UMBC Sports Blog Winter Awards

You may consider it to have been a down winter but there was plenty of action going on. This season’s sports were men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s track and field, women’s track and field, men’s swimming and diving, and women’s swimming and diving. The men’s swimming and diving team certainly had a lot of success getting their 123th straight league title. But to the awards:

Top Coach:

Chad Cradock, Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving

Most coaches have their hands full coaching 20 players on one team, but Chad Cradock coaches both the men’s and women’s winning and diving teams which total 63 student athletes. But the success he has with the team puts him up top. It doesn’t matter what the men’s swimming and diving team loses, he always finds a guy to step up and that has gotten the team their 13th straight league title and seventh straight conference title. The women’s team finished just short of the conference title for the second straight year, but were still incredibly impressive.

Male Freshman of the Winter

Adrian Satchell, Men’s Basketball

Power forward may be the most demanding position on the basketball court because you not only have to force your way inside to score, but you usually go up against your opponents top interior scorer. Adrian Satchell is a natural small forward but because of the lack of height on the team he was forced to play inside and started every game. Even though the team struggled he showed signs of being a very good player. He averaged 6.3 ppg and 5.1 rpg. He had had 10 points and 10 rebounds in an upset against Maine and 14 points and 12 rebounds in the opening round game of the America East Conference Tournament.

Female Freshman of the Winter

Tara Morrissette, Women’s Swimming and Diving

Tara Morrissette looks like she’ll be one of the next great swimmers on the team. She walked away from the America East Conference Championship meet with two bronze medals and school record, and most outstanding female rookie honors.

Best Male Performance:

Dominic Devaud, Men’s Track and Field

Senior Dominc Devaud claimed the top spot in the Heptathlon at the America East Conference Championship by totaling 5,216 points. In the seven events he won the 55-meter hurdle in 7.70 and finished second in the 55-meter dash in 6.78 and Pole Vault with a 4.65-meter vault.

Best Female Performance

Carlee Cassidy scored 26 in 23-point comeback on her senior day

Senior Carlee Cassidy did not want her last game in the RAC to be a loss, a blow out loss much less. Early in the second half the women’s basketball team was down 23 points to Boston U and was looking to be on the wrong end of a route, but Cassidy made sure she wouldn’t end on a sour note. She hit three three’s and had 16 second half points in her 25 point effort to get the team the 58-57 victory.

Best Moment

Men’s swimming and diving make it 13 straight

This season the men’s swimming and diving run of championships was supposed to end at the hands of a heavily favored Boston University team with the majority of their contributors from last year’s second place team back. But the men’s team did not let that stand in the way of history as they claimed their 12th straight league title and seventh straight America East Conference title.

Most Improved Male Athlete

Camal Pugh, Men’s Track and Field

Camal Pugh has always been a solid member of the track and field team but for the first three years he was overshadowed my some talented teammates, this year however Pugh was the top hurdler for the team and really stepped up to fit the job as he won two gold, three silvers, and earned a spot in the IC4A championships.

Most Improved Female Athlete

Topé Obajolu, Women’s Basketball

Last season Topé Obajolu was used on a very limited basis as she learned the game during her freshman season as she averaged just 3.5 points and 3.1 rebounds. But this season she started every game at center and developed into one of the top post players in the conference as she averaged 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. But she really signed in conference play, averaging 9.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.

Unsung Male Athlete

Matt Spadafora, Men’s Basketball

It is hard to say that an unsung hero can come from a four win team, but in the winter it is hard to pick a winner from swimming and diving and track and field as they are team sports but also individual sports at the same time. But that does not mean that Matt Spadafora is not very deserving of this award. For being the lone senior on the youngest team in the conference he was great. Some say he should have scored more points, he only averaged 6.3 per game, but that wasn’t his game. He did all the dirty work and did it well. He averaged 4.3 rebounds per game, dished out assists, and got steals while also going up against the opposing team’s top scorer on the defensive end every game.

Unsung Female Athlete

Michele Brokans, Women’s Basketball

You don’t get more unsung that Michele Brokans who averaged 1.2 points per game, 2.3 assists, and 2.3 rebounds. But her presence on the court was big enough to get her the hero tag attached. She started the season on the bench after being the team’s starting point guard for two seasons, but was soon put back in the lineup and started 21 of the team’s 30 games this year. She was not much of a scorer but she was very good at everything you need a point guard to do, passing, defense, and leadership.

Fan’s Choice Male Athlete of the Winter

Chris De La Rosa, Men’s Basketball

In a surprising upset Chris De La Rosa overtook teammate Chauncey Gilliam for the fan’s choice player of the winter award by one vote. Jay Greene left big shoes to fill at point guard for De La Rosa but he quickly proved to be a perfect replacement for the UMBC legend. De La Rosa brought a similar yet different game. He was a pass first player, leading the America East Conference with 5.1 assists per game, but was also a very “streetballesk” type scorer that would crash the lane and make impressive shots as he finished second on the team averaging 11.7 points.

Fan’s Choice Female Athlete of the Winter

Carlee Cassidy, Women’s Basketball

Is it any surprise that one of the greatest scorers in UMBC women’s basketball history is the fan’s choice athlete of the winter? Cassidy started her senior year off a bit slow but quickly got things going and managed to average 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.3 three-pointers, and shot 36.1% from the field and 32.0% from three point range.

Male Athlete of the Winter

Eric Jones, Men’s Swimming and Diving

Eric Jones really slid under the radar this year because he did not set any records, but the best player’s don’t always set records, they are just dominate and consistent, which is what Jones was. He was a major reason the team was able to walk away with a 13th straight league title after winning two gold medals at the Championship meet. He totaled a team high 19 gold medals this season to go along with four silver medals and one bronze.

Female Athlete of the Winter

Sam Maccherola, Women’s Swimming and Diving

It is clear that the swimming and diving teams were very good this year once again and they are being rewarded for such. Sam Maccherola really shined in her senior season as she totaled 19 medals this year: 11 golds, seven silvers, and one bronze. She was an all-conference selection after earning a gold and silver in the AEC championship meet.

***all non-basketball photo’s courtesy UMBCdawgblog.wordpress.com