May 3, 2011
Photo Gallery
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - The Siena College Athletic Department held its annual end of year All-Sports Celebration Tuesday in the Marcelle Athletic Complex, honoring the achievements both on and off the fields of competition of student-athletes, coaches and teams while also recognizing graduating seniors for their years of service to the college.
Men's basketball star Ryan Rossiter and women's soccer senior captain Tabitha Tice were recognized as the Siena College Student-Athletes of the Year, while men's soccer's James Beeston and women's soccer's Brittany Pfaff received Rookie of the Year honors. Men's lacrosse head coach Brian Brecht was honored as men's Coach of the Year, while women's soccer head coach Steve Karbowski took home the honor on the women's side.
Associate Athletic Director Dennis Bates presented the Student-Athlete of the Year Awards to Rossiter and Tice. Rossiter was named the MAAC Player of the Year after leading the conference in both scoring (18.7) and rebounding (13.2), becoming the first player to do so since Lionel Simmons in 1989-90. Rossiter, who also broke both Siena's single-season and career rebounding records this past season, was named an AP Division I All-American Honorable Mention and was selected to the Basketball Times All-District (Northeast), NABC District I and ECAC Second Teams.
Tice led the women's soccer program to its first-ever MAAC Championship and NCAA Women's College Cup Appearance last fall. An All-MAAC First Team selection and the MAAC Tournament MVP, Tice captained a team that began the season a perfect 12-0-0 and spent consecutive weeks ranked in the Soccer America Top-25 Poll. Tice, who scored the game-winning golden goal in the MAAC Championship match, led the Saints with 12 goals and 27 points and was the first player in program history named to the NSCAA/Performance Subaru All-Northeast Region First Team.
Assistant Athletic Director Ken Grant handed out the Rookie of the Year awards. Beeston was named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team after leading the conference with nine assists. He finished with 17 points and played a vital role on a team which posted its second most wins in program history. Pfaff too was named to the All-Rookie Team and finished her freshman campaign with 10 goals and 25 points. She scored four-game winning goals including the decisive tallies in wins over Big East powers UCONN and Providence.
Director of Athletics John D'Argenio recognized the achievements of both Brecht and Karbowski. Brecht recently led the men's lacrosse program to their fourth MAAC regular season title in the past five years as his Saints will be the No. 1 seed in this weekend's MAAC Championships. Since 2007, Brecht has guided the Saints to an impressive 55-27 record including a 32-6 mark in MAAC play. Karbowski meanwhile orchestrated the most successful season in women's soccer history. The Saints finished the 2010 campaign with a program-record 17 wins en route to their first MAAC Championship and NCAA Women's College Cup Appearance.
SAAC President Katie Carew presented the SAAC Appreciation Award to SAAC Advisor and Water Polo head coach Ellen Howe. The award recognizes and individual for their dedication and commitment to Siena's student-athletes.
Howe and the water polo squad also captured the S.A.I.N.T.S. Cup for their exemplary community service involvement. The team in turn presented a check for $500 to the charity of their choice for winning the award which was the Double H Ranch and their representatives Eileen Nash and Tim Stowell.
Academic Advisor Gail Picillo awarded the Student-Athlete Achievement Awards to men's lacrosse's Duncan Seale and water polo's Jackie Crosby. The honor goes to a graduating student athlete who has worked diligently in the classroom and shown great improvement.
Additionally, Picillo handed out Senior Academic Honor and Academic Excellence awards to graduating seniors who have posted cumulative GPA's above a 3.20 over their four years. More than 30 seniors were recognized with these honors.
Four-year graduating seniors were also honored from each of Siena's sports and received special watches as a thank you gift for their efforts both on and off the field over the past four years.
