PROVIDENCE - The Johnson & Wales University athletics department has announced the 2021 major award winners after the conclusion of the 2020-2021 academic year. Ten winners in five categories highlight this seasons announcement via social media. The categories include: Female and Male Athlete of the Year, the Ron Bachman Athletic Award for Academics, Athletics, and Leadership, the Thomas Carmody Award for Character, Spirit, and Community Service, Female and Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Female and Male Rookie of the Year.
The scholar-athlete award winner is given to the senior female and male student-athlete who have the highest cumulative GPA. Field hockey senior Grace Pendergast earned a 3.96 GPA in Baking & Pastry Arts and Food & Beverage Entrepreneurship. The men's ice hockey team produced its third straight scholar-athlete as Graham Day closed out his degree with 3.98 GPA in Accounting.
The Ron Bachman Athletic Award for Academics, Athletics and Leadership is presented to the outstanding female and male senior student-athlete who has excelled both academically and athletically while demonstrating outstanding leadership on and off the playing surface. The recipient of this award must carry a 3.40 cumulative GPA.
Two-time All-American Elyssa Nicolas continued the trend as a member of the women's volleyball team has taken home the Bachman Award in back-to-back years. The libero was named Great Northeast Athletic Conference Libero of the Year all three years of her playing career while closing out her impressive career second in school history in digs per set and third in total digs. A defensive leader for the Wildcats, JWU collected three straight GNAC championships with the San Francisco, California native in the backrow while reaching three-straight regional finals, including winning the 2017 NCAA regional championship. Graduating with a 3.88 GPA, she finished her degree in Health Science in three and a half years and has been accepted into a school for physical therapy next fall.
The men's recipient has been a leader for the baseball team the past five years. Colby Greenhalgh, a two-time ABCA all-region selection, chose to come back to campus for one more season after the 2020 season was canceled. As the leadoff hitter, he hit .324 on the season and helped bring the Wildcats their first conference championship in more than 20 years. To top things off, the three-time, First Team All-Conference honoree was a part of the baseball team's first ever NCAA tournament victory, an 8-5 victory over Husson. The Plainfield, Connecticut native and former department intern leaves JWU with a 3.54 GPA in Sports, Entertainment, Event Management.
The Thomas Carmody Award for Character, Spirit and Community Service is presented to the outstanding male and female senior student-athlete who exemplifies outstanding academic success; significant athletic contribution; commitment to community service; and loyalty, effort, and enthusiasm. The recipient of this award must carry a 3.00 cumulative GPA.
Senior Graham Day of the men's ice hockey team was the recipient of the award on the men's side this year. Day has led the team by example on and off the ice and has shown all of the values of a true Wildcat student-athlete. He earned the team's JWU Hockey Humanitarian Award in the 19-20 season. The Rochester, Michigan native spearheaded the Spin for Smiles event this year, raising more than $3,000 for the Hasbro Children's Hospital. A member of the JWU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Day will leave JWU with a 3.98 GPA in accounting. Day is the first men's hockey player to win the department award since 2013 and third to win since its inception in 2008.
SAAC President Olivia DiGiacomo claimed the award on the women's side after her work in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic with the athletic department. Her role as a voice for the student-athletes through the challenging year epitomized her career as a servant leader on the softball team. Willing to do whatever it took to help her teammates succeed, the Franklin, Massachusetts native was a key piece in spring sports being able to compete in 2021 with a letter writing campaign. The two-time NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete compiled her best season in a Wildcat uniform capped off with her first career all-conference honor. DiGiacomo is the fourth softball player to win the department honor in the past six years.
The 2021 Female Rookie of the Year was Julia Huzi from softball. Huzi highlighted a strong young group of first year players for the softball squad with her .417 batting average on the year, good for sixth in the conference. The second team all-conference recipient was selected to the NFCA All-Region team after a top three finish in the GNAC with 25 RBI and 11 stolen bases. Hailing from Trumbull, Connecticut, Huzi started every game at shortstop for JWU and led the conference in assists. Huzi is the first softball player to earn the honor in department history.
This year's winner on the men's side was all-conference first teamer Andrew Vasile from men's lacrosse. The GNAC Rookie of the Year was a major contributor in his first full season with the Wildcats collecting 29 points in 10 games played. The Milford, Mass. native earned a pair of GNAC Rookie of the Week honors on the year en route to the All-Conference First Team nod. Vasile is the first men's lacrosse player to win the department Rookie of the Year award since 2015 and was the first conference major award for the program since the 2017 season.
The 2021 Male Athlete of the Year went to baseball's Raimiel Rodriguez. Rodriguez led the league in home runs and was in the top 35 in the country with .32 home runs per game. The Providence native was also top five the GNAC in RBI and total bases on the season en route to his first All-Conference First Team selection. In the programs first GNAC championship since 1998, Rodriguez launched his eighth and final homerun of the season, a three-run homer that pushed the Wildcats in front before they went on to sweep the best-of-three series. Rodriguez is now the second baseball player to earn the department's Athlete Of The Year award.
Softball's Jill Pulek claimed the 2021 Female Athlete of the Year award. The Cheshire, Connecticut native finished the season leading the country in batting average at .582 while boasting the 14th best slugging percentage in NCAA Division III with a .911. Recognized as a second team NFCA All-Region and First Team All-GNAC recipient, her .582 average was the highest in the conference in the past 10 years. Pulek finished tied for first in the country in toughest to strikeout after avoiding the way of the K all season long. She is the third softball player to earn the award in program history.
