MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Magdalena Hubickova (Prague, Czech Republic) and graduate student Marcus Chavez (Queens, N.Y.) received female and male Athlete of the Year honors, respectively, to highlight nine major awards that were handed out over the course of the past week by the Southern New Hampshire University Department of Athletics & Recreation. The awards are normally announced at the annual Athletic Awards Ceremony, which could not be held this year due to COVID-19. Instead, a different award was announced each day from May 10-14 on the @SNHUPenmen social media channels.
The Athlete of the Year award, which was unveiled Friday, is given to a student-athlete whose outstanding play brought about both regional and national recognition for that player and for Southern New Hampshire University.
Hubickova turned in a big spring for women's tennis this season, going 8-1 in singles – all at No. 1 – while submitting a 7-2 doubles mark at the top flight. Hubickova was selected as the NE10 Vern Cox Player of the Year – the fourth Penmen in program history to earn the honor and the first in five years – and was also an NE10 All-Conference First Team pick at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles.
In 25 games for baseball so far this season, Chavez has slashed .414/.549/.586 with two home runs, 20 RBI, 29 runs scored, 21 walks and 10 extra-base hits. Chavez, who has gone 36-for-87 at the plate, has hit safely in 20 games, which includes a 13-game hitting streak from April 10-May 7. Behind the dish, Chavez has been charged with three errors in 136 chances for a .978 fielding percentage, while throwing out nearly 30 percent of runners trying to steal. At the end of the regular season, Chavez, who was named to the NE10 All-Conference Second Team, ranked second in the league OBP, third in batting average, fifth in walks, seventh in hits, eighth in runs, 14th in slugging, 15th in doubles and 17th in total bases (51).
The Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards are given to a student-athlete, who has attained excellence in the classroom and on the playing field. The winner must be a starter or an important reserve and must have completed at least one academic year at Southern New Hampshire University. This year, the awards were given to a male and female from each of the three playing seasons, with the spring being handed out Thursday, the winter being unveiled Wednesday and the fall being released Tuesday.
The female spring Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year went to softball senior Chloe Griffin (Scarborough, Maine), who collected her degree in Business Administration and is now pursuing her MBA with a 3.74 GPA. Griffin hit .344 in 26 games this season, going 31-for-90 with seven extra-base hits, 14 RBI and 15 runs scored. In the circle, Griffin was 8-4 with a 2.97 ERA, going the distance seven times in her 10 starts. Over 14 appearances, Griffin tossed 66 innings and struck out 22 batters. She ranked fifth in the NE10 in wins, 11th in hits and doubles, 15th in ERA and innings pitched, and 17th in batting average.
Baseball's Nick Artymowicz (Seaville, N.J.) was the male spring Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In six starts so far this season, Artymowicz is 5-1 with a 1.87 ERA over 33-and-two-thirds innings, as he has allowed just 22 hits, while striking out 51 and walking 19. He has allowed one run or fewer in four starts, in addition to striking out double digits in three appearances. Artymowicz was recently selected as the NE10 Northeast Division Pitcher of the Year and an NE10 All-Conference First Teamer, becoming just the third Penmen to earn Pitcher of the Year honors and the first in five years. Artymowicz, who held opponents to a .183 batting average, led the NE10 in wins during the regular season, while ranking third in ERA and strikeouts per game (13.63), fourth in strikeouts and 16th in innings pitched. Artymowicz graduated with a degree in Sport Management and currently owns a 3.92 GPA as he pursues his MBA.
The female winter Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year was women's basketball's Karlee Ziliak (Evansville, Ind.). Ziliak played in 28 contests a year ago, averaging 9.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, while shooting 43 percent from the field, including 37 percent from behind the arc, and 77 percent from the stripe. The co-captain's biggest game of the year came in an 88-83 win at crosstown-rival Saint Anselm College, when she scored a career-high 27 points on 9 of 13 shooting. Ziliak, a psychology major with a 3.74 GPA, contributed to her team's WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll recognition, as the Penmen recorded the 16th highest GPA in all of Division II last year.
Men's ice hockey senior Joe Fiorino (Willow Grove, Pa.) was the male winter Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Fiorino skated in all 25 games and helped anchor the Penmen blue line. Offensively, he ranked second on the team with 18 points on six goals and a team-best 12 assists. Fiorino was named to the NE10 All-Conference Second Team and was also chosen as a semifinalist for the Joe Concannon Award, presented to New England's Best American-born Division II-III hockey player. His efforts in the classroom netted him spots on both the AHCA All-American Scholar list and NE10 Academic All-Conference Team. The business administration major is the owner of a 3.94 GPA.
The female fall Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year was bestowed upon senior Hélène Servais (Brussels, Belgium). Servais re-wrote the Penmen field hockey record book a year ago with 42 points on 15 goals and 12 assists, as she led the Northeast-10 in all three categories, en route to being named to the NFHCA All-America First Team and NE10 All-Conference First Team. Academically, she was recognized with CoSIDA All-District At-Large Team and NE10 Academic All-Conference honors, and graduated with a 3.92 GPA in International Business. This year, she produced a perfect 4.0 GPA, as she pursued her MBA, and was chosen by the NFHCA as a Scholar of Distinction, in addition to earning a spot on the National Academic Squad for the fourth time in her career.
Men's soccer senior Jannik Mohr (Koblenz, Germany) was chosen as the male fall Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Mohr started all 15 contests he suited up for a year ago, anchoring a back line that ranked second in the NE10 in goals allowed and fourth in goals-against average. The captain also contributed offensively, racking up four goals for eight points. Mohr was chosen as an East All-Region Second Team selection by both the D2CCA and United Soccer Coaches, in addition to earning a spot on the NE10 All-Conference First Team. An NE10 Academic All-Conference pick last season, Mohr is an International Business major with a 3.87 GPA.
On Monday, Suzanne Johnston was selected as the winner of the ninth annual Jim Atherton Award, which was created in memory of Jim Atherton '13, a student worker in the athletic department for two years, who passed away following a battle with Ewing's sarcoma in March 2013. The award is given annually to an outstanding student worker in the SNHU athletic department. Johnson was a four-year member of campus recreation, where she was in charge of all remote programming and oversaw intramurals on campus for two years.
Additionally, 24 SNHU student-athletes were recognized with the NE10 Presidents Award for Academic Excellence. The newly-established honor is given to graduating NE10 student-athletes who have attained the Latin honor of Magna Cum Laude at their institution, have participated in at least two seasons of NE10 competition and are a current student-athlete at the time of graduation.
Nick Artymowicz, baseball
Joshua Goldstein, baseball
Jacob Hunt, baseball
Karlee Ziliak, women's basketball
Alex Boedeker, men's cross country
Izzy Bretz, field hockey
Kate Pigsley, field hockey
Hélène Servais, field hockey
Emily Skelley, field hockey
Kyle Galloway, ice hockey
Dani Tompkins, women's lacrosse
Kiko Hernandez, men's soccer
Jannik Mohr, men's soccer
Allyson Patterson, women's soccer
Cori Coults, softball
Jackie Gavin, softball
Guido Janssen, men's tennis
Bas van Biezen, men's tennis
Willem van Biezen, men's tennis
Tatyanna Beckford, women's track & field
Ashley Corcoran, women's track & field
Jill Couto, women's track & field
Megan Decker, women's track & field
Grace Henson, women's track & field
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