University of Richmond Athletics
Spider Student-Athletes Honored At End-Of-Year Banquet
April 14, 2006
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - April 10 marked the 2005-06 Student-Athlete Celebration Banquet, set in the Tyler Haynes Commons on the University of Richmond campus. Eight individuals received recognition during the evening's festivities as a number of current and former Spider student-athletes were on hand to celebrate the 2005-06 seasons.
Senior John Ciccarelli, an individual award-winner later in the evening, began the event with a moving speech about his former track and field teammate Ryan Jobes who passed away in a tragic car accident prior to the spring semester. The audience celebrated Jobes' life with a highlight video showcasing some of the former Spider middle-distance runners' greatest memories. In the weeks leading up to the event, Richmond student-athletes and members of the track and field squad helped raise more than $20,000 for the Ryan Jobes Memorial Scholarship to be awarded every year to a graduating senior at Williamstown High School in Williamstown, W.Va.
The entire 2005-06 senior student-athlete class was then recognized prior to individual awards being handed out by athletic department personnel.
Seniors Colin Vint (men's soccer) and Saona Chapman (women's basketball) were awarded the Helen Reba Humbert Senior Award. The honor, established in 1977, was set up in memory of Helen Reba Humbert by her family and friends, and awarded to a graduating senior man or woman on the basis of athletic, leadership and scholarly attributes.
Vint, a four-year starter for the men's soccer team, finished his career 10th on Richmond's all-time career list for goals with 21 and 11th on the school's all-time scoring list with 55 points. He tied for the team lead in goals (3), assists (4) and points (10) in 2005. The Fairfax, Va., native was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10, Third Team All-South Atlantic Region and Second Team All-State. 2005 marked Vint's third appearance on the All-Conference team, having made the First Team as a sophomore and junior. He earned All-South Atlantic Region honors twice and All-State honors twice. Vint earned Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Honors as a freshman in 2002.
Chapman served as a true Spider leader and co-captain for three seasons, appearing in 94 games and averaging 11.7 points-per-game for the women's basketball team. She contributed 53 double-digit performances and led the Spiders in assists for the past three years, in addition to leading the Atlantic 10 in assists for the past two years. She was a two-time Atlantic 10 Preseason first team selection, and was selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference second team and All-Academic squad the last two years. The Voluntown, Conn., native was part of the ESPN All-District III Academic second team and the Richmond Times Dispatch All-State honorable mention team in 2005.
Her name is prominently featured throughout the Richmond record book for three-pointers and assists in a single season, career scoring average, career three-pointers, and career assists in which she ranks second. Chapman scored her 1,000th point at Xavier halfway through the 2005 season, ending her career with 1100 points.
The 2005-06 President's Citation Awards were given to Chris Lahoud (men's soccer) and Michelle Swartz (field hockey). The honors are given to a male and female graduating student-athlete with the highest grade-point average. To be eligible the student-athlete must have been on an intercollegiate athletics sports team a minimum of three years and lettered in the sport two years (one of the two years must be their senior year).
Lahoud was a four-year starter who played in 68 games, starting 66 in his career on the pitch. The defender was a two-time Atlantic 10 All-Academic selection. As a senior in 2005, Lahoud scored a goal and had an assist for three points, and was the leader of a defense which allowed just 24 goals in 18 games, holding opponents to one goal or less in 13 of 18 contests. He finished his career with eight goals, including two game-winners and eight assists for 24 career points.
Swartz, a leadership studies major from Severna, Park, Md., serves as the president of Jepson Student Government Association. The four-year starting goalkeeper for the Spider field hockey squad is also minoring in music, law and liberal arts. She was named the 2004 Field Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year in the Atlantic 10 Conference and has been part of the USFHA Academic All-America squad each of her four years. Swartz finished her career with a school record 34 shutouts and a goals-against average of 1.16.
Six additional student-athletes were also recognized for having the highest GPA among their class. Honorees included juniors Emily Bateman (swimming and diving) and Lane Holby (baseball), sophomores Claire Cunniff (lacrosse) and Brandon Regan (track and field) and freshmen Mary Bertram (track and field) and Dan Petty (track and field).
The third honor of the evening, the Donnie Earl Lindsey, Jr. First Year Spirit Award, was given to Mandy Friend (lacrosse). The award, in memory of Donnie Earl Lindsey, Jr., is given to a male or female freshman student-athlete who exemplifies excellence in athletics, leadership, scholarship and talent.
Friend, a freshman attacker/midfielder from Canandaigua, N.Y., opened her collegiate career with amazing statistical marks currently ranked second in the A-10 for goals and points per game. Her numbers also lead the Spider team with 34 goals and 11 assists for a total of 45 points. A four-time A-10 Rookie of the Week honoree and the most recent Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week, Friend has recorded 30 draw controls, the most of any Spider, as well as eight hat tricks. She has recorded two game-winners and two five-goal performances in 2006.
The final awards of the evening were given to the Spider Club Athletes of the Year. Seniors Stacy Tutt (football), Ciccarelli (track and field) and Allie Howard (field hockey) each received the honor given to a senior student-athlete who was an inspiration to his or her team by demonstrating major athletic contributions, as well as excelling in the areas of leadership, scholarship and community involvement.
Tutt helped the Spider football program engineer the best two-year turnaround in school history. The fifth-year senior began the year at wide receiver, but after being reinserted at quarterback prior to the Maine game, he led the Spiders on an eight-game win streak and nine-straight wins over I-AA opponents.
Tutt was named a Second Team All-Atlantic 10 Quarterback, the Richmond Touchdown Club Offensive Back of the Year and was a finalist for Dudley Award in the Commonwealth of Virginia. His career numbers reflect his greatness and rank him as one of the best-ever Spiders on the gridiron. His 3,047 single-season yards of total offense in 2005 are the best total ever. His 6,872 career yards of total offense are the second-most ever gained in Spider football history. He ranks fourth all-time in points scored in a career with 160.
Tutt was twice named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2005, and earned National Player of the Week recognition from I-AA.org after wracking up 450 yards of total offense in Richmond's come-from-behind win over then-ranked No. 22 Hofstra, Oct. 22. His 450 yards of total offense that game were the second most ever gained in a single game by a Spider.
Ciccarelli was a two-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference cross country runner, having won the 2004 Atlantic 10 Men's Cross Country Championship and finishing third at the conference meet this past fall. He was a two-time All-Southeast Region Cross Country performer, having finished 18th at the NCAA Southeast Regional in 2004 and 19th this fall. The senior from South Bury, Conn., was the 2005 Atlantic 10 Champion in the indoor 3,000 meters in a time of 8:32.03. Ciccarelli was named to the Atlantic 10 Men's Cross Country Academic All-Conference Team as a senior, earned Atlantic 10 Men's Cross Country Performer of the Week honors five times during his career and was named Rookie of the Week three times as a freshman.
Howard was arguably one of the most decorated field hockey players to ever play at Richmond. A member of the United States U21 field hockey squad last summer, Howard was named a Second Team All-American in 2004 after receiving Defensive Player of the Year honors in the Atlantic 10. This past season she became the first student-athlete -- male or female -- to earn three-consecutive Atlantic 10 Player of the Year honors. She won Offensive honors as a sophomore then Defensive Player of the Year in 2004 and again earned Defensive honors last season.
Howard also earned A-10 Championship Most Outstanding Player awards in three-straight seasons dating back to her sophomore year. She finished her career ranked fourth on Richmond's all-time career points list with 89 and sixth on the all-time career goals list with 30. Her 29 career assists place her third all-time at Richmond behind only fellow senior Michelle La Force and former Spider Jill Murphy.
Senior Emma Bradley (field hockey) closed the evening with a moving tribute to her fellow seniors as well as all of the student-athletes in attendance.