MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Ali Maloof (Norwood, Mass.) and junior Jake Nutter (Bedford, N.H.) were recently named the 2014-15 Southern New Hampshire University Athletes of the Year at the Department of Athletics and Recreation's annual awards banquet held recently.
In addition seniors Lindsay Bucknam (Bow, N.H.) and Phillip Tripodakis (Athens, Greece) were honored as SNHU's Scholar-Athetes of the Year, while seniors Kendra Mikuta (Orland Park, Ill.) and Aleksandar Dobrovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) were the recipients of the Unsung Hero Award. Seniors Nicole Valuski (Pittsfield, Mass.) and Kyle Thomas (Lowell, Mass.) were selected as the winners of the Penmen Pride Award.
Ali Maloof and Jake Nutter with Director of Athletics and Recreation
Anthony Fallacaro
Maloof, a member of the softball team, was named Female Athlete of the Year for the second straight year. Thus far this season, Maloof is 18-1 with a 1.34 earned run average and 143 strikeouts, while posting the sixth no-hitter of her career against Saint Michael's. At the plate, Maloof is batting .422 with four home runs and 24 runs batted in. She was recently named both the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year as well as Pitcher of the Year, earning the league's top pitcher honors for the third straight season. Maloof has led the softball team to a 29-6 record, a No. 24 national ranking, and the top seed in this weekend's NE-10 Softball Championship being hosted at SNHU.
Nutter has established himself as one of the top men's golfers in the region in 2014-15. This fall, he finished first in four tournaments and became the fifth player in program history to win the Northeast-10 Championship and be named Player of the Year. He did so in record-setting fashion, posting a two-day score of six-under 134, breaking the conference record held by current head coach Matt Arvanitis. In 10 tournaments, Nutter has posted seven top-five finishes and has a 73.4 stroke average, placing him as the No. 2 player in the region. He has led the men's golf program to its second straight NCAA regional appearance, with the Penmen teeing off Monday.
Phillip Tripodakis and Lindsay Bucknam With
Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Doug Blais
Bucknam, a four-year member of the women's lacrosse program, has been one of the leaders of the Penmen over her career. In 63 career games she totaled 107 goals and 34 assists for 141 points, placing her ninth in program history in career goals and 10th in career points. This season, she has totaled 33 goals and nine assists for 42 points, placing her second on the team in scoring, while she has also recorded 18 ground balls and 15 draw controls. Last season, Bucknam was a member of the Northeast-10 All-Academic Team. An Elementary/Special Education major, Bucknam has compiled a 3.848 cumulative GPA.
A four-year member of the Penmen men's basketball program, Tripodakis played an integral role throughout his career. Playing in 110 games, Tripodakis knocked down 83 career three-pointers and developed into one of the top defensive players on the team. This season, he had a season-high 12 points against Southern Connecticut in the NCAA East Region final. A member of the Northeast-10 All-Academic Team as a senior, Tripodakis is a multi-time NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll member. Tripodakis graduated last year with a 3.703 GPA as an International Management major and is currently pursuing his MBA in International Business, where he has posted a 3.945 GPA to date.
Aleksandar Dobrovic and Kendra Mikuta With Dean of Students
Heather Lorenz
A four-year member of the volleyball team, Mikuta played a key role as the Penmen enjoyed perhaps the finest season in program history, going 17-11 and reaching the Northeast-10 tournament for the first time since 2003. A co-captain, Mikuta finished second on the team with 285 defensive digs, while also recording 58 kills and 32 service aces. In SNHU's NE-10 tournament game at Stonehill, Mikuta finished with 26 digs while also registering a season-high 11 kills. Mikuta wraps up her career ranked fifth in career digs and seventh in career assists and service aces, along with being the program's all-time leader in matches played with 101.
Dobrovic was a big reason why the men's basketball team finished 24-8 and won its first NCAA regional title and made its first Elite Eight appearance since 1995. The senior forward did a little bit of everything for the Penmen, averaging 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while leading the team with 52 steals. He averaged 13.2 points per game during SNHU's playoff run and recorded 16 points, six steals and five rebounds in a regional semifinal win over University of the Sciences, keying a comeback from 10 points down with 12 minutes to go. He became the 46th player with 1,000 career points in the final game of his college career against Florida Southern.
Kyle Thomas and Nicole Valuski With President's Chief of Staff
Wil Zemp
A four-year member of the cheerleading program, Valuski has been a big part of that program's recent success, and is also active with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The Vice-President of SAAC, Valuski has been integral in the planning and presentation of several events, including Team IMPACT Night, which showcased the special relationship several Penmen teams have with their special teammates facing lite-threatening illnesses. In the classroom, Valuski has been an honor roll student throughout her SNHU career.
Thomas, a four-year member of the baseball program, has been a leader ever since arriving on campus. An active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Thomas is serving as the organization's president in 2014-15. An honor roll student, Thomas has been heavily involved in the relationship with Ian Price, baseball's Team IMPACT teammate, and last summer he served an internship with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.
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Cole Peffer (second from right) was named the winner of the Jim Atherton Award,
awarded to the top student worker in the athletic department.
