Syracuse's Historic Year Celebrated at 'Cuse Awards

(5/3/2016) 2016 Cuse Awards Orange Carpet Photos

Syracuse student-athletes, coaches and administrators gathered to celebrate their historical achievements at the 10th annual 'Cuse Awards at the Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center on Monday evening. The event celebrated multiple National Championships, Final Four appearances, academic honors and community engagement. Orange fans are invited to watch the 'Cuse Awards show in its entirety on Cuse TV on Cuse.com and Time Warner Cable SportsChannel on Tuesday, May 3 at 8 pm.

The 2015 men's cross country and field hockey squads won Team of the Year honors. The cross country team won the program's first National Championship since 1951 and had its first podium finish since 1957. The Orange won the 2015 ACC Championship, marking the program's fourth consecutive conference title. Field hockey won the first national championship in program history and the first national title by a women's team in Syracuse history. The Orange posted a perfect 16-0 record in the regular season and became the first ACC team to sweep the ACC postseason awards since 1994.

All-American Justyn Knight earned Male Athlete of the Year honors after finishing fourth at the NCAA Cross Country Championship, leading the Orange to the national title. He was a USTFCCCA first-team All-American in cross country, outdoor track and indoor track. Knight was the 2015 ACC Champion in the 1500 meters, the 2016 ACC indoor champion in the 3000 and 5000 meters, earning the ACC Indoor Championship MVP. In addition, he was the NCAA Northeast Region Cross Country champion and finished second at the ACC Championship.

Women's lacrosse's Kayla Treanor and field hockey's Alyssa Manley shared the Female Athlete of the Year award. Treanor currently ranks fourth on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list with 384 points. She is Syracuse's all-time leader in goals and is the active Division I leader in goals (255) and points. Treanor was selected to the All-ACC First Team for the third consecutive year and earned a spot on the ACC All-Tournament Team last weekend. Manley won the 2015 Honda Award, which goes to the national player of the year, and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. She also earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team after guiding the Orange to the national title. Manley was unable to attend the ceremony as she is training with the U.S. national team in preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Roos Weers and Malachi Richardson earned Female and Male Rookie of the Year accolades. Weers was the ACC Field Hockey and Synapse Sports National Rookie of the Year. She earned All-ACC First Team honors after recording 37 points on 14 goals and nine assists. Richardson reached double digits in scoring for the Orange men's basketball team in 31-of-37 games. He was named to the All-ACC Freshmen Team by the league coaches and media. His 496 points rank fifth among all freshmen in program history.

Field hockey coach Ange Bradley and men's cross country coach Chris Fox were honored with Coach of the Year awards. Bradley guided her squad to the program's first National Championship and the first for a women's program at Syracuse. The Orange recorded a 16-0 record during the regular season. The men's cross country squad also won the National Championship, the second in program history. In addition, the Orange won its fourth-consecutive ACC title.

(5/3/2016) 2016 Cuse Awards Event Photos

The 2016 Soladay Awards were presented to Brianna Butler (women's basketball) and Martin Hehir (men's cross country/track & field). The Soladay Award is the most prestigious award given to a student-athlete by the Department of Athletics. Butler ranks fourth on Syracuse's all-time scoring list and is 12th on the NCAA career 3-pointers made record list. She is a two-time ACC All-Academic Team selection and earned her undergraduate degree in sport management in three years. Hehir is a two-time All-American in cross country. He earned the ACC Men's Performer of the Year award in 2014 after winning the ACC individual title with a course-record time of 23:15.2. In addition, Hehir has qualified for the NCAA Championship in the 10,000 meters.

The female nominees for the Soladay Award were Jess Jecko (field hockey), Jackie Firenze (soccer), Margo Malone (cross country), Melissa Piacentini (ice hockey), Shaina Harrison (track & field), Allie Murray (lacrosse), Kari Tomeny (rowing) and Amber Deamico (spirit). The men's nominees included Riley Dixon (football), Noah Rhynhart (soccer), Dylan Donahue (lacrosse) and James Schiera (rowing).

Ice hockey senior Melissa Piacentini was honored with the Syracuse 8 Courage Award, presented annually to a student-athlete who has overcome a socially, economically or otherwise disadvantaged background or serious injury and, in the opinion of his or her coaches and teammates, has demonstrated uncommon bravery or highly principled behavior in the face of adversity. Piacentini's battle with Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been difficult, but ice hockey has become a coping mechanism. After four years playing at Syracuse, Piacentini became the program's all-time leader in points (112), goals (53) and assists (59).

Alexis Peterson and Justyn Knight were presented the Performance of the Year awards. Peterson averaged 27.5 points per game in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Regional in Sioux Falls, S.D. to lead the Orange to their first Final Four in program history. She was named the Region's Most Outstanding Player after leading the squad with a 26-point effort against No. 1 seed South Carolina and a team-high 29 points against Tennessee. Knight finished fourth at the NCAA Cross Country Championship to lead the Orange to its first title since 1951.

Stephanie Grossi received the Play of the Year award for her game-winning goal against Penn State in triple overtime, which was the longest game in conference and program history, to lead the ice hockey squad to the CHA final. The Game of the Year award went to men's basketball for their come-from-behind victory against Virginia in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. The Orange trailed by as many as 16 in the second half, but rallied to defeat the No. 4/3 Cavaliers to advance to the Final Four. Syracuse used a 25-4 scoring run to turn the game around. Richardson tied his career-best effort with 23 points, including 21 which came in the second half.

Excellence in the classroom was celebrated in multiple awards. The tennis team won the Team GPA honor, presented to the team with the highest overall GPA, for the fifth year in a row. Junior football student-athlete Cameron MacPherson and sophomore rower Christina Tobias earned the 'Cuse Scholar Award for having the highest overall GPA for a male and female student-athlete.

The 'Cuse Cares Award for community service went to the ice hockey team, which among its many community activities drafted 11-year old Molly McIntyre through Team IMPACT. Molly was diagnosed with mitochondrial dyfunction, which is a disease that results from failures of the mitochondria. According to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF), Mitochondria are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed by the body to sustain life and support growth. With this disorder, Molly is unable to participate in most athletic activities because she does not have the energy to do so. Watch Molly's 'Draft Day' here.

(5/3/2016) 2016 Cuse Awards Awards Photos

Syracuse University Athletics

Syracuse's Historic Year Celebrated at 'Cuse Awards

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