Söderlund and Madden Earn UVA Top Honors

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Carl Söderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) and Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) were honored as Virginia’s top male and female athletes for the 2020-21 academic year. Söderlund earned the WINA Award as the top male athlete, while Madden claimed the IMP Award as UVA’s top female athlete for the second straight year.

Söderlund repeated as the ACC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year, just the second Cavalier to twice win the honor. He was named the MVP of the ACC Championship after leading UVA to both the conference’s regular-season and tournament titles. The All-American has been ranked nationally in the top-10 in both singles and doubles this year as he helped elevate his team to a top-three national ranking.

Madden was named a Honda Sports Award finalist after leading Virginia to its first-ever NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship title in 2021. She captured three individual races and one relay title, the most of any swimmer at the meet, and earned five All-America honors. Madden also took three individual titles and two relay titles in UVA’s ACC Championship.

Kyle Teel (Mahwah, N.J.) of baseball was named Male Rookie of the Year and swimmer Alex Walsh (Nashville, Tenn.) was named Female Rookie of the Year.

Teel leads the Cavaliers in batting average (.308) and home runs. His 26 RBI and 14 multi-hit games are the second most on the team. Teel hit a go-head home run in the eighth inning of a 6-5 win over Liberty (4/27) and another go-ahead homer in 6-1 win at Virginia Tech (5/2). Six of his seven home runs in 2021 have come against ACC opponents.

Walsh won an NCAA title in the 200-yard individual medley and was part of UVA’s first NCAA relay title in her first appearance in the NCAA Championships. She finished with six All-America honors to help Virginia win its first NCAA Championship. Walsh anchored UVA’s American Record-setting 200 medley relay and won five ACC titles (one individual, 4 relay) at the 2021 ACC Championships.

Cabrel Happi Kamseu (Harare, Zimbabwe) of men’s soccer earned the Wahoowa Award, which goes to the individual who best displayed selflessness, commitment, school pride, and leadership, all while contributing to the betterment of the team.

Happi Kamseu served as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President for the 2020-21 academic year and was heavily involved with a variety of committees and off-the-field activities including: Athletics Leadership Academy, Student-Athlete mentors, Athletes Committed to Education, Black Students Offering Service and Support (BOSS) and Third Year Class Council. On the pitch, he appeared in eight games in 2020-21 and scored twice. Happi Kamseu has garnered Freshman All-ACC and ACC All-Tournament honors in his career at UVA.

Owayne Owens (Montego Bay, Jamaica) of men’s track earned Comeback of the Year after missing the majority of his first year (2018-19) on Grounds due to a tear in his MCL. In 2020, he earned All-America indoor honors in the triple jump but was unable to compete after the NCAA Championships were canceled due to the pandemic that also wiped out his 2020 outdoor season. In 2021, he was named an indoor first-team All-American after placing sixth at the NCAA Championships in the triple jump. Owens also won the ACC triple jump title and set the school record in the long jump during the season.

Women’s swimming claimed the Women’s Play of Year with its first NCAA relay title, cruising to a first-place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay to open the 2021 NCAA Championships. UVA’s Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla., Madden, Ella Nelson (Nashville, Tenn.) and Walsh, respectively, combined for a UVA and ACC record time of 6:52.56 in the win. The relay sparked Virginia’s first team national championship.

Reece Beekman (Baton Rouge, La.) of men’s basketball earned the Men’s Play of the Year with his game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against Syracuse in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. Kihei Clark (Woodland Hills, Calif.) sliced through the Orange defense and found a wide open Beekman, who drained the game-winner in Virginia’s 72-69 win.

Football’s Wayne Taulapapa (Laie, Hawaii) earned UVA’s Distinguished Student-Athlete Scholarship Award, while Owens was the recipient of the Ralph Sampson Scholarship Award.

Louis Hayes of wrestling (Orland Park, Ill.), Owens and Happi Kamseu earned Ernest H. Ern Jr. awards for outstanding contributions to student life at Virginia.

The Sports Medicine and Athletic Training staffs were honored with the Bus Male Memorial service and Sportsmanship awards, respectfully, for their dedication, service and spirit during one of the most challenging athletics’ seasons in school history due to the pandemic.

Wrestling’s Quinn Miller (Lilburn, Ga.) received the Craig Fielder Memorial Award for overcoming adversity, while student manager Noah Gade (Stillwater, Okla.) was the recipient of Bob Goodman Memorial award for his dedicated service to the track and field programs.

Noah Swisher (Arlington, Va.) received the Tim Abbott Memorial Award, honoring the undergraduate sports medicine student most dedicated to and possessing empathy for the student-athletes. Swisher has worked with the UVA softball, swimming and diving, and men’s soccer programs.

Söderlund earned his third straight ACC Scholar-Athlete award, while Natasha Subhash (Fairfax, Va..) of women’s tennis earned her first. Jackson Appelt (New Canaan, Conn.) of men’s lacrosse earned the Susan J. Grossman Memorial Award in recognition of outstanding service to student-athletes and contributions to the Student-Athlete Mentor Program.

Spencer Bozsik (Charlottesville, Va., men’s tennis) received the Gus Tebell Memorial Award as the fourth-year male student-athlete with the highest scholastic average through his four years at Virginia, while Emily Woodworth (Weston, Mass.) of women’s squash was the recipient of the Jettie Hill Memorial Award as the fourth-year female student-athlete with the highest scholastic average through her four years at UVA.

Virginia’s ACC Top VI Award recipients included Dillon Reinkensmeyer (Highlands Ranch, Colo., football), Charles Snowden (Silver Spring, Md., football), Milla Ciprian (St. John’s, Fla., volleyball), Lauren Hinton (Parker, Texas, women’s soccer), Men’s Lacrosse and Rowing.

In addition, 106 student-athletes will be honored as recipients of a 2021-22 Virginia Athletics Foundation endowed scholarship. Recognized by the Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF) and the UVA Athletics Department for their contributions to the University of Virginia athletics program, these student-athletes excel academically, athletically and as leaders in the community. In coordination with Virginia Athletics administration and UVA head coaches, the VAF aims to recognize deserving student-athletes who meet the criteria of each named scholarship. Thirteen of these scholarships will be awarded for the first time during the 2021-22 academic year. Please visit VirginiaAthleticsFoundation.com to view the complete listing of all 106 endowed scholarship recipients.

An endowed scholarship gift is one of the most powerful gifts a donor can make and has a lasting impact on UVA Athletics. Naming opportunities for endowed scholarships start at $250,000. Endowment donors are recognized on the Endowment Wall, located on the second level of the John Paul Jones Arena.

About the Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF): Each year, donations to VAF from our generous donors allow University of Virginia student-athletes to compete at their very best in the classroom and in their sport. Through its fundraising efforts, the Virginia Athletics Foundation provides funding for all 316.6 athletics scholarships, construction and renovation of athletics facilities, and assists in providing funding for the Athletics Academic Affairs program and sport-specific operational costs.

Team Awards
Baseball – Billy Word Memorial Award – Andrew Abbott
Men’s Basketball – Sidney Young Memorial Award – Sam Hauser and Jay Huff
Women’s Basketball – Coaches Award for Excellence – 2020-21 Team
Men’s Cross Country – Coaches Award for Excellence – Rohann Asfaw
Women’s Cross Country – Coaches Award for Excellence – Hannah Moran
Field Hockey – Coaches Award for Excellence – Makayla Gallen
Football – John Acree Memorial Award – Charles Snowden
Men’s Golf – F. Dixon Brooke Memorial Award – George Duangmanee
Women’s Golf – William E. Eacho Memorial Award – Beth Lillie
Men’s Lacrosse – Henry Gaver Memorial Award – John Fox
Women’s Lacrosse – Coaches Award for Excellence – Jalen Knight
Rowing – Coaches Award for Excellence – Katy Flynn
Men’s Soccer – Stanley Lerner Memorial Award – Andreas Ueland
Women’s Soccer – Coaches Award for Excellence – Lia Godfrey
Softball – Coaches Award for Excellence – Madelyn Wilson
Men’s Squash – Coaches Award for Excellence – Christian Kohlmeyer
Women’s Squash – Coaches Award for Excellence – Emily Woodworth
Men’s Swimming & Diving – Brooke Maury Memorial Award – Matt Otto
Women’s Swimming & Diving – Diane Montgomery Greene Memorial Award – Caroline Gmelich
Men’s Tennis – Norton Pritchett Memorial Award – Jefferson Dockter
Women’s Tennis – Coaches Award for Excellence – Rosie Johanson
Men’s Track & Field – Henry Cummings Memorial Award – Claudio Romero
Women’s Track & Field – Z Society – The Lou Onesty Memorial Award – Michaela Meyer
Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Coaches Award for Excellence – Owayne Owens
Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Coaches Award for Excellence – Halle Hazzard
Volleyball – Coaches Award for Excellence – 2020-21 Team
Wrestling – David Senft Memorial Award – Louie Hayes