Athletics Department Announces Senior Awards
The awards were presented virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Central Connecticut Department of Athletics announced its annual Senior Awards on Friday with a virtual recognition presented by the Connecticut Depart of Transportation. The department honored seniors Shauny Alterisio (women's soccer) and Madelyn Kaprelyan (volleyball) with the prestigious Gail Rutz Award, which is presented annually to the top female athlete(s). On the men's side, seniors Connor Mignone (football), Alex Norstrom (track & field/cross country) and Aaron Winchester (football) were honored with the Frederick M. Gladstone Award, which is presented to the top male athlete(s) of the senior class. The awards were presented virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Along with the Gladstone and Rutz awards, seniors Yo Tachibana (women's soccer) and Tyler Kopp (football) were honored with the Pepsi Awards for having the highest grade point averages among female and male senior student-athletes, respectively. Sophomore Qasim Danazumi of the track and field and football programs was honored as the Most-Improved Student-Athlete and the volleyball team was recognized for having the highest team GPA among CCSU's 16 Division I sports.
In addition, all senior student-athletes from the sports teams, the dance and cheerleading squads, and athletic training program were recognized for graduating and for their commitment to Blue Devil Athletics.
Also, 182 CCSU students from the programs received the Academic Award for having a GPA above 3.20 over the last two semesters.
Of the 182 Academic Awards recipients, 85 were also honored with a place on the Athletic Directors All-Academic Team. The student-athletes on the team have a cumulative GPA above 3.50 for their collegiate careers.
