NSU Athletics Hosts Virtual Sharky’s Award Show

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – On Sunday afternoon, the Nova Southeastern University athletic department held its 2nd-Annual Sharky’s Awards Show, celebrating the 2019-20 season and commending student-athletes for their academic and athletic prowess in an entirely virtual awards show broadcast live on YouTube, presented by Academy Bus, Geico, Kovac Automotive and Courtyard Marriott Fort Lauderdale Plantation.

The “ESPYs” style event was emceed by volleyball player Alex Boone and men’s track and field athlete Justin Jackson. To view the full online event, click on the video below.

The first awards of the night were the Female and Male Rookies of the year, which was awarded to Chama Silva (Women’s Soccer) and RJ Sunahara (Men’s Basketball).

The NSU athletics department then took a moment to celebrate the Sharkettes’ Most Valuable Dancer, which was awarded to Leticia Sanchez.

Next came the Female and Male Rising Star Awards, which were given to a sophomore or junior student-athlete who has made significant strides early in his or her NSU career. Hanna Ahlander from the women’s golf team and Michael Lawrence from the men’s soccer team took home the awards.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Athlete of the Year Award was presented next by Assistant Athletic Director Steve Orris and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Jake Suvak. Sydney Lageyre from the softball team was honored with this award.

The volleyball team was then awarded the “Breakthrough Performance of the Year”, as the team had their first 20-win season since 2008, won 12 SSC games (which is the most in program history), and had two All-American honors, two All-Region honors and had three SSC Player of the Week honors.

Taking a break from the awards, Associate Athletic Director for Sport Administration/Internal Operations/Business Services Danielle Daniel took a moment to recognize the 2019 women’s soccer team, which took its first-ever trip to the Elite Eight after winning the South Region Championship for the first time in program history back in the fall.

Scholar-Athletes of the Year were presented next by Zak Bertram, Student-Athlete Support and Compliance Coordinator. The academic awards were given to Michelle Bauer, from the women’s cross country and track and field teams, and Mitch Moczygemba from men’s track and field team. The two had the highest GPA among seniors in this year’s graduating class. Bauer is an honors student graduating this semester with a degree in Finance and minors in International Business and Spanish. She also currently boasts a 4.0 cumulative GPA. Moczygemba currently has a 3.95 cumulative GPA and will graduate this semester with a degree in Sport and Recreation Management and a minor in Entrepreneurship.

Continuing on the academics side, Athletic Academic Services Manager Deanna Rivero came on screen to recognize the 53 student-athletes that were inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society. Chi Alpha Sigma is the first and only nonprofit organization that was established to honor collegiate student-athletes who have excelled in both the classroom and in athletic competition – recognizing college student-athletes who receive a varsity letter in their sport, achieve junior academic standing or higher after their fifth full-time semester and earn a 3.4 or higher cumulative grade point average.

Next, each sport’s Unsung Heroes were recognized. The Unsung Hero Award is given to the individual on each team who is an impactful leader, regardless of his or her playing time. Below is a full list of both the female and male Unsung Heroes:

Volleyball – Rachael Nelson
Men’s Soccer – Titouan Le Roux
Women’s Soccer – Emily O’Connell
Men’s Cross Country – Andrew Swanson
Women’s Cross Country – Morgan Will
Women’s Basketball – Hailey Conley
Men’s Basketball – Carl Alenfall
Women’s Swimming – Haley Watters
Men’s Swimming – Evan Weber
Rowing – Emily Stewart
Tennis – Sarah Wardenburg
Men’s Golf – Tomas Millet
Women’s Golf – Sofia Garcia Austt
Baseball – Brandon Chinea
Softball – Sam Sisco
Men’s Track & Field – James Gamble
Women’s Track & Field – Carly Rothert

Following, the Ultimate Shark awards were presented. Each team’s Ultimate Shark is bestowed on the student-athlete who represents what it means to be a Shark, athletically and academically. Below is a full list of both the female and male Ultimate Sharks:

Volleyball – Ally Ford
Women’s Soccer – Emma Heikkila
Women’s Cross Country – Michelle Bauer
Women’s Basketball – Jordan Tully
Women’s Swimming – Emma Sundstedt
Rowing – Perrine Sarraute
Tennis – Natalie Espinal
Women’s Golf – Sofia Garcia Austt
Softball – Sydney Lageyre
Women’s Track & Field – Charissa Bacon
Men’s Soccer – Curtis Thorn
Men’s Cross Country – Joel Lacy
Men’s Basketball – Nick Smith
Men’s Swimming – Vincent Lijoi
Men’s Golf – Mike Hay
Baseball – Adan Fernandez
Men’s Track & Field – Ian Nieves

After the announcement of each Ultimate Shark, both the female and male Golden Shark Awards were presented. From the pool of Ultimate Sharks, one female and one male student-athlete were named the Golden Shark. The Golden Shark award is given to the female and male student-athlete that has displayed a dominant presence within competition and is known as one of NSU’s premier athletes. Nominees are submitted by respective coaches and voted on by the athletics administration team. On the women’s side, Emma Sundstedt (Women’s Swimming) was given with this award while on the men’s side, Vincent Lijoi (Men’s Swimming) was honored.