.

Parker, a sophomore last season, is from Stafford, Va., and attended Colonial Forge High School. Simpson, who was enrolled in graduate school last year, hails from Norfolk and went to Norfolk Collegiate School.

In addition to naming the collegiate and high school athletes of the year, the event awards eight scholarships of $3,500 to outstanding student-athletes from Portsmouth and Western Branch High Schools.

Last season O’Connor led UVa to a 49-15-1 record setting a school record for victories as the Cavaliers earned their first-ever berth in the NCAA College World Series after winning the ACC Championship as the No. 6 seed.

UVa earned its sixth-consecutive NCAA tournament bid under O’Connor, who then led the Cavaliers to victory at the NCAA Irvine Regional and the NCAA Oxford Super Regional against Mississippi. At the CWS the Cavaliers lost to eventual national champion LSU, recorded a victory over Cal State Fullerton and suffered a 12-inning defeat to Arkansas.

O’Connor was recognized as the national coach of the year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association and CollegeBaseballInsider.com. He was also honored as the American Baseball Coaches Association Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. O’Connor has posted a 265-104-1 career record in six seasons at Virginia.

Parker, a unanimous All-American in the national awards circuit last season, was a First-Team All-ACC pick in 2009 after putting up record-setting numbers. He finished with a .355 batting average with 16 home runs and 65 runs batted in. He also had 20 stolen bases while playing in all 65 of Virginia’s games.

Parker set the Virginia single-season records in runs (75), hits (94) and total bases (176) and tied the record for triples (seven). He also ranks among the top 10 in UVa single-season history in doubles (20 – T4th), home runs (16 – T3rd) and RBI (65 – 3rd).

Simpson appeared in nine tournaments as a senior in 2009 and posted a 76.76 stroke average. She played in the NCAA Championships for the first time during her career, helping UVa to a best-ever sixth-place finish.

Simpson was named to the National Golf Coaches Association’s All-American Scholar Team for the second time last summer. She was named to the ACC’s All-Academic team in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

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