Massachusetts Athletics Hosts 2023 SAMYs

AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Athletics recognized the successes of its student-athletes, coaches, and varsity sport programs at the ninth annual SAMYs on Thursday evening.

Minuteman Award: Colby Vieira (Men's Swimming & Diving)
The Minuteman Award honors one student-athlete who exhibits high character, enthusiasm, a positive attitude, and good sportsmanship. Often an unsung hero, this award recognizes someone who demonstrates the core values of UMass Athletics and has a high level of UMass pride.

2023 Minuteman Award

Dr. James Ralph Athletic Training Award: Maya Keenan-Gallagher (Women's Lacrosse)
The Dr. James Ralph Athletic Training Award is given to a senior athlete who has overcome injury and/or illness to persevere in their sport. The recipient of this award is a person who represents hard work, dedication, and courage to pursue greatness in competition in the face of adversity that comes with injury and illness.

2023 Dr. James Ralph Award

Maroon Excellence Award for Achievement: Sam Breen (Women's Basketball)
The Maroon Excellence Career Award for Career Achievement awards a student who has completed or will be completing their final year of eligibility during the 2022-2023 school year. Characterized by an outstanding career athletic achievement in his/her sport, the honoree will have demonstrated performance and dedication and has made a significant contribution to the success of their team.

2023 Maroon Excellence Award

Excellence in Leadership Award: Faith Richardson (Women's Track & Field)
The Excellence in Leadership Award honors a student-athlete who exemplifies outstanding leadership in competition by demonstrating strong communication skills and spreading positivity. The winner fosters team cohesiveness and is characterized by their fighting spirit.

2023 Excellence in Leadership

A-10 Postgraduate Scholarship: Nathaniel Cardoza (Men's Soccer)
Every year, each Atlantic-10 institution has the opportunity to nominate one individual, who has excelled in their college career and plans to pursue post graduate study for the A-10 Postgraduate Scholarship. All nominees must have achieved at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA, participated with distinction in their sport for at least two years and completed their eligibility. From a field of four candidates, one nominee had been selected for consideration by the Atlantic-10 Scholarship committee.

2023 A-10 Postgrad Scholarship

F.A.R. Team GPA Award: Tennis (3.713) / Hockey (3.623)
The Faculty Athletics Representative, or F.A.R, Team Award goes to the team that had earned the highest team cumulative grade point average following the fall 2022 semester.

2023 FAR Female

Elaine Sortino Inspiration Award: Amy Moreau (Women's Lacrosse)
The Elaine Sortino Inspiration Award is given to an individual for extraordinary acts of courage, perseverance, or service to others. Students are nominated for this award by their head coach and the winner is selected by student-athletes.

2023 Sortino Inspiration

Senior Scholar-Athlete Achievement: Amy Moreau (Women's Lacrosse) / Eric Faith (Hockey)
The Scholar Athlete Achievement Award honors one male and one female senior student-athlete who has achieved a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA following the preceding fall semester. In addition to academic achievement, the honoree also will have demonstrated superior athletic achievement, team commitment, and has made a positive contribution to the success of his/her team. The winner will have completed or be completing their final year of eligibility during the 2022-2023 school year.

2023 Female Scholar Athlete

Sam Koch Coaching Staff of the Year: Women's Lacrosse / Men's Lacrosse (2022)
This award will honor one coaching staff based on the decision of the varsity Coaching Staff. The honorees will have led their respective teams to high overall team athletic achievements, academic accomplishments, and have been recognized on a conference and/or national level. This award should go to the coaching staff who also excel in making a positive impact on their student-athletes overall experience.

2023 Women's Staff of the Year

Team of the Year: Women's Outdoor Track & Field (2022) / Men's Swimming & Diving
This award will honor one male and one female team's athletic performance over the course of an entire season. The success of a team's overall performance may take into consideration the overall final record, outstanding post-season achievements, number of conference or All-America honors, etc. Additionally, factors in determining this award recipient may include a team that exceeds expectations, overcomes adversity, or shows tremendous progress or improvement.

The Women's Team of the Year is…

?? @UMass_XC_TF (Outdoor 2022)#SAMYS2023 | #Flagship ?? pic.twitter.com/XAuMzZ0ipg
— UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) May 18, 2023

Athlete of the Year: Lilly Kirry (Women's Track & Field) / Matthew Knote (Men's Lacrosse)
The Athlete of the Year awards one male and one female student who is characterized by an outstanding athletic achievement in his/her sport, the honoree will have demonstrated performance and dedication and has made a significant contribution to the success of their team.

This year's Female Athlete of the Year honor goes to…

Lilly Kirry ?? @UMass_XC_TF #SAMYS2023 | #Flagship ?? pic.twitter.com/ukSL1HSaKl
— UMass Athletics (@UMassAthletics) May 18, 2023

Newcomer of the Year: Myrte Van Herwijnen (Field Hockey) / Godot Gaskins (Men's Track & Field)
Newcomer of the Year honors one female and one male student athlete in his/her first year of competition at UMass. This individual is one who had significant impact on and contribution to his/her team or sport program over the course of an entire season. Any Minuteman freshman, redshirt freshman or transfer student competing for the first year is eligible for this award. A new first-year student-athlete from the 2022 competition season may be considered for this award.

2023 Female Newcomer

University of Massachusets Athletics

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