| 4/15/2024 | General BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic Athletics hosted the 10th annual Owlspys, an award ceremony planned and presented by the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), on Monday evening. Dressed to impress in suits and dresses, the student-athletes were honored for their contribution to the continued growth and success of FAU Athletics over a year that saw several NCAA Tournament appearances21 awards were given out on the night. Courtney Moon of beach volleyball was awarded Female Student-Athlete of the Year and Federico Maranges, center for the football team and SAAC President was named the Male Student-Athlete of the Year.Moon, a senior from Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas, has helped lead the Owls to two Conference Championships and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances during her Florida Atlantic four-year career.Moon has received numerous awards throughout her career. She is a back-to-back Conference USA Preseason All-Conference honoree and was named Conference USA Pair of the Week along with Marketa Svozilova, on April 12. In 2022, she earned Conference USA First Team Pair and was recognized on the Conference USA All-Tournament Team. Moon is second all-time for the Owls’ in-season wins as a pair, securing 21 wins during the 2022 season. She also ranks second all-time in winning percentage for a pair with Svozilova, winning 77 percent of their matches. Their career-winning percentage of 74 percent ranks No. 3 all-time.Academically, Moon is a three-time Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree and a two-time Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal recipient. She is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and plans to graduate this Spring.Maranges came to Florida Atlantic in 2019, beginning a collegiate journey that would allow his leadership skills to expand. While he redshirted his freshman season, he gained championship knowledge as a member of a team that captured the Conference USA regular season, overall championship, and the Boca Raton Bowl. The following year, a season interrupted by COVID, Maranges was a calming leader for a team under the direction of a new head coach and quickly became a starter as a redshirt freshman. Over the next two seasons, he would become an integral part of the Owls’ special teams’ unit and rotated through two positions on the offensive line.In 2023, Maranges secured the starting center position, a position exclusively held by the same person the previous three seasons. In that role, Maranges again used leadership skills and more importantly became a master of communication for the offensive unit. He was elected as one of the team captains and again ushered the Owls through a coaching change. He led an offensive line, just one of nine nationally, that started the same unit in each of the 12 regular-season contests.Off the field, Maranges is the only Florida Atlantic student-athlete to serve in the role of SAAC President for three consecutive years. He has used his time at Florida Atlantic wisely, completing his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences in Spring 2023. He started his master’s degree in biomedical science, the following fall semester while still playing. He anticipates a Spring 2025 graduation after his NCAA eligibility concludes.The final award of the evening, the Owl Cup, was given to the nationally ranked Beach Volleyball team coming off their Conference USA Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023.2024 Owlspys Award Winners All-Freshman Team (Female): Panna Bartha (Tennis), Bry Bellile (Swimming & Diving), Olivia Bori (Soccer), Kiley Channel (Softball), Charlotte Dill (Dance), Jessica Hatch (Cross Country), Charlotte Perkins (Golf), Anna Rovirosa (Track & Field), Isabelle Northam (Volleyball), Sloane Woolwine (Beach Volleyball)All-Freshman Team (Male): Luke Gaudet (Cross Country), Emilio Gonzalez (Baseball), Mark Havlicek (Football), Trevor Kuhn (Swimming & Diving), Oliver Moller-Jensen (Soccer), Zeke Moore (Football)Coach of the Year: Steve Grotowski (Beach Volleyball) Best Performance of the Year – Individual: Johnell Davis (Men’s Basketball) Best Performance of the Year – Team: Men’s BasketballStaff Member of the Year Award: Jordan Pitre (Student Academic Success Center)Picture Perfect Award: Jarrett Jerrels (Football) Female SASC Scholar Owl Award: Marketa Svozilova (Beach Volleyball) Male SASC Scholar Owl Award: Alejandro Ralat (Men’s Basketball) Female Community W.I.N.G (Working for Impact & Noble Giving) Award: Millie-Mae Matthews (Women’s Tennis) Male Community W.I.N.G Award: CJ Williams (Baseball) Team Community W.I.N.G Award: Softball Female OWLstanding Spirit Award: Logan Mignerey and Alivia Orvieto (Beach Volleyball) Male OWLstanding Spirit Award: Bennett Balogh (Swimming & Diving) Female Athlete of the Year: Gabby Sacco (Softball) Male Athlete of the Year: Johnell Davis (Men’s Basketball) Female Student-Athlete of the Year: Courtney Moon (Beach Volleyball) Male Student-Athlete of the Year: Federico Maranges (Football) Al-Shaair S.O.A.R. (Students Overcoming Adversity, and Rising) Award : Courtney Lamas Lanier (Football) New to the Nest Award: Jackson Ambush (Football) Owl Cup: Beach Volleyball |
