ATLANTA – The Georgia State Athletics Department celebrated the achievements of its student-athletes and teams on Thursday with the annual Blue Carpet Awards. The event brought together more than 400 student-athletes, spirit and band members, coaches, administrators and staff to honor Panther accomplishments from the 2013-14 seasons.
Student-athletes strutted across the blue carpet prior to the event and laid claim to the athletic department's top awards following dinner. The event lasted nearly two hours at 200 Peachtree.
During the presentations, Director of Athletics Cheryl Levick noted the major accomplishments of the 2013-14 athletic seasons, including:
- R.J. Hunter winning Sun Belt Player of the Year honors and being named an honorable-mention All-American by the Associated Press
- Abigail Tere-Apisah earning the highest ranking by a female player in school history, reaching No. 8 in the ITA singles ranking while also partnering with Masa Grgan for the highest doubles ranking in school history at No. 16
- Michael Nwiloh becoming the first GSU men's soccer player taken in the Major League Soccer (MLS) Draft and first to sign a professional contract with an MLS team
- Albert Wilson earning an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine, the first Panther to earn the prestigious honor
The Panthers also celebrated the fact that Georgia State has collected three Sun Belt titles in its first year back in the league, including two this week. Women's tennis brought home the title on Sunday and men's golf earned a conference title on Wednesday, a little less than two months after men's basketball grabbed Georgia State's first title by locking up the regular-season championship. GSU is also halfway toward its goal of earning four academic conference titles during the 2013-14 campaign. Both cross country and football earned the top grade-point award for their respective sports, while spring sports' academic honors have yet to be announced.
Among the top winners on the special night was the men's basketball team, which had three players bring home major honors. Included in the awards ceremony were:
| Award |
Recipient |
| Susan Reeves Spirit Award (Band): |
Casey Cooper
|
|
Susan Reeves Spirit Award (Cheer):
|
Joy Martin |
|
Susan Reeves Spirit Award (Pantherette):
|
Victoria Davis |
|
Ron Curry Perseverance Award (female):
|
Katie Madewell, Sand Volleyball |
|
Ron Curry Perseverance Award (male):
|
Chase Raffield, Baseball |
|
Bruce LaBudde Sportsmanship Award (female):
|
Lindsay Leonardo, Soccer |
|
Bruce LaBudde Sportsmanship Award (male):
|
Manny Atkins, Basketball |
|
Fred Hines Inspiration Award (female):
|
Dede Bohannon, Volleyball |
|
Fred Hines Inspiration Award (male):
|
Ryan Harrow, Basketball |
|
Panther Service Team Award (female):
|
Softball |
|
Panther Service Team Award (male):
|
Baseball |
|
Highest Team GPA (female):
|
Sand Volleyball |
|
Highest Team GPA (male):
|
Men's Tennis |
|
All-Academic Team (female):
|
Maryam Dogo, Basketball; Kitan Ajanaku, Volleyball; Anna Sinclair, Cross Country; Alexis Elmurr, Sand Volleyball; Solveig Helgesen, golf; Taylor Scarpantonio, Softball; Lauren Harrimann, Soccer; Masa Grgan, Tennis; Niamh Kearney, Track and Field |
|
All-Academic Team (male):
|
Joey Roach, Baseball; Ryann Green, Basketball; Joel Brooks, Football; J.J. Grey, Golf; Ali Elkhalil, Soccer; Chinmay Handa, Tennis |
|
Stoney Burgess Scholarship Award (female):
|
Solveig Helgesen, Golf |
| Stoney Burgess Scholarship Award (male): |
Victor Lavin, Golf
|
| Student-Athlete of the Year (female): |
Abigail Tere-Apisah, Tennis
|
| Student-Athlete of the Year (male): |
R.J. Hunter, Basketball
|
Panther Athletic Club (PAC) Life Members were also recognized for their generous support. Among those in attendance on Thursday were: Jim and Kathryn Adams; Alan and Angela Giles; Jack and Pat Kelly; Allen Poole; Bill and Susan Reeves; Jim and Gail Stark; and Frank and Judy Strickland.
Georgia State has three sports (baseball, softball and outdoor track and field) still competing for points in the Bubas Cup, the all-sport trophy sponsored by the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers currently sit in sixth place, just two points away from fourth place.
