SEE: Senior Awards 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 127 seniors and other friends and contributors to the department. In addition, 13 year-end awards were announced to Union's outstanding student-athletes and staff members.
 
Director of Athletics Jim McLaughlin '93 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 Laura Nardelli and senior members of the Union women's cross country team. In addition, senior Glory Moncion Allen of the women's track & field 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 its underclass awards at the annual Student Affairs Leadership Celebration on May 29.

A list of 2023-24 senior and staff 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.
 
Glory Moncion Allen (Women's Track & Field)
Moncion Allen spent four years with the women's track and field team, playing a part in two school records. As a first-year, she was named the Liberty League East Track Athlete of the Meet after winning three conference titles and earning the team's MVP award. She helped to break the school indoor and outdoor 4x400 relay records as a senior and served as a team captain. Moncion Allen was incredibly active off the track as well, serving on the Springfest Committee, founding the school's chapter of My Sister's Keeper, mentoring first-generation students and serving on the College Conduct Committee, among many other activities. As a junior, she earned the school's Calvin G. Schmidt Prize, given to a junior who has most contributed to the betterment of campus student life, and this year earned the inaugural "True to Our Name" award as a student that embodies who Union is and how the College gets its strength.

Bill Megas (Men's Swimming & Diving)
Megas was a four-year member of the swimming & diving team at Union. He was named team MVP after a senior season in which he posted program top-10 times in the 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM and placed sixth in the 400 IM at the Liberty League Championships. Outside of the pool, Megas has presented at multiple conferences, including an undergraduate research conference at MIT as a junior and presenting his senior thesis at the SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing Conference. The Dean's List student will be moving on to Florida International University to pursue a doctorate in electrical engineering.
 
Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award
Presented to a senior student-athlete for outstanding performance in the classroom, community and playing arena. 

Allison Malatesta (Women's Cross Country and Track & Field)
Malatesta made a huge impact on the track, in the classroom and around campus during her time at Union. As a member of the cross country and track teams, she earned a conference title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and was a part of three new school records on the track this season, in addition to becoming the second woman to break 23:00 in a 6K cross country race. In the classroom, the biology major and French and psychology double minor boasts a 3.861 GPA as a part of the Scholars Program and was nominated for the Sigma Xi Research Prize. In addition, she is the Senior Class President of Student Forum, an Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society inductee, a member of the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, as well as an admissions tour guide and senior admissions intern.
 
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.
 
Grace Krebs (Field Hockey)
Krebs showcased her versatility on the field for Union in her final season, moving to back for her senior year and earning her first career All-Conference honor in the process. She served as an anchor to the Union defensive unit that helped the team to a second-straight 11-win season, while still finishing with a career-best-tying four goals with two assists for 10 points, including finishing her career with three goals in the last four games. For her career, the forward-turned-midfielder-turned-back scored 12 goals with 11 assists for 35 points in 53 games, playing in every game over her three years.

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.

Matthew Paolatto (Men's Lacrosse)
Paolatto was recognized as the USILA Division III Faceoff Person of the Year and a first-team All-American after an excellent season that saw him win 71.7 percent (321-of-448) of his draws and grab 199 ground balls to go with six goals and three assists for nine points. The three-time USILA All-American ranked third in Division III in faceoff percentage and seventh in ground balls per game while setting new Union single-season records in both categories. In three years playing in Schenectady, Paolatto won 69.2 percent (771-of-1114) of his faceoffs and grabbed 494 ground balls, setting new program career standards in faceoff wins, faceoff percentage and ground balls.
 
Award for Academic Excellence
Presented to a senior student-athlete for outstanding performance in the classroom.

Gracie Nicol (Women's Tennis)
Nicol was named a co-salutatorian of the senior class after boasting a 3.991 GPA as a biochemistry major on a Pre-Med track. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as a junior and is a Ronald Matthew Obenzinger '61 Pre-Medical Scholar at Union, and has performed student research on campus in addition to a summer fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. In addition to her time in the classroom, Nicol also was named Union's Sophomore and Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year and played first singles and first doubles for the Garnet Chargers.

Meg Piser (Women's Soccer)
Piser was named a co-salutatorian of the senior class as well, bringing a 3.991 GPA into her final trimester as a biology major. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa as a junior and is a member of the Scholar's Program and Pre-Health Society at Union, and also served as a ChemHelp tutor and an End-of-Life CARE research lab assistant. She played in all 17 matches for Union as a senior with a career-high six starts, and finished her career with five goals and two assists in 52 matches.
 
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.

Caroline Stanton (Women's Cross Country and Track & Field)
Stanton was a three-year captain of the Union track & field teams and twice was named the team's MVP, earning eight letters on the track and two in cross country over four years. She was a part of program-record 4x400 relay teams this season in both indoor and outdoor track and was an active member of Union's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. In addition, she served as president of the Garnet Society, Union's Student Alumni Association, and served on the executive board for the Student Philanthropy Council.

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.

Connor Cepiel (Men's Basketball)
Cepiel went from a walk-on to senior captain and team MVP of the men's basketball team during his five years on campus, providing leadership and direction to a very young program in his final year. He was one of two players to start every game during his senior season and ranked second on the team in rebounding from the guard position. Off the court, Cepiel also worked in Union's Strength & Conditioning department and played a key role in the development of his peers by leading workouts and strength training exercises for several Union teams.

Ben Tupker (Men's Hockey)
Tupker was a two-year captain for the men's hockey and earned the ECAC's Wayne Dean Sportsmanship Award in his final season. He registered a career-high 19 points as a senior and worked to establish new pregame and postgame routines as part of changing the team culture. Off the ice, he advocated on behalf of his teammates for a Mental Health Awareness Game, which quickly took off into a multi-department effort and turned into a week of initiatives, and was asked to introduce Victoria Arlen, an ESPN host and Paralympian, to the student body during her on-campus speech.

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

Dionis Polanco (Football)
Polanco was a four-year member of the football team at Union, working in the trenches as a defensive lineman, and is one of the most visible students on campus. In addition to his time on the gridiron, Polanco spearheaded Union's Gift of Life national bone marrow registry drive, leading to at least seven matches and one recent successful transplant. He serves as Vice President of Administration for Student Forum and also spent four years as a student manager with the women's basketball team in addition to working as a U Journey ambassador in his final term.
 
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.
 
Pete Brown '83 (Football)
Brown has been a part of Union Athletics nearly continuously for four decades, playing four years on the gridiron for Union and spending 36 seasons as a coach with several different teams. He worked all 36 seasons as an assistant coach with the football team, coaching the team to 12 of its 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. In 13 seasons as head coach of the softball team, he posted a 307-111-2 record that marks the fourth-most wins in any sport at Union and ranked him in the top-20 in Division III softball history and top-50 in NCAA softball history in winning percentage. He also served five years as the head men's lacrosse coach and one year at the helm of the men's tennis team at Union as well.

Charlie Mackey (Equipment Room)
Mackey spent 20 years in the equipment room for Union Athletics, serving as the primary equipment manager for almost every Union varsity team and managing the budget and inventory for over 600 student-athletes on an annual basis. Mackey started his career at Union as the Assistant Director of Varsity Sport Services for 13 years before moving on to a position at the University of Vermont, but returned to Union in 2017 in his current role.