Athletes honored at 53rd Annual Varsity Awards Program

On the heels of another successful season of NCAA Division II competition, Binghamton University honored its best and brightest student-athletes at the 53rd Annual Varsity Awards Program, held Saturday evening in the Mandela Room on campus.

Highlighting the 1999-00 year, seven teams won either conference or ECAC championships, four coaches were honored with "Coach of the Year" accolades, two teams earned national rankings, and the overall win percentage of BU's 19 teams was just under 60%.

On Saturday, the major award winners included:

Binghamton Foundation Award — Jamie Kissel (women's soccer) (Pearl River, N.Y./Nanuet High)
(given to a graduating senior who has shown outstanding career performance in athletics)
Kissel will graduate as her sport’s all-time leader in goals, assists and total points. She led her team to one NCAA tournament bid, and three ECAC trips in four years, and the team won 72% of its games during her tenure. A two-time captain and four-time regional All-American, she scored 63 goals in 78 college games, and was the team’s leading scorer as a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. This past fall, she scored 19 goals in 20 games. She put in five game-winners, and added eight assists for 46 points — the third-highest output in program history. Single-handedly, she accounted for 63% of her team’s goals, leading the women to 13 wins and ECAC runner-up distinction.

1999-00 Male Athlete of the Year — Adam Fuchs (golf) (Plainview, N.Y./JFK High)
Just a freshman, Adam recorded one of the most dominant seasons in program history. He maintained a stroke average of 74.8 — the lowest average of any BU golfer in 41 years. He won three tournaments and finished in the top-10 eight times in 12 events. Adam fired a 4-under-par 68 to establish a course record at the Le Moyne Invitational, and he led the golf team to a 31-1 record in the spring. He led the golf team to an exceptional season — particularly in the spring, where his play enabled the team to defeat 31 of 32 teams and capture three straight tournaments. His stroke average in the spring was a remarkable 73.8, and included the 4-under-par 68 that broke a course record at the Links at Sunset Ridge, previously held by current PGA Tour player Tom Scherrer.

1999-00 Female Athlete of the Year — Bess Greenberg (women's basketball)
The only BU athlete to be named an All-American this year, Greenberg is a repeat Athlete of the Year selection. She was selected as a first team basketball All-American and a first team Academic All-American after leading the team to a record-breaking 27-2 campaign. She received dozens of accolades, including NECC and ECAC Player of the Year honors, and led her team to a second-straight NECC regular-season title and a first-ever ECAC Championship. She became the program’s all-time scoring leader during just her third collegiate season, and averaged 21.3 points per game — 13th best in the country. In the ECAC Championship game, Greenberg poured in 35 points and was named tournament MVP.

Foundation Award (highest career honor)
Jamie Kissel, women's soccer

Jake Pitler Award (career achievement, leadership)
Nitai Spiro, men's basketball

Senior Merit Award
(career achievement, leadership)
Karen McClelland, women's basketball

John Bilos Awards (career achievement)
Doug Dillmann, men's soccer
Mollie Lehman, softball

Athletes of the Year
Male - Adam Fuchs
Female - Bess Greenberg

BUAC Citizenship & Ethics Awards
Phil Conte, men's soccer
Julie Klein, women's tennis

ECAC Merit Medal Awards (top 10 GPAs)
Jamie Kissel, women's soccer, 3.89
Marc Shapiro, men's cross country, 3.83
Bess Greenberg, women's basketball, 3.82
Shannon Maher, women's cross country, 3.79
Rob Daher, men's track and field, 3.77
Eric Mimeault, baseball, 3.75
Kishan Zuber, volleyball, 3.75
Mark Peltz, baseball, 3.73
Joe Lubashevsky, men's tennis, 3.73
Scott Heitlinger, men's track and field, 3.72

MVP/MIP Awards
Baseball
MVP - Karl Baum
MIP - Tim Macko

Men's Basketball
MVP - Michael Wright
MIP - Ezenwa Ukeagu

Women's Basketball
MVP - Bess Greenberg
MIP - Emily Szewczyk

Men's Cross Country
MVP - Matt Dresser
MIP - Tom Carpenter

Women's Cross Country
MVP - Dani Riordan
MIP - Lauren Tuchband

Golf
MVP - Adam Fuchs
MIP - Hal Berman

Men's Soccer
MVP - Doug Dillmann
MIP - Giuliano Soderini

Women's Soccer
MVP - Jamie Kissel
MIP - Libby Roach

Softball
MVP - Mollie Lehman
MIP - Jessie Semian

Men's Swimming
MVP - Tom Volper
MIP - Tom Bruno

Women's Swimming
MVP - Mary Tennyson
MIP - Meg Olbrys

Men's Tennis
MVP - Dmitriy Litvak
MIP - Brian Hoffner

Women's Tennis
MVP - Julie Klein
MIP - Sharon Fader

Men's Track & Field
MVP - Jason Gianotti
MIP - Kevin Kirk

Women's Track & Field
MVP - Aniecia Modeste
MIP - Nathaalie Maxwell

Volleyball
MVP - Christine Van Schaick
MIP - Sara Eckrich

Wrestling
MVP - Joe Privitere
MIP - Andrew Loux

Trainers of the Year
Dan Milano
Brian Maddox

Training Scholarship
Guy Hauptman

Director's Award
Paul Kerns, GM, Sodexho Marriott