News & Events
Athletic Awards Banquet Salutes Student-Athletes
On May 20, the College celebrated the achievements of its student-athletes at the 2005 Athletic Awards Banquet attended by some 150 team members, their families and friends, coaches, athletics office staff, faculty and administrators. Director of Athletics Jerry Albig opened the program and then handed the microphone to President Russell K. Hotzler and retiring Dean of Students Lenore Gall, each of whom brought inspiring greetings on behalf of the College.
The first order of business was the presentation of Team Awards. The head coaches of all 10 athletic teams announced their Coaches' Award and Most Valuable Player Award winners for the 2004/2005 academic year, as the audience viewed a slide show featuring every City Tech student-athlete and coach and selected moments from the 2004/2005 men's basketball season.
Two awards presented annually to those who assist the mission and goals of the College's athletics program were given a new spin. The Spirit Award, presented to the top student-aide of the year, was renamed the Yellow Jacket Spirit Award and presented to Eder Mathelier, a senior and leader of the game operations staff. The Service Award was renamed for retired Director of Athletics Ray Amalbert '64, who spent much of the last 42 years at City Tech as a student, professor, coach andathletic director. The award went to Al Bailey and the staff of the College Business Office's Auxiliary Enterprises Board, which oversees program finances. Bailey recently announced his retirement from the College after 15 years of outstanding service.
Twenty student-athletes were honored for maintaining a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average through the fall 2004 semester, while participating in intercollegiate athletics. An additional 18 Honorable Mention Scholar-Athletes were then introduced by Chemistry Professor Tony Nicolas, next year's faculty representative to NACC, who doubles as the Yellow Jacket's number one fan. Next, Dean Gall introduced the Scholar-Athletes of the Year -- Hiu Mei Lau, a four-year senior on the women's volleyball team, and Sherard Harewood, a junior on the men's soccer team. Lau, a communication design major and outside hitter, has been a starter for four seasons and has maintained a 3.74 GPA through seven semesters at City Tech. Harewood, a telecommunications technology major who was recently elected to the Student Government Association, is a midfielder on the soccer team and holds the College's highest student-athlete GPA at 3.80.
Eleven student-athletes received honors from the City University of New York Athletic Conference, the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and other sport-specific individuals and organizations. Senior men's volleyballer Eder Mathelier took City Tech's second-ever CUNY Player of the Year honor, while hoopsters Shacun Malave and Camille Manning rewrote the record books with outstanding senior-year performances.
Athletic Director Albig continued a longstanding tradition by saluting the
four men and three women who have played a single sport for four years, using
their NCAA eligibility in that sport to its fullest, and committing themselves
in exemplary fashion to team and College goals. Each received a trophy and
his or her school jersey in a frame.
The highlight of the banquet was the gifts bestowed on the men's basketball
team, coached this season by legendary head coach Amalbert, who had announced
his retirement shortly before the 2005 CUNYAC/Con Edison Basketball Championships.
Over a week's time, the Yellow Jackets took the tournament with three straight
wins, giving Amalbert's alma mater its first-ever CUNYAC Championship since
moving up to the senior division from the junior college ranks in 1999. The
team also won the CUNYAC South Division Regular Season title as well as its
first-round game against Ursinus College in its premier NCAA Tournament appearance
before falling to highly ranked Ramapo College two days later.
Amalbert had the privilege of introducing his successor, Otis Fenn. A former standout at City Tech (1973-75), Fenn was Yellow Jackets assistant coach for the past three seasons.
Then, to the surprise of the 10 men's basketball players and three team coaches, the squad received personalized commemorative rings, presented by President Hotzler and Dean Gall, in recognition of its 2005 CUNYAC Championship win. Returning team members and other student-athletes now look forward to recharging their batteries and kicking off an even better athletics season this coming September.
06/07/05
