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News Release
Retriever Student-Athletes Honored at 2009-10 Varsity Awards Ceremony
5/11/2010
 2010 Outstanding Athletes - Matt Mattingly, Sara Parkinson, Levi Houapeu |
 Outstanding Seniors Athletes - Kyle Wimer, Fredi Voorman, Amanda Fefel and Carlee Cassidy |
 Matt Skalsky Scholar Athletes - Alice Chen, Dominic Devaud |
BALTIMORE—Men’s soccer star Levi Houapeu, men’s swimming and diving standout Matt Mattingly and women’s cross country and track and field champion Sara Parkinson were named UMBC Athletics’ Athletes of the Year at the annual awards ceremony, held at the Retriever Activities Center Monday.
The 2009-10 Outstanding Senior Athlete awards went to Carlee Cassidy of women’s basketball, Amanda Fefel of softball, Fredi Voorman of men’s tennis and Kyle Wimer of men’s lacrosse. Alice Chen of women’s tennis and Dominic Devaud of men’s track and field earned the Matt Skalsky Outstanding Scholar Athlete awards.
Houapeu was named the 2009 ECAC Division I Offensive Player of the Year as well as the 2009 America East Midfielder of the Year after leading the nation in scoring (2.15 points per game). He tallied 15 goals, 13 assists and three game-winning goals for the Retrievers this season while leading UMBC to a 14-6 record.
Mattingly won two gold medals and a silver medal at this year’s conference swimming and diving championships to lead the Retrievers to their seventh consecutive America East Championship and 13th conference title overall. He broke the UMBC record in both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke.
Parkinson earned All-Conference honors for leading the Retrievers across the line and finishing sixth overall at the America East Cross Country Championships. In the winter, she broke the UMBC record and earned gold in the 5,000-meter run at the Indoor Track and Field Championships in addition to placing third in 3,000-meter run and fourth in the mile. This spring, she broke the school record in the 1,500-meter run and then took home bronze at the Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In addition to all this, she has been named to the Cross Country and Indoor Track and Field All-Academic teams.
Cassidy is the first Retriever to earn all-conference honors three times during UMBC’s seven years in the America East, as she was tabbed to the first team in 2008 and the second team in 2009 and 2010. The Syracuse, N.Y. native holds UMBC’s career records with 248 3-pointers and 119 games played, and she ranks among UMBC’s all-time leaders in many other categories, with school Division I records for points with 1,627 and free throws with 347. After leading the Retrievers to the 2007 America East Championship with 14 points in the title game and All-Tournament Team honors, she became the first player to lead the conference in scoring in back-to-back seasons as a sophomore and junior. The guard averaged 13.7 points per game in her career and was a career 79 percent shooter from the foul line. She scored in double figures 79 times in her career with a whopping 30 20-point performances. Also an excellent student, she has been named to the America East All-Academic Team twice.
Fefel broke the school’s all-time home run record last weekend at Hartford and finished her career with 43, and she owns three of UMBC’s top 10 single-season marks, including 13 this season, matching her career high. The Catonsville, Md. native is the first Retriever to earn America East All-Conference First Team honors three times, and that number could become four later this week. After spending most of her first three seasons at first base, she has manned the hot corner for the Retrievers in 2010 while also pitching 74 innings. Earlier this year, the career .336 hitter became the eighth Retriever ever to collect 200 career hits, and she ranks among UMBC’s all-time leaders in almost every offensive category, including third with 147 RBI and 385 total bases. In the pitching circle, she has fanned 294 batters in her career, the fourth-most in UMBC history, and she owns the school record with eight saves.
Voorman completed a brilliant career at UMBC by earning his sixth conference honor in 2010, a Second-Team All-Conference singles nod. He compiled a 18-7 record, primarily at No. 2 singles and won the deciding match in the Retrievers’ 4-3 semifinal win over Stony Brook in the 2010 conference championships. Voorman won 165 matches in his career.
Wimer was selected as a USILA All-American and an America East First-Team All-Conference midfielder in 2009 and was selected as a unanimous First-Team All-Conference honoree this year after leading the team in scoring with 16 goals and 19 assists (35 points) and has moved into 15th place in school history with 133 career points.
Chen excelled both in the classroom and on the courts for UMBC for the last four years. She has played at the top of the ladder in women’s tennis since she came to UMBC and produced a stellar senior season. He won 16 and only lost 6 matches at the No. 1 position this spring and was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team at No. 1 doubles. The native of North Potomac, Maryland has maintained a 4.00 grade-point average in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and will be attending medical school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus next fall.
Devaud successfully defended his heptathlon title at this year’s America East Indoor Track and Field Championships, as well as earning bronze in the 55-meter hurdles. Two weeks later, the Archbishop Curley graduate won the heptathlon at the IC4A Championships, which involve student-athletes from over 100 schools along the east coast. An excellent student with a 3.62 GPA in mechanical engineering, the native of
Juniors Rick Phillips (baseball), Amanda Shinholser (women’s swimming and diving) and Sandra Vacarino (women’s soccer) earned the Retrieve Club Scholarship Award to be used for their senior seasons. Phillips, a catcher from Gaithersburg, Md., has started every game for the Retrievers this season behind the plate. Shinholser has been the leader of the diving squad the last two years and has improved dramatically each year at UMBC. Vacarino led the women’s soccer team in goals (4) and points (10) during the 2009 season.
Below is the list of UMBC’s most valuable athletes, most improved athletes and unsung heroes for each sport, chosen by that team’s coaches:
Men’s Soccer
Most Valuable Athlete: Levi Houapeu
Most Valuable Athlete: Andrew Bulls
Mike Woodard Unsung Hero Award: John Paul Waraksa
Women’s Soccer
Most Valuable Athlete: Christine Sadowski
Most Improved Athlete: Sarah Purdum
Unsung Hero: Katie Gitlin
Volleyball
Most Improved Athlete: Naomi Bush
Unsung Hero: Pam Jarrett
Unsung Hero: Sabrina Hoeks
Men’s Cross Country
Most Valuable Athlete: Andrew Madison
Most Improved Athlete: Roy Jones
Unsung Hero: Chris Bowie
Women’s Cross Country
Most Valuable Athlete: Sara Parkinson
Most Improved Athlete: Suzanne Gabriel
Unsung Hero: Keri Wilson
Women’s Basketball
Most Valuable Athlete: Carlee Cassidy
Most Improved Athlete: Topé Obajolu
Unsung Hero: Chelsea Barker
Men’s Basketball
Most Valuable Athlete: Chris De La Rosa
Most Improved Athlete: Adrian Satchell
Unsung Hero: Matt Spadafora
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Most Valuable Athlete: Matt Mattingly
Most Improved Athlete: Eric Jones
Unsung Hero: Zach Vonder Haar
Women’s Swimming & Diving
Most Valuable Athlete: Sam Maccherola
Most Improved Athlete: Abbey McKenney
Mikki Blakely Unsung Hero: Tereza Kaplanova
Men’s Indoor Track & Field-
Most Valuable Athlete: Dominic Devaud
Most Valuable Athlete: Camal Pugh
Unsung Hero: Keith Onto
Women’s Indoor Track & Field
Most Valuable Athlete: Sara Parkinson
Most Valuable Athlete: Britney Foreman
Most Valuable Athlete: Amanda Deller
Men’s tennis
Most Valuable Athlete: Fredi Voorman
Most Valuable Athlete: Adam Duprat
Most Improved Athlete: Joe Adewumi
Women’s tennis
Most Valuable Athlete: Alice Chen
Most Valuable Athlete: Lorena Valente
Most Improved Athlete: Barbara Couto
Men’s lacrosse
Most Improved Athlete: Maxx Davis
Unsung Hero: J. D. Harkey
Unsung Hero: Mike Bryan
Women’s lacrosse
Most Valuable Athlete: Erika Braerman
Most Valuable Athlete: Amanda Pappas
Unsung Hero: Kate Quick
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field
Most Valuable Athlete: Victor Gilreath
Most Valuable Athlete: Keith Onto
Most Valuable Athlete: Camal Pugh
Women’s Outdoor Track & Field
Most Valuable Athlete: Amanda Deller
Most Valuable Athlete: Britney Foreman
Most Improved Athlete: Kiki Malomo-Paris
Softball
Most Valuable Athlete: Amanda Fefel
Most Valuable Athlete: Emily Thompson
Unsung Hero: Ashley Carver
Baseball
Most Improved Athlete: Brian Klukowicz
Unsung Hero: Scott Wildesen
Unsung Hero: Rick Phillips