THE FLATS — Celebrating its student-athletes and their accomplishments, Georgia Tech Athletics celebrated the 2016-17 season Monday night at the annual Yellow Jacket Celebration. The event was held at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center.
Announcing the annual award winners, football’s Harrison Butker and track & field’s Donjhae Jones collected the night’s highest honors, the Total Person Award.
The 2016 ACC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year and ITA All-American, Chris Eubanks was joined by AVCA All-Region and AVCA Honorable Mention All-America Teegan Van Gunst as the 2016-17 GTAA Athletes of the Year.
Basketball swept the Rookie of the Year awards as men’s basketball’s Josh Okogie and women’s basketball’s Francesca Pan received the honors. Okogie finished his freshman campaign as Tech’s leading scorer and recorded the third-most points from a freshman in Georgia Tech school history. Receiving ACC All-Freshman honors, Okogie became the third freshman in history to score 30-plus points twice in a season. Pan became just the second women’s basketball player in program history to be named the ACC Freshman of the Year. Additionally, Pan earned ACC All-Freshman and All-ACC Academic honors and was named ACC Rookie of the Week five times during the season.
PLAY OF THE YEAR
Qua Searcy (football) and Rasheeda McAdoo (women’s tennis) picked up the Plays of the Year. Searcy staged a comeback win for the Yellow Jackets in Athens as Tech defeated Georgia 28-27. Trailing by six points with less than a minute to play, Searcy scored the game-winning touchdown, sending the Jackets to victory.
McAdoo recorded an ESPN SportsCenter moment against UCLA in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Playing against Ena Shibahara, McAdoo made an incredible play with a between-the-legs winner down the line against the Bruin. Tech went on to win the match and clinch a berth into the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
SPOTLIGHT AWARDS
The Georgia Tech Spotlight Awards recognizes one player from each team whose contributions to his or her program go far beyond the scope of athletics. Spotlight Award winners are:
-Zach Matthews (football)
-Josh Heath (men’s basketball)
-Simina Avram (women’s basketball)
-Jonathan King (baseball)
-Allison Brandvold (softball)
-Chris Yun (men’s tennis)
-Alexa Anton-Ohlmeyer (women’s tennis)
-Kodie Comby (volleyball)
-Michael Hines (golf)
-Quentin Talley (men’s swimming)
-Camille Felix (women’s swimming)
-Alex Grady (men’s track)
-Carissa Tipler (women’s track)
-Nahom Solomon (men’s cross country)
-Rachel Thorne (women’s cross country)
-Will Campiglia (cheerleading)
ACC TOP 6 FOR SERVICE
Six Georgia Tech student-athletes were honored by the ACC with the league’s Top 6 for Service Award, an honor presented annually to six student-athletes from each ACC institution who demonstrate dedication to community service and outreach programs. Georgia Tech’s recipients were Keshun Freeman (football), Alex Grady (men’s track), Samantha Kase (women’s swimming), Andrea Demick (women’s swimming), Lauren Pitz (volleyball) and Rand Rowland (men’s basketball).
ACC POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS
Volleyball’s Lauren Pitz and Teegan Van Gunst were joined by women’s swimming’s Andrea Demick as Georgia Tech’s ACC Postgraduate Scholarship recipients. Football’s Harrison Butker was selected as an honorary postgraduate recipient. The Weaver-James-Corrigan and Jim and Pat Thacker postgraduate scholarships are awarded to selected student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate degree following completion of their undergraduate requirements. Each recipient will receive $5,000 toward his or his graduate education. Those honored have performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.
ACC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award was established in September 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the award must have maintained a 3.0 GPA for their career as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters. Georgia Tech’s 2016-17 ACC Scholar-Athletes of the Year were Teegan Van Gunst (volleyball) and Nahom Solomon (men’s cross country/track).
TOTAL PERSON AWARD
This award is given to one male and one female who are graduating or within 20 hours of graduating. Recipients have to be in good academic standing; lettered at least two years; achieved ACC, regional or national recognition or awards; made significant contributions to his or her team; and possess the attributes of the Total Person (career ambitions, family relations, health consciousness, self-motivation, and community involvement). The 2016-17 winners are Harrison Butker (football) and Donjahe Jones (women’s track).
Bobby Dodd SCHOLARSHIP
The Bobby Dodd Scholarship is given to one male and one female returning student-athlete with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Each recipient must have lettered in his or her sport at least one year and they must both exemplify good citizenship and participation in community service, outstanding sportsmanship and dedication. The 2016-17 recipients are James Clark (golf) and Antonia Peresson (women’s basketball).
L.W. “CHIP” ROBERTS AWARD
This award, made in honor of L.W. “Chip” Roberts’ family, is given to one male and one female graduating senior. Both must be the top student-athlete in academics, athletics and campus life, while possessing a 3.0 GPA or higher and an outstanding athletic record. The 2016-17 recipients are Robert Borowicz (men’s swimming) and Maddie Paschal (women’s swimming).
GT LEADERSHIP AWARD
The GT Leadership Award is given to one student-athlete that demonstrates leadership qualities on the playing field, in the classroom, and in the community. This year’s recipients are Alex Grady (men’s cross country/track) and Lauren Pitz (volleyball).
ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
This award is given to applaud the athletic accolades of some of the nation’s best athletes. This year’s award winners are Chris Eubanks (men’s tennis) and Teegan Van Gunst (volleyball).
