GLENSIDE, Pa. – The 2015 women's soccer team was named year's President's Cup recipient, while sophomore Bryan Gillen and junior Kayla Haberbosch were named the Male and Female Athletes of the Year at Arcadia's annual awards banquet Sunday night at Alumni Gymnasium.
 
The President's Cup is presented annually to the varsity team that best exemplifies excellence in academics, athletics, and community service. The award recognizes the team from the previous academic year to allow for a comprehensive review of the merits of all teams based on their academic, athletic, and community service efforts.
 
The 2015 women's soccer team had an outstanding season on the field, posting an overall record of 16-6-0 and qualified for the MAC Commonwealth tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Knights went on the road and recorded a 1-0 overtime win at Stevenson to advance to the MAC Commonwealth championship match. Arcadia later earned the No. 1 seed in the ECAC Division III South Championship for the first time, and after receiving a first round bye recorded shutout victories over FDU-Florham and Lebanon Valley to claim their third straight ECAC title.
 
The team had great overall academic success, attaining a 3.47 GPA for the Fall 2015 semester, and followed with a 3.48 GPA for the Spring 2016 term. The team is annually involved in a number of community service projects, and has a longstanding relationship with the Enon Tabernacle Church.
 
Gillen is enjoying one of the best offensive seasons in recent memory. He is currently on pace to be the program's first player since 2010 to finish the year with a batting average of .400 or better for the season, and if the season ended today his .427 batting average would tie a program record, while his.509 on-base percentage 61 hits, 41 runs scored, 85 total bases and .594 slugging percentage would all rank in the top-10. His batting average and on-base percentage both rank in the top-25 in the nation.
 
Gillen currently ranks in the top-five in the league in 11 offensive categories, putting him in a position to contend for MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year honors. His performance has helped lead the baseball team to a program-record 29 victories so far this season, appearances in the national polls for the first time in program history, a top-five NCAA regional ranking, and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Championship.
 
Haberbosch had a record-setting season offensively for the women's soccer team scoring a program-record 19 goals with six assists for a program-record 44 total points. She finished the season ranked second in the MAC Commonwealth and finished in the top-30 in the nation in both goals and points. Her efforts helped lead the women's soccer team to one of its best seasons in program history, as the Knights posted a record of 17-4-0 while earning the first-ever NCAA at large selection for any Arcadia program. The women's soccer team was ranked as high as sixth in the nation this season, and finished the year ranked 22nd by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
 
For her efforts, Haberbosch was named a First-Team All-MAC Commonwealth selection, marking her second straight all-conference award, was named a First-Team All-ECAC selection, and earned Second-Team All-Region honors for the first time in her career.
 
The 2017 Senior Athlete of the Year Awards went to Jordan Draude (baseball) and Lennon Kramer (women's soccer).
Draude has been a key member of the baseball team since he first arrived on campus. He batted .326 while starting in 13 of his 17 games played as a freshman, and earned First-Team All-MAC Commonwealth honors as a junior after batting a career-high .359 with 42 hits, nine doubles, five home runs, 25 runs batted in and 31 runs scored.
 
He has led the Knights during what could be the best season in program history by the end of this year's postseason run. The baseball team has a record of 29-11, setting the program-record for wins in a season, and will be seeded second in this coming weekend's MAC Commonwealth Championship in York. For his part, Draude is batting .315 as a senior with 40 hits, five doubles, a program-record nine home runs, 34 runs batted in and 38 runs scored. He's also posted a near-perfect .996 fielding percentage behind the plate and at first base, while helping guide a pitching staff that ranks among the conference leaders in ERA, opponent batting average and strikeouts.
 
Kramer had one of the most decorated careers in the history of Arcadia's women's soccer program. She had an immediate impact on the field, scoring a then program-record 17 goals with four assists as a freshman on her way to being named the Arcadia, MAC Commonwealth and ECAC Division III South Rookie of the Year while helping lead the Knights to their first of three consecutive ECAC championships.
 
She was named an All-MAC Commonwealth selection for the second straight year as a sophomore after scoring 16 goals with four assists, and appeared to be on her way to a record-breaking season as a junior before an injury ended her season after just nine games. Kramer bounced back in a big way as a senior, earning All-MAC Commonwealth and NSCAA All-Region honors after scoring 11 goals with two assists while leading the team to a top-10 national ranking and the first NCAA at-large selection for any Arcadia program.
 
Kramer finished her career as the program's all-time leader in goals with 53 and game-winning goals with 17, and is the program's second all-time leading scorer with 118 career points.
 
Arcadia's 2017 Male Rookie of the Year, freshman Austin Braas had a remarkable first year at Arcadia as he led the men's volleyball program to 12 wins in its first varsity season, which saw the Knights not only take on, but compete with nine nationally-ranked programs. He started in 29 of his 30 matches played during the Knights' inaugural season, averaging 2.24 kills and 0.92 blocks per set while hitting .335 for the season.
 
Braas led the team and ranked 23rd in the nation in blocks per set, and ranked 34th in the nation in hitting percentage. His 89 total blocks were a team-high, while his 217 kills and 295.5 points were second-most on the team. For his efforts, he was named the ECAC Division III South Rookie of the Year, and received Honorable Mention to the All-ECAC Team. 
 
Freshman Megan Hupp was named Arcadia's 2017 Female Rookie of the Year following a historic first year in Glenside, which began with her breaking the program record in the 500 freestyle in the Knights' season-opening win over Hood at Lenox Pool. That early season success carried through the regular season, and culminated with her being named the Middle Atlantic Conference Rookie of the Year after winning gold medals in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle events and taking home a silver medal in the 200 freestyle.
 
Hupp also earned bronze medals as a member of the 200 freestyle relay, 400 medley relay, and 800 freestyle relay. She is the first student-athlete from either swimming program to win a major conference award, and holds the program record in eight events.
 
Senor Erin Misner, a four-year member of both the field hockey and women's lacrosse team, was named Arcadia's Woman of the Year. The NCAA established the Woman of the Year Award program to celebrate the achievements of women in intercollegiate athletics. The award is unique because it recognizes not only the athletics achievements of outstanding young women, but also their academic achievements, community service and leadership.
Misner has started in 71 of her 72 career games played as a member of the women's lacrosse team and is among the program's all-time leading scorers while earning all-conference honors in each of her four collegiate seasons. She had an immediate impact with the women's lacrosse program, starting all 19 games and totaling 62 points while helping lead the team to a MAC Freedom Championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
 
Misner is in sixth-place on the program's all-time points and goals lists with 186 career points and 146 career goals. She is second all-time in draw controls with 211, and is sixth in caused turnovers with 53. She started in all 16 games this season, and ranks third on the team in scoring with 35 goals and 12 assists for 47 points.
 
Misner started in 50 of her 78 career games played as a member of the field hockey team, helping lead the team to three playoff appearances in four years and a MAC Commonwealth regular season title as a sophomore. In addition to her athletic accomplishments, she has been named to the MAC Academic Honor Roll and the NFHCA National Academic Squad, led a number of community service initiatives, and severed on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee's executive board.
 
Junior Kyle Henofer of the men's golf team and sophomore Jackie Bilotti of the softball team were named Arcadia's  2017 Scholar Athletes of the Year, which are awarded to student-athletes with a minimum 3.75 cumulative grade point average in recognition of their combined performance in the classroom and in their sport.
 
A psychology major with a 3.77 cumulative grade point average, Henofer recorded four top-five finishes and nine top-10 finishes this season. His scoring average is 76.4 through his 13 rounds of play this season, which is believed to be a program record.
 
Henofer won the 2017 MAC Commonwealth Championship earlier in the day Sunday, shooting a round of 78 Saturday before turning in tournament-low round of 73 Sunday for a two-day score of 151, which are the lowest ever single round and total scores ever recorded by a Knight at the conference championship. He is the first-ever conference champion and first-ever First-Team All-Conference performer in the program's history.
 
An early childhood and special education major with a 3.94 cumulative grade point average, Bilotti is batting .431 so far this season with 59 hits, 12 doubles, four triples, 37 runs scored, 23 runs batted in and 21 stolen bases. She leads the team in five of those seven categories and ranks in the top-five in the league in seven offensive categories.
 
Bilotti was named Arcadia's 2016 Female Rookie of the Year, which proved to be the first of many accolades she'd receive following her outstanding first collegiate season. She went on to be named the MAC Commonwealth and ECAC Division III South Rookie of the Year, and was named Arcadia's first All-Region selection since 2006. Bilotti was additionally named to the Academic All-MAC Team, and was named an All-America Scholar Athlete by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
 
Four Individuals received the Award of Merit, which is presented to those student-athletes who best demonstrate outstanding attitude, character, work-ethic and leadership both on and off the playing field. These individuals consistently represent their teams in a positive manner and have made an impact in many ways. This year's recipients were junior Grant Fisher (men's swimming), senior Allie Hines (field hockey), senior Madi Horner (women's soccer) and junior Tyler Ihle (men's soccer).
 
Fisher repeated as MAC Champion in the 500 freestyle after turning in a program-record time of 4:40.23 at the 2017 conference championships. He later earned the silver medal in the 1,650 freestyle with a program-record time of 16:22.58, also setting the program's 1,000 freestyle record during that event, and was a member of the silver medalist 400 freestyle and 800 freestyle relays, both of which set program records.
 
Following the season, the business administration major was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team. Fisher is a two-time MAC Champion and five-time runner-up through his first two years at Arcadia, while totaling nine All-MAC performances.
 
Head coach John Geissinger added, "Grant is a great representation of all the values we hold dear in our swimming program - hard work, honesty, and academic balance. Grant was a strong leader for the men this year and we are all proud of his accomplishments, both in the pool and the classroom. "
 
Hines started in all 20 games and led the team in scoring in her final collegiate season with 10 goals and five assists for 25 points while earning Second-Team All-MAC Commonwealth honors. Her two game-winning goals were tied for the team lead, while her 25 points and 10 goals ranked her ninth in the conference. Hines earned a starting role for the first time as a junior, and ended her collegiate career having scored 18 goals with five assists for 41 points, and earned a spot on the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Academic Squad and MAC Academic Honor Roll.
 
Head coach Erin Livingston added, "Allie brought positive energy to our field every single day. She worked from a bench player as a freshman to an all-conference player her senior year. Her unrelenting positivity and determination towards improvement was contagious throughout our team. Allie has made a lasting impact on our program and will always be a role model for those that played with her." 
 
Horner was a two-year starter for the women's soccer team, helping anchor a defense the ranked at the top of the MAC Commonwealth in each season. She worked her way back from injury to start in 11 of her 14 games played as a senior, leading a defensive unit that ranked second in the league and helped propel the women's soccer team to a top-10 national ranking and the first NCAA tournament at-large berth for any Arcadia program. The biology/pre-physical therapy major was named to the MAC Honor Roll each of the last three years, and was named to the 2016 MAC Sportsmanship team.
 
Head coach Rick Brownell added, "All who know Madi are inspired by her larger than life winning attitude. She epitomizes incredible leadership and brings character and integrity to everything she sets out to accomplish.  As a senior captain, Madi overcame major odds, working her way back from back-to-back ACL tears, to have an amazing senior season and help lift the women's soccer team to new heights this year. Madi truly epitomizes the hard-work, dedication and competitive spirit of a true Arcadia student-athlete."
 
Ihle has been a mainstay on defense for the men's soccer program in his first three years at Arcadia, starting in each of his 60 career games played. He earned All-MAC Commonwealth honors for the first time this season after starting in all 21 games and contributing three goals and one assist offensively. The healthcare administration major had also earned a spot on the MAC Honor Roll in each of the last two years.
 
Head coach Rob Nydick added, "In his three years in the program, Tyler has embodied everything we want from the athletes on our team. He has been a leader in the classroom, in the weight room, in the community, and on the field. I am very excited to see Tyler attack his senior season and inspire those around him to continue making the hard, right choices over the easy, wrong ones on the path to being the best we can be individually and as a group."
 
The Male and Female Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year Awards went to Draude and senior Maureen Fiocca (women's basketball), while the baseball team took home the Strength and Conditioning Team of the Year award. The men's soccer team won the Male Team Academic Award, while the softball team was received the Female Team Academic Award.
 
Following a week of fan voting, senior Imani Alston's steal to seal the women's basketball team's 77-76 win over Hood to end the season was selected as the Play of the Year. The play beat out both men's and women's swimming to be named the Winter Play of the Year before edging out plays from baseball, field hockey and women's soccer in the final vote.
 
The Shirley Liddle Service Award, which is presented annually to the faculty or staff member from outside the department who contributed the most to the Department of Athletics & Recreation was Meghan O'Meara of Arcadia's Counseling Services.
 
O'Meara has spent nearly 10 years in Arcadia's counseling services office, helping the University's students through the many obstacles to help them learn and grow as individuals. She has aided many of our student-athletes that utilize the counseling office's services, helping them improve in ways that benefit them both on and off the field of play.
 
As a former student-athlete herself, O'Meara has proven time after time to be someone our students can count on. She has also worked with various coaching staffs to put on workshops specifically geared to the particular program's needs.
 
Head athletic trainer Danielle Duffy and head strength and condition coach Todd Barnes received the ECAC Award of Appreciation, which is presented to an athletic department staff member in recognition for his or her efforts in supporting and advancing the services and programs of both Arcadia and the ECAC. The award winner is chosen by Director of Athletics Brian Granata based on the individual's service to the department.
 
Duffy was hired as head athletic trainer at Arcadia in the summer of 2014. She immediately filled her staff with two very qualified assistants in Heather Olex and Jillian Seamon. Together, the three of them have established a remarkable bond with each other and formed the best collection of athletic trainers around. All of coaches are blown away with Danielle's clinical knowledge, hard work, willingness to go the extra mile, and her desire to put students first. She is simply a fantastic athletic trainer.
 
With 19 varsity sports and nearly 400 student-athletes, Duffy has to staff and oversee practices ranging from 6 a.m. until around 11 p.m. Furthermore, she has to carve out time during the day for rehab treatments. It is fairly common for Duffy to work seven days per week and in excess of 60 hours in that period – in all types of weather from rain to wind to snow to extreme heat. She does all this with a smile on her face and a sense of humor that brings levity to any situation. Her clinical knowledge is first-class, her ability to balance multiple tasks is second-to-none, and her commitment to Arcadia Athletics is remarkable.
 
Duffy has also taken an active role within the department in search committees. She has spearheaded canned food drives for needy organizations and is consistently our teams' biggest cheerleader on the sidelines.
Barnes joined the Arcadia Athletics staff in October of 2011 when he was named the head strength & conditioning coach. Since that time, he has logged countless hours servicing our growing student-athlete population and assisting them in areas of strength, power, flexibility, agility, mobility, nutrition, injury prevention, recovery, and much more.
 
He is a tireless worker with a high IQ when it comes to all elements of his field. He remains in tune with new workout trends and pushes our student-athletes to succeed.  Barnes has demonstrated a remarkable ability to improve the performance of individual student-athletes as well as teams. He takes great pride in the successes of our programs. His value to our teams is exemplified by the fact that our head coaches consider him an extension of their individual team coaching staff.
 
One of the most remarkable elements of Barnes' work has been his ability to manage a high-volume of student-athletes with limited workout facilities. He is able to do this through creative programming and maximizing workouts in and out of the sports training center. Barnes routinely works 60 hours or more per week as he trains in-season and out-of-season athletes while also providing summer programming for our teams.
 
Barnes has also served the department in many ways during his time at Arcadia, specifically working as the Assistant Kuch Center Manager and eventually taking over managerial responsibilities a few years ago. He has also contributed greatly to a number of search committees and assisted with presentations during Open Houses.