April 29, 2013
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BALTIMORE - Loyola University Maryland seniors Scott Ratliff and Nichole Schiro were the 2012 recipients of the John R. Mohler and Ernest Lagna Awards, respectively, as the top male and female senior student-athletes who excel in athletics, scholarship and character.
These awards, and many others, were presented on Monday evening at the 2013 Loyola Athletic Awards Banquet held in McGuire Hall on the Evergreen Campus.
A two-year captain for the men's lacrosse team, Ratliff has been one of the best at his position in the game. The long-stick midfielder was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse draft and has been one of the most versatile players in the game, excelling in the possession game, on both defense and offense. In his four years at Loyola, he is second all-time at the school in caused turnovers, and earlier this year, he accomplished something never believed to have happened in modern collegiate lacrosse. He scored four times against Fairfield, a record for a long-pole player. He was the 2012 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and is currently one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.
In her time at Loyola, Schiro literally rewrote the school women's soccer record book. She set Loyola records for goals (52) and points (119) while earning three MAAC Offensive Player of the Year awards. She is the first person to earn that award three times on the women's side, and she was also Capital One Academic All-America First Team honoree this season. She helped the Greyhounds advance to the NCAA College Cup as a freshman and senior and also served on the school's Green and Grey leadership committee.
Several other awards were handed out to Loyola senior student-athletes.
The Men's Unsung Hero Award went to men's basketball senior Julius Brooks who helped the Greyhounds win 47 games over the last two years as a post player. Brooks was key in the Greyhounds run to the NCAA Tournament as a junior and the CIT Quarterfinals as a senior when he led the team in field-goal percentage.
Women's lacrosse senior Joanna Dalton garnered the Women's Unsung Hero Award after filling a variety of roles, all with a high amount of skill, for the Greyhounds. As an attack player, she helped Loyola advance to four BIG EAST Championships during her time, a tournament the Greyhounds won during her sophomore and junior season and enter as the No. 2 seed this week. She learned the center position for the Greyhounds as a junior and filled in as the main draw specialist that season.
Men's Leadership Award winner Kevin Curan of the men's soccer team was a four-year starter fo the program and played in every game of his collegiate career (78). He was a leader who led vocally and by example, helping the Greyhounds win 60 games during his time at Loyola. This season, as a captain, he helped Loyola win the MAAC regular-season title.
Alyssa Sutherland garnered the Women's Leadership Award and has been a ubiquitous figure at the school, with her women's basketball team and in the athletic department. She was a three-year president of Loyola's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and she was one of two student-athletes in this year's Green and Grey Society, a school-wide leadership group. Earlier this year, she earned the Diane Geppi-Aikens Award for student leadership, the highest honor a Loyola student can earn for leadership and service to others.
The Men's Medal of Merit went to men's soccer's Hector Arellano. A two-year starter, Arellano earned high academic honors while helping the Greyhounds win the 2012 MAAC Regular-Season title. A stalwart on the Greyhounds' central defense, Arellano was selected by the United State's Navy to be part o their Civil Engineering Corps Officer School and upon graduation, he will enter a program to earn his commission as a naval officer.
Jackie D'Antonio of the women's track and field and cross country teams was the winner of the Women's Medal of Merit. She was a MAAC Champion and All-ECAC honoree earlier this year in indoor track and field. Although she was recruited to run middle distance, she became a top competitor at longer distances, as well as winning the 800-meters indoors earlier this year.
Men's lacrosse player Sean O'Sullivan was the recipient of the Diane Geppi-Aikens Inspiration Award. During the Greyhounds' 2012 run to the NCAA Championship, O'Sullivan's mother passed away from pancreatic cancer. O'Sullivan used her passing as an inspiration to a high level of play, and his teammates fed from his leadership and drive.
The women's tennis team and Head Coach Rick McClure was tabbed for having the highest cumulative grade point average among the Greyhounds' 18 teams, track and field's Noreen Petrash and golf's Jon Ross were the two senior student-athletes with the highest grade point averages.
In addition to the department-wide awards, student-athletes from each team received Most Dedicated and Most Valuable awards:
