South Hadley, Mass. - May 7, 2021 - On Thursday evening, the Mount Holyoke College Department of Athletics hosted its annual Athletic Awards Ceremony in the Field House. Due to capacity limits in the facility, the evening was broken into two sessions, including the field hockey, squash, soccer, lacrosse, cross country and track and field, volleyball and basketball programs in the first session, and the riding, swimming and diving, rowing and tennis programs in the second session.
Scholar-Athletes
Leading off the evening, this year's scholar-athletes were recognized with their pins. During this portion of the ceremony, student-athletes heard from interim Director of Athletics, Erica Lemm, as well as Faculty Athletics Representative Professor Kerstin Nordstrom and elected scholar-athlete speaker from the riding team, Libby Sams.
Scholar-athlete honorees are those senior students who have achieved a 3.5 or better cumulative GPA through the end of their senior year fall term (or second to last semester) and who have completed at least three seasons in a single sport including their senior year. Transfer students must meet the same GPA requirements, and they must have competed for their entire MHC career. December 2021 graduates who qualify will be honored next year because we do not yet have grade reports for their second to last semester to determine their qualification.
- Maria-Lucia Delgado, Psychology, Basketball and Soccer
- Claire Glover, Biology and Chemistry, Soccer and Rowing
- Maddie Miller, Environmental Science, Field Hockey
- Chelsea Braz, Architectural Studies, Field Hockey and Lacrosse
- Meryl Phair, Journalism and Media, Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Lacrosse
- Kelly Hammond, Psychology and Spanish, Lacrosse
- Genesis Lara Granados, Biology, Squash
- Nicole Lara Granados, Psychology and Education, Squash
- Isabelle Wohlin, Environmental Science, Track and Field
- Tamara Mukulu, Sport and Business Studies, Swimming and Diving and Track and Field
- Haluwa Jefwa, Psychology and Sociology, Riding
- Libby Sams, Chemistry, Riding
- Sinead O'Sullivan, Psychology, Riding
- Sabrina Talir, Biology, Riding
- Molly Aslin, Physics, Rowing
- Casey Roepke, Physics and Politics, Rowing
- Ashton Bliss, Politics and German Studies, Swimming and Diving
- Naomi Brown, Psychology and Education, Swimming and Diving
- Courtney Dunham, Environmental Studies and Psychology, Swimming and Diving
- Katie Kolozsvari, Chemistry, Swimming and Diving
- Laraiba Seibou, Biochemistry, Swimming and Diving
- Anya Gerasimova, Economics, Tennis
Athletic Director's Award
Each year, the Director of Athletics at Mount Holyoke College is given the chance to recognize someone within the Mount Holyoke College community that exceeded expectations and went above and beyond for the College, the Athletics Department, and everyone around them. This year, interim Director of Athletics chose Ireland Clare Kennedy '21 as the recipient of this award.
Clare Kennedy is a dual-sport student-athlete that competed on both the basketball and track and field programs. In addition to that, she also represented Mount Holyoke College and the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) on the Division III National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Clare Kennedy continously advocated on behalf of Division III student-athletes everywhere, and forged a collaboration between Mount Holyoke College SAAC and Mills College SAAC.
Senior Awards
At Mount Holyoke College, student-athletes that participate in three traditional seasons on any varsity team including their senior year will receive a stole. Student-athletes that compete in three traditional seasons in the same sport, including the traditional season in their senior year receive an afghan and multi-sport athletes who qualify twice will receive a rose in recognition of their second sport. All other senior student-athletes receive a cord.
- Riding: Haluwa Jefwa, Sinead O'Sullivan, Carol Law, Sabrina Talir, Libby Sams, Luhan Wang, Christine Xiao
- Rowing team: Casey Roepke, Molly Aslin, Claire Glover
- Swimming and Diving: Courtney Dunham, Ashley Jimenez, Tamara Mukulu, Ashton Bliss, Naomi Brown, Riley Hicks, Katie Kolozsvari, Laraiba Seibou
- Tennis: Anya Gerasimova, Charlotte Wang
- Cross Country: Olivia Wrobleski
- Track and Field: Tamara Mukulu, Isabelle Wohlin, Ireland Clare Kennedy
- Lacrosse: Chelsea Braz, Julia Klein, Matt Wysocki, Kelly Hammond, Meryl Phair
- Field Hockey: Maggie Anderson, Maddie Miller, Mirei Golding-Powers, Chelsea Braz, Gianna Molinari, Christina Lively
- Soccer: Claire Glover, Maria-Lucia Delgado, Emma Robson
- Squash: Jennifer Mbah, Anna Braman, Genesis Lara Granados, Nicole Lara Granados, Kuzivakwashe Madungwe
- Basketball: Ireland Clare Kennedy, Maria-Lucia Delgado
- Volleyball: Brayden Walden, Chelsea Galicia
Mount Holyoke College Leadership and Service Awards/Division of Student Life Awards
Emerging Leader Award
This award honors two students in their first or second year of the College who show leadership promise through their contributions to student life and community building. Some other areas of measure for this award include making a significant contribution to the College community, exceeding the expectations of their leadership position, seeking opportunity and actively attempting to improve the College by creating positive change, being a great role model and impacting the lives of those they are in contact with.
Recipient: Rianna Washington, Volleyball
Golden Lyon Award
The Golden Lyon Award is an award that recognizes students who have positively influenced a program or organization from behind the scenes with a positive attitude, a willingness to help in whatever capacity necessary, and a commitment to excellence.
Recipients:
- Sophia Anderson, Cross Country nd Track and Field
- Carol Law, Riding
Student Leadership and Service Award
This award honors students who have consistently given their time, energy, and talents to promote positive change and growth in the Mount Holyoke community, and in doing so have motivated others to do the same. These students will have demonstrated dedication and depth of experiences. They are motivating leaders on campus, and have consistent campus service and commitment.
Recipients:
- Brayden Walden, Volleyball
- Kathryn Murphy, Swimming and Diving
The Helen Warren Smith Award
Established in 1979 by Helen Warren Smith, class of 1908, this award honors a senior student whose interest, involvement, and service to the Mount Holyoke College community have been outstanding.
Recipient: Casey Roepke, Rowing
Miller Worley Center for the Environment Sustainability and Justice Engagement Award
This award is For students who have demonstrated excellence in engaging the Mount Holyoke community on topics of sustainability and environmental justice and who have supported the Miller Worley Center's mission to create a greener and more equitable world.
Recipients:
- Isabelle Wohlin, Track and Field
- Genesis Lara Granados, Squash
H. Elizabeth Braun Catalyst for Change Award
The Braun award was established by the Dean of Students division in 2010 to recognize student leaders who have done extraordinary work creating a diverse and inclusive community.
Recipient: Kuzivakwashe Madungwe, Squash
All Lyons-Team
These student-athletes, who are nominated by their coach, best exemplify the missions of their respective teams and are impact team members. These student-athletes uphold the values of both the Department of Athletics and the College and we could not be more proud of them.
- Basketball: Mikayla McEwen and Alicia Chavez
- Cross Country: Meryl Phair and Sarah Hyde
- Indoor Track and Field: Lauren Selkin and Sydney Nash
- Outdoor Track and Field: Natalie Rodman and Isabelle Wohlin
- Field Hockey: Margaret Robb and Emma Bowler
- Lacrosse: Julia Klein and Morgan Tanguay
- Soccer: Emma Robson and Sarah Forster
- Squash: Nicole Lara Granados and Genesis Lara Granados
- Volleyball: McKenna Crosby and Sarah Bishop
- Riding: Carol Law and Sinead O'Sullivan
- Rowing: Claire Gabel and Casey Roepke
- Swimming and Diving: Naomi Brown and Kathryn Murphy
- Tennis: Hannah Middleton and Shweta Kiran Cavale
Coach of the Year
After this academic year, the athletics faculty and staff nominated and voted on a head coach that went above and beyond for the student-athletes, department and College.
After running multiple practices a day for the swimming and diving program, hosting bi-weekly Mindfulness Monday virtual programming sessions for the Mount Holyoke College community and continuing to go above and beyond for his student-athletes, Dave Allen was recognized as the 2020-21 Mount Holyoke College Athletics Coach of the Year.
Department Lyon of the Year
Each year, the Department of Athletics at Mount Holyoke College nominates and votes upon an individual that went above and beyond for the department and it's student-athletes and coaches. This year's recipient of the 2020-21 Mount Holyoke College Athletics Department Lyon of the Year recipient was interim Director of Athletics, Erica Lemm.
Laurie Priest Scholar-Athlete Award
This award 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 department. Interim Executive Director of the Alumnae Association, Liz Lierman, was present to honor the individual that was selected for the department's most prestigious student-athlete honor.
A Chemistry major and Biology minor on a pre-medical track, this year's recipient was none other than Libby Sams of the riding program.
Sams, who has produced a 3.81 grade-point average to date, is a two-year captain and a national qualifier. According head coach CJ Law, Sams "has been an asset on the team since their first semester on the team, and participated at a high level for three-consecutive years." Throughout her career, Sams improved immensely and had the drive and mental strength of a top collegiate athlete. As a captain, they put 100% effort into making the team a cohesive group both in person and virtually.
Following graduation, Sams will be taking the MCAT exams and applying to medical school. In the meantime, she will continue working as a Medical Assistant at a Gynecology and Obstetrics clinic at Northside in Atlanta, Ga. in order to gain more clinical experience.
For the latest updates on Mount Holyoke College Athletics, follow the Lyons on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our Youtube Channel.
