SEE: Senior Awards and Block U Photo Gallery
WATCH: Senior Awards Ceremony

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Union College Department of Athletics held its annual Senior Student-Athlete Awards Ceremony on Friday afternoon at Memorial Chapel, recognizing the achievements of Union's 114 seniors and other friends and contributors to the department. In addition, 12 year-end awards were announced to Union's outstanding student-athletes and staff members.
 
Senior Associate Director of Athletics Beth Tiffany opened the afternoon by reflecting on the many achievements that were earned in competition, in the classroom and in the community by Union's many dedicated student-athletes, followed by President David R. Harris, who addressed the seniors and also presented the Presidential Award for Academic Achievement to head coach Brian Bowman and senior members of the Union women's tennis team. In addition, senior Eliza Munns of the field hockey team spoke on behalf of her classmates.
 
Seniors and staff members were recognized with some of the department's year-end awards, while all Union senior student-athletes received their Block U senior gifts at the event as well. Union previously announced their underclass awards at the annual Student Affairs Leadership Celebration on May 23.

A full list of 2022-23 award winners are listed below:
 
Stephen Ritterbush '68 Award
Presented annually, by select vote, to the student who best exemplifies "mente et corpore" sound mind in sound body -- the attributes of scholar-athlete, and board of trustee member Stephen Ritterbush, Class of 1968.  Stephen's outstanding intellect, forthright character, and incisive leadership distinguished him both on and off the field at Union and beyond.
 
Karson Saunders (Softball)
Saunders had an incredible year on and off the field for the Union softball team, racking up nearly every possible athletic and academic honor. She was named the second NFCA All-America first-team selection in team history this year as well as the CSC Division III Softball Academic All-American of the Year, the first Union player in any sport to receive the national honor. She ranked fourth in Division III with a school- and Liberty League-record .528 batting average and also ranked third in the country with a school-record .600 on-base percentage. In the classroom, the sociology and English double major is a senior class valedictorian with a 4.00 GPA and has been inducted into numerous national honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa. In addition, the senior served as Vice Chair of the school's Honor Council, worked as a tutor in the Writing Center and a peer mentor with the Accommodative Services Office, and been a contributing writer to the Sociology Department newsletter. She earned the ECAC Medal of Merit as Union's junior female athlete of the year in 2022.
 
Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award
Presented to a senior student-athlete for outstanding performance in the classroom, community and playing arena. 

Haley Kresch (Women's Volleyball)
Kresch has been a three-year contributor and two-year starter at setter for the women's volleyball team, leading the team with 528 assists to go with 43 service aces and 171 digs as a senior. She ranks seventh in program history by averaging 5.3 assists per set became the 11th player in program history to reach 1,000 career assists despite playing only three seasons. Off the court, the computer science major boasts a 3.85 GPA and is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery Council on Women and a lab assistant in the computer science department.
 
Karson Saunders (Softball)
Saunders had an incredible year on and off the field for the softball team, racking up nearly every possible athletic and academic honor. She was named the second NFCA All-America first-team selection in Union softball history this year as well as the CSC Division III Softball Academic All-American of the Year, the first Union player in any sport to receive the national honor. She ranked fourth in Division III with a school- and Liberty League-record .528 batting average and also ranked third in the country with a school-record .600 on-base percentage. Off the field, the sociology and English double major is a senior class valedictorian with a 4.00 GPA and has been inducted into numerous national honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa. She earned the ECAC Medal of Merit as Union's junior female athlete of the year in 2022.
 
Robert M. Ridings Memorial Award
Presented to the senior female athlete voted by the Athletic Department to be outstanding athlete of the year, taking into account the character and motivation of the individual in addition to athletic excellence.
 
Emily Dawson (Field Hockey)
Dawson was named to the NFHCA All-Region second team and the All-Liberty League first team after one of the best offensive seasons in program history in 2022. The senior scored 16 goals with five assists for 37 points, finishing third in single-season points and fifth in single-season goals at Union, with both totals the most by a Union player since 2013. The NFHCA Senior Game selection ranked second in goals and points among Liberty League players, while finishing up 35th and 42nd nationally in goals per game and points per game, respectively. After playing in only three games as a first-year, Dawson exploded for 28 goals and six assists in her final two years with Union, placing her eighth in career goals and tied for ninth in career points in essentially two seasons of collegiate field hockey.
 
Sydney McPartlon (Women's Lacrosse)
McPartlon was named to the All-Liberty League second team for the second time in three years after another excellent season at the helm of the Union offensive attack in 2023. The senior attacker finished the season fifth in the Liberty League in goals per game by netting a career-high 46 goals with 10 assists for 56 points, nearly doubling her career totals in all three categories. Despite having her first two seasons abbreviated by the pandemic and the last two affected by injury, the senior still finished time in Schenectady 16th in career goals (95) and 24th in career points (116) at Union, averaging 2.71 goals (5th) and 3.31 points (7th) per game in 35 games.
 
William B. Jaffe '26 Athletic Award
Presented to the senior male athlete voted by the Athletic Department to be outstanding athlete of the year, taking into account the character and motivation of the individual in addition to athletic excellence.

Tim Driscoll (Football)
Driscoll was one of the most dominant linemen in Division III over his final two seasons and was rewarded with both AFCA All-American honors and D3football.com All-American plaudits in 2023, becoming only the fifth student-athlete in program history to earn both in the same season. The left tackle started all 10 games and did not allow an individual sack, anchoring a line that allowed only eight sacks in 10 games and racked up 212.2 rushing yards per game. In his time as a starter, Driscoll only allowed one individual sack in 32 games. The two-year captain was a three-time D3football.com Preseason All-American and three-time member of the D3football.com All-Region Second Team, one of only two Union players to earn three All-Region recognitions since the award's inception.
 
Award for Academic Excellence
Presented to a senior student-athlete for outstanding performance in the classroom.

Matt Beazoglou (Baseball)
Beazoglou came back to the mound this season after missing all of 2022 and tossed 14.0 innings over five appearances in 2023, posting a 1-1 record. Off the field, he was named a senior class valedictorian with a perfect 4.0 GPA as a biology major and was one of four Class of 2023 members inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. The pitcher is a member of the Honor Council, the Scholars Program and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.
 
Eliza Munns (Field Hockey)
Munns has the best season of her career on the field for the field hockey team, scoring four goals with two assists for 10 points, and also continued her stellar four years in the classroom with a 3.967 GPA as a biomedical engineering major. A member of the Omicron Delta Kappa (Leadership), Tau Beta Pi (Engineering and Order of Omega (Greek) Honor Societies, she is also Co-President of the Student Alumni Association and a student representative on the Athletic Liaison Committee. Munns is a four-time NFHCA Scholar of Distinction, making her first player in program history to earn the honor four times. Munns was named Union's Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2021-22 and also earned Freshman Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors in 2019-20.
 
ECAC Medal of Merit
Presented to a junior female student-athlete for attitude, ability, participation and achievement in intercollegiate sports.

Celeste Beaudoin (Women's Hockey)
Beaudoin had another excellent season on the blue line for the women's hockey team, finishing third on the squad in scoring with a career-high five goals and 11 assists and helping the team set a new program Division I record for wins in a single season. The alternate captain also set a new school single-game standard by dishing out five assists in a win over Saint Michael's College in January.
 
William A. Pike '60 Award
Presented to a junior male student-athlete for attitude, ability, participation and achievement in intercollegiate sports.

Dan Donahue (Men's Lacrosse)
Donahue earned All-America honors for the second straight season after another great year in between the pipes for Union men's lacrosse. The junior finished 18th in Division III with a .592 save percentage to go with a 9.97 goals against average and an average of 14.11 saves per game, and his 254 saves this season are second-most in a season in program history.
 
Matt Kenvin (Men's Swimming & Diving)
Kenvin was the best swimmer in the pool for Union in 2022-23, earning the team's high-point award and earning a pair of All-Liberty League honorable mentions. He broke the school record in the 100 breaststroke at the Liberty League championships and came two tenths of a second short of an NCAA "B" cut time in the event, and finished on the all-time top-10 leaderboard in multiple events this season for Union.
 
Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award
Presented to a junior student-athlete for outstanding performance in the classroom, community and playing arena. 
 
Edward Baptiste (Men's Basketball)
Baptiste emerged as a major contributor on the court for the men's basketball team this year, averaging 9.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game on the season and scoring in double figures in eight of the season's last 10 contests. Outside of hoops, the computer engineering major boasts a 3.75 GPA, has participated in NASA's L'SPACE Mission Concept Academy, and has secured prestigious internships with both Google (2022) and SpaceX (2023).
 
Gracie Nicol (Women's Tennis)
Nicol has excelled on and off the court for the women's tennis year, leading the team with 28 total wins in 2022-23 while also boasting a 3.988 GPA as a biochemistry major. She earned All-Liberty League first-team honors in doubles this year and boasted the most doubles wins by a Union player since 2017, and also went 6-5 in second singles flight as part of a 12-win campaign. Off the court, she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as a junior and presented at the American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week in Orlando in November. She previously was named Union's Sophomore Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2021-22.
 
Female Sophomore Athletic Prize
Presented to a sophomore female student-athlete for attitude, ability participation and achievement in intercollegiate sports.

Cat Dacey (Women's Cross Country/Track & Field)
Dacey excelled in all three seasons as a member of the Union cross country and track & field teams in 2022-23, following up her Terry Lynch-Jackie Havercamp Cuttita Memorial Award from a year ago with another award-winning season. She started the year by leading the cross country team in every meet this fall, capping the year by earning Union's first All-Conference honors since 2009 with an All-Liberty League honorable mention. She followed that up by earning five top-six finishes at the Conference Indoor and Outdoor Track Championships, including breaking a 13-year-old school record in the 1,500 meters.
 
Sophie Matsoukas (Women's Hockey)
Matsoukas was fantastic between the pipes for the women's hockey team as a sophomore, winning a program-record 11 games and helping Union set a Division I program record for wins in a season. She ended the year with 1,003 saves, the third-most in Division I this year and fifth-most in a single season at Union, including a 56-save effort against Princeton University in Union's first-ever win over a nationally ranked opponent.
 
Harold R. Moore Sophomore Athletic Prize
Presented to a sophomore male student-athlete for attitude, ability participation and achievement in intercollegiate sports.

Ben Jacobs (Men's Tennis)
Jacobs had an excellent season on the court for the men's tennis team, leading the team with singles 11 victories at the top-two flights to earn All-Liberty League second-team honors. He was moved up to the first-singles flight in mid-March and responded with five wins in his final nine regular-season matches, with three of the four losses coming to regionally or nationally ranked opponents. His 11 singles wins this year are tied for the second-most by a Union men's player since 2000.
 
Chris Suter (Baseball)
Suter picked up his second straight All-Liberty League second team honor after another strong season on the mound. The sophomore started in eight games and compiled a 5-3 record with a 3.98 ERA, tossing two complete games and recording his first collegiate shutout against Bowdoin College. Suter pitched a career-high 52 innings and struck-out a career-high 34 batters on the year, including a new career-high seven batters against Williams College.
 
Sophomore Scholar Athlete of the Year Award
Presented to a sophomore student-athlete for outstanding performance in the classroom, community and playing arena. 
 
Elizabeth Bentsianov (Women's Golf)
Bentsianov had another record-setting season for the women's golf team in 2022-23, setting the school single-season scoring record for the second straight season by averaging 79.75 strokes per round, the program's first sub-80 season. She also reset the school single-round and two-day scoring records as well this season, and capped off the year by taking fourth at the Liberty League Championships to become the program's first All-Conference first-team honoree. Off the course, Bentsianov boasts a 3.98 GPA as a biology and anthropology double major in the Leadership in Medicine program and was named Union's Freshman Scholar-Athlete of the Year last season.
 
Maren Friday (Women's Hockey) 
Friday also earns Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors for the second year in a row after another great season on the blue line for the women's hockey team. On the ice, the sophomore set new career highs with five goals and 10 assists to rank fourth on the team in scoring and was Union's nominee for the Mandi Schwartz ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year Award. In the classroom, Friday boasts a 4.0 GPA as a mechanical engineering major.

Terry Lynch-Jackie Havercamp Cuttita Memorial Award
Presented to a first-year female athlete for attitude, ability, participation and achievement in intercollegiate sports. 
 
Riley Walsh (Women's Hockey)
Walsh had a huge impact on the women's hockey team as a first-year, setting the school Division I record for scoring by a first-year with 15 goals and adding seven assists for 22 points, ranking second in both single-season goals and points in the program's D-I era. She tied the program single-season record with four game-winning goals, including three overtime game-winners in a two-week span in November, for which she was named the HCA National Rookie of the Month.
 
Sydney Widlitz (Women's Lacrosse)
Widlitz also made an immediate impact in the crease for the women's lacrosse team, earning IWLCA All-Region first-team and ECAC Co-Rookie of the Year honors after posting a 10-5 record with a 10.02 goals against average and .518 save percentage. She led all conference goalies and ranked 24th in Division III in save percentage this season, while also ranking second in GAA and third in saves per game (9.19) among Liberty League keepers. Her 147 saves this season are the most by a Union goalie since 2010 and ranked eighth on the school single-season list.

Freshman Athletic Prize
Presented to a first-year male athlete for attitude, ability, participation and achievement in intercollegiate sports.

Aren Cummings (Men's Basketball)
Cummings proved himself to be one of the conference's top young players in the paint for the men's basketball team. A two-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week, he was named Liberty League Rookie of the Year after averaging 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 44.0 percent (77 of 175) from the field. Despite missing the final eight games of the season due to injury, his 171 points and 79 rebounds were still most among all conference rookies this year.

Freshman Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award
Presented to a first-year student-athlete for outstanding performance in the classroom, community and playing arena.
 
Shannon McGrath (Women's Volleyball)
McGrath had an excellent rookie season for Union as the team's top outside hitter, leading the women's volleyball team with 283 kills and 47 service aces on the way to All-Liberty League second-team and All-ECAC honors. She finished the year third in the Liberty League in both kills per set (3.58) and service aces per set (0.59) and also ranked second among all conference players in points per set (4.23). Nationally, she finished the year ranking eighth among first-years in points per set and 53rd overall. Off the court, the biomedical engineering major boasts a 3.8 GPA.
 
Skylar Semon (Women's Tennis)
Semon also had an impactful season to start off her time with the women's tennis team, leading all Union rookies with 20 victories with a 9-8 singles record and an 11-5 doubles mark playing primarily at sixth singles and third doubles. She was just as successful in the classroom, boasting a 3.95 GPA as a sociology major.
 
President's Commission on the Status of Women Leadership Award
Presented to the senior female student-athlete who has done the most to promote athletics for women at Union College.

Melanie Baker (Women's Swimming and Diving)
Baker has been a three-year member of Union's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has chaired multiple important committees, including the Value of Athletics Committee and the Athletic Review Committee. She also played an integral role in the very successful Athletes for Athletes campaign in 2022-23, coordinating events that promoted student-athlete attendance at home events throughout the year, as well as the annual Spring Carnival. Outside of Athletics, Baker is a member of the Women in Engineering Club and was inducted into the Order of the Engineer.

Leadership Award
Presented to a student-athlete for exceptional leadership of a team in competition and on campus, providing positive direction for their fellow student-athletes.

Denesha Lafontant (Women's Volleyball/Track & Field)
Lafontant was a three-season standout for Union with the volleyball and track & field teams, finishing her career as the school record-holder in both the indoor and outdoor triple jump as well as the outdoor long jump. She also made a difference on campus, serving on the Committee for Athletic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and also serving as Student Forum's Vice President of Intercultural Affairs. She also co-facilitated, developed and implemented "Spill the Tea," a collaborative program centered on increasing dialogue and constructive conversations around social justice, race, diversity, and inclusion on campus.
 
Brandon Mitchell (Football)
A four-year member of the Union football team, Mitchell was awarded Union's Josephine Daggett Prize, one of the two most prestigious awards handed out on Prize Day and given annually to a student for conduct and character. Mitchell has demonstrated a commitment to advancing social justice and inclusion on campus in roles with the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the executive board of the Black Student Union, as well as by participating in the First-Generation Mentorship program. The senior class president also led the development of the "100 Days Until Commencement" program that provides important information to seniors as they approach graduation.

Award for Community Service and Community Outreach
Presented to a student-athlete for outstanding performance in community service.

Glory Moncion Allen (Women's Track & Field)
Moncion Allen was given the Calvin G. Schmidt '51 Prize, given to a junior who has contributed most to the betterment of student life on campus. In addition to her time as an All-Conference sprinter for Union, Moncion Allen has empowered students at multiple levels with her work with My Sister's Keeper and the First-Generation program as well as a Pre-O leader.
 
Athletics Appreciation Award
Presented to an individual in appreciation of his or her service and dedication to the Department of Athletics staff and its student-athletes.
 
Mary Ellen Burt (Women's Golf/Women's Basketball)
Burt has spent nearly three decades coaching female student-athletes at Union, spending 28 years at the helm of the women's basketball program and adding 11 seasons as leader of the women's golf program she started in 2011. Her 344 wins on the basketball court are the most in a single sport by any Union head coach, averaging nearly 14 wins per season. Her best season on the hardwood came in 2003-04, guiding the team to a 24-4 record, the Liberty League regular-season and tournament titles, and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance. She has been the only leader in the brief history of the women's golf program, building the program from scratch and helping the team enjoy success both on the course and in the classroom. Burt's tenure at Union is the second-longest of any coach ever at the College.