Hendricks '92 Named Department Lyon of the Year; Athletics Hosts Virtual Awards Celebration

Replay of Scholar-Athlete Ceremony/Athletic Awards Celebration | End-of-Year Athletics Video Highlights

South Hadley, Mass. - May 1, 2020 - On Wednesday, April 29, the Mount Holyoke College Department of Athletics hosted a virtual Scholar-Athlete Ceremony and Athletic Awards Celebration to honor the 2019-20 academic year and all that was accomplished within the Department. Recognized for her hard work and dedication to the department and College, Chair of Physical Education and Director of Athletics, Lori Hendricks '92, was named the Department Lyon of the Year.

The Department Lyon of the Year honor is annually given to that staff member who works directly with or within the department of athletics and has made significant contributions that academic year. Hendricks demonstrated her leadership ability with transparency and hard work as she continues to navigate the Mount Holyoke College Department of Athletics during a time of uncertainty. Additionally, Hendricks is an advocate for the Department around campus, is the number one fan of the student-athletes and is always front row at their competitions.

There were multiple awards handed out on Wednesday, including the Laurie Priest Scholar-Athlete Award, which is annually given to an exceptional athlete who displays great character and leadership, exemplary scholarship and is an outstanding representative of our school and athletic program. This year's winner was senior rower Hannah LeBlanc, who boasted a cumulative GPA of 3.99 and is one of the top rowers in Division III.

Additionally, the Mount Holyoke College rowing team was also the recipient of the Highest Team GPA Award, as the rowers posted a cumulative team GPA of 3.7 and outlasted teams such as track and field and cross country, tennis, swimming and diving and the riding team, which all had cumulative GPA's of 3.6 or better.

Leading off the evening, Hendricks had the pleasure of announcing this year's scholar athletes. Honorees are those seniors that have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better through the end of their senior year fall term and who have completed at least three seasons in a single sport including their senior year. Those student-athletes included:

From the basketball program: Katlyn Grover
From the cross country/track and field program: Kayla Dillon
From the riding team: Maya Brody, Hanye Chen, Angela Cheng, Franny Eremeeva, Sarah Etzel, Emy McLaughlin, Indra Rapinchuk-Souccar, Honami Tanaka and Harriet Thomson
From the field hockey team: Micaela Pierce, Morgan Turner, Lia Messersmith
From the golf program: Elizabeth Andrian, Stephanie Spitzer
From the lacrosse team: Julianna Rankin, Eva Schneiderman
From the rowing team: Elizabeth Hazen, Lainie LaRonde, Hannah LeBlanc, Halee Mahoney
From the soccer team: Hannah Finn-Erb, McKenna Lamb, Cora Melcher, Lilydahn Stewart, Abby Tuckett
From the swimming and diving team: Natalie Burkett, Samantha Nemivant, Sarah Ratzlaff, Jane Zhang
From the tennis team: Ching-Ching Huang, Catherine Peabody
From the track and field program: Charleen Theroux
From the volleyball team: Sasha Simine

There were two recipients of the Athletic Director's Award, which is given to an individual that has been a valuable member of the Lyons Nation community, and has demonstrated consistent support of the Mount Holyoke College athletic programs. This year, Hendricks handed out a pair of Athletic Director Awards, the first to Karen Jacobus, the Coordinator of Health Education, and the next to Nancy Perez '76, the Executive Director of the Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association.

Due to the cancelation of the spring seasons, the Mount Holyoke College Department of Athletics decided to hand out a pair of Athlete of the Year honors per class, separating one for student-athletes that compete in the fall and winter, and the other for those student-athletes that have a spring championship.

One of the top divers in the region, the Senior Athlete of the Year for Fall and Winter was Samantha Nemivant of the swimming and diving program, while the Spring Senior Athlete of the Year was Ching-Ching Huang of the Mount Holyoke College tennis team. Marcella Runell Hall, the Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students was able to join and deliver the pair of Senior Athlete of the Year honors.

The Junior Athlete of the Year for the Fall and Winter was given to Madeline Rieders, who competes on both the cross country team as well as the track and field team, while the Spring Junior Athlete of the Year was Sara Hearn of the Mount Holyoke College riding team.

Representing Mount Holyoke College on the local, regional, national and even international scale during the 2019-20 season, the Fall and Winter Sophomore Athlete of the Year was Mihiliya Methsarani of the Mount Holyoke College squash team, while the Spring Sophomore Athlete of the Year was Caroline Flynn of the Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team.

Wrapping up, the Fall and Winter Rookie of the Year was handed out to this year's NEWMAC Cross Country Rookie of the Year, Lauren Selkin, while the Spring Rookie of the Year honor went to riding's Marina McDonald.

Lastly, there were 13 student-athletes selected to the All-Lyons Team, which are the student-athletes that uphold the values of both the Department of Athletics and the College.