April 29, 2015
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The Siena College Athletic Department held its annual All-Sports Celebration Tuesday, honoring the achievements of student athletes on and off the field while also recognizing graduating seniors for their years of service to the College.
Baseball senior Justin Esquerra and basketball senior Tehresa Coles were named Siena's Male and Female Student Athletes of the Year.
Esquerra leads the Saints in batting average (.318) and hits (42), and is second on the team in home runs (4), runs scored (21) and RBI (17). He has started all 36 games at third base this season (and all 96 in his career), where he has emerged as one of the top defensive infielders in the conference, having committed just four errors in 108 chances at the hot corner. Esquerra has two game-winning home runs this year - one that helped the Saints' clinch a key road series at Niagara. As a junior, he started all 60 games for the most successful team in program history, and led the Saints with 29 RBI. He was also named to the CoSIDA District One Academic All-District Team and he currently holds a 3.46 GPA in accounting.
Coles was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year after guiding the upstart Saints to a 13-win improvement that was the second greatest in all of Division I this season. The senior captain graduates as the program's all-time career (308) and single-season (98 in 2014-15) steals leader. She led the Saints with 13.2 points per game this season, and was the heart and soul of a 22-win team that advanced all the way to the finals of the Women's Basketball Invitational. Coles became the 26th member of the program's 1,000-point club this season, and finished her career as just the sixth player in the MAACs 33-year history to amass at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists and 250 steals. Off the court, Coles earned her undergraduate degree in just three years and will graduate with her master's in accounting in May.
Alexander Tejera (soccer) and Margot Hetzke (basketball) were selected the 2014-15 Siena College Rookies of the Year.
Tejera was a MAAC Second Team and unanimous MAAC Rookie Team selection for a Siena soccer team that tied for the second most wins (10) in program history and posted the first unbeaten home mark at Siena Turf Field (6-0-2). He tied for fifth in the MAAC in game-winning goals (3), sixth in goals (6) and eighth in scoring (15). Tejera was one of just 33 freshmen named to the College Soccer New All-Freshman Team and was selected to the NSCAA/Continental Tire All-Northeast Region Third Team.
Hetzke was the unanimous choice as MAAC Rookie of the Year after ranking eighth in the conference in scoring (12.7) and fourth in rebounding (7.4) for the surprising Saints. She earned MAAC Rookie of the Week honors nine times (the third most in conference history), and was a five-time Corvias ECAC Division I Metro/Upstate Rookie of the Week. Hetzke was named to the MAAC Third Team and was a two-time College Sports Madness MAAC Player of the Week. The 29 points she scored in her collegiate debut at Buffalo tied for the fourth most by a freshman in their collegiate debut in NCAA history.
SAAC president Nick Grudev presented the SAAC Appreciation Award to Siena's catering manager and longtime friend to athletics Norm Kvam. The award recognizes an individual for dedication and commitment to Siena's student athletes. The celebration was the last event Kvam will cater; he is retiring at the end of the month.
The S.A.I.N.T.S. Cup was presented to the field hockey team for their exemplary community service and overall positive involvement in the Siena community.
Academic advisor Gail Picillo awarded the Student Athlete Achievement Awards to men's lacrosse's James Cashin (East Setauket, N.Y.) and women's basketball's Kelsey Booth (East Hampton, Conn.). The honor goes to graduating student athletes who have worked diligently in the classroom and shown great improvement.
Director of Student Athlete Engagement Lori Jancik 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. A total of 43 seniors were recognized with these honors.
Jancik also presented awards to student athletes who posted the highest cumulative GPA in their respective schools. They included: women's soccer's Anna Grant (School of Science) and Matar Rahamim (School of Business), and water polo's Kori Swieter (School of Arts).
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.