SALEM, West Virginia - As the spring slate winds to a close in the coming weeks, the Salem University Athletic Department would like to take some time to honor our student-athletes and staff members that made big impacts on and off the field this season. In total, there are 14 awards on the docket, and our award winners are as follows:
Jack Deloplaine Leadership Award - Luis Angarita
The Jack Deloplaine Leadership Award has been awarded for many years at Salem to the student-athlete that best exhibits leadership qualities within their program and the school as a whole. Named in honor of former Salem Tiger football player and former Pittsburgh Steeler Jack Deloplaine, this award honors the student-athlete that leads well both on and off the field as well. This year's awardee is Salem Baseball's Luis Angarita. Angarita has been a key leader for the Tigers this season. On the field, it a critical piece to the Tigers defensive setup in the pivotal middle infield positions. Off the field, Angarita has played key leadership roles in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as President-Elect, contributed to various community service initiatives as part of the baseball team, and worked as a gameday worker for various Salem Athletics events prior to baseball season.
Archie Talley Motivation Award - Ivan Zivojinovic
The next award is also a long-standing award in Salem Athletics history. Honoring former Salem Tiger basketball star Archie Talley, this award is given to the student-athlete that shows particularly strong motivation in their athletic pursuits and in their academic work. This year's honoree is Salem Men's Water Polo's Ivan Zivojinovic. Zivojinovic has been a hardworking team leader in a strong men's water polo season that saw Salem sweep through conference play and secure wins over NCAA Division I foes Mount Saint Mary's and Wagner. Outside of Zivojinvic's contributions in the pool, he has also earned All-Academic honors for his work in the classroom.
Male Newcomer of the Year - Mackenzie Wainwright
The Newcomer Awards are given to the student-athletes in their first year at Salem that made the biggest impact on their respective team. The winner of this year's award on the men's side is Tiger Baseball's Mackenzie Wainwright. The first year outfielder and first baseman from Aurora, Ohio, Wainwright has had a fantastic debut season for the Tigers so far. He is currently leading the team in home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and overall hits. He has started 40 of 42 games played for Salem this season, and has been an integral part to Salem's 26 wins on the baseball diamond at this point in the season.
Female Newcomer of the Year - Emily Low
The female honoree of the newcomer award is Women's Water Polo's Emily Low. Low comes to Salem from Brisbane, Australia, and has been a key player for the Tigers from her goalkeeper position. Low has logged significant time in the cage for Salem this season, and has logged 132 saves at this point in the season, including an impressive 16 save performance in an overtime thriller against Iona at the Indiana Classic in Bloomington, Indiana back in February.
Male Senior of the Year - Tyler Shinn
Shifting now to the our Senior Award, the male honoree for Senior of the Year is Salem Baseball's Tyler Shinn. Shinn has had a huge impact on the successful season baseball has had up to this point. He has started all 42 games this season from either the catcher or designated hitter positions in the lineup. He is currently leading the team in RBIs, and has been a clutch hitter for the Tigers all season, including a game winning home run against Frostburg State just this past weekend.
Female Senior of the Year - Taeghen Hack
On the female side of the senior award, we head back to the pool deck to honor Women's Water Polo's Taeghan Hack. Hack has been a key senior leader for the Tigers this season, and has already garnered conference and national awards consideration by making the Cutino Award watchlist and winning WWPA Offensive Player of the Week. The highlight of the season for Hack so far has been a 9 goal and 1 assist performance in a 15-13 win over conference rival Gannon.
Men's Strength and Conditioning Team Award - Baseball
The next set of awards is for the teams that have shown the most dedication and strongest work ethic in the weight room this season across all Salem's teams. On the men's side, the team award goes to Salem Baseball. A strong presence and effective work in the weight room has been critical to the Tigers impressive 26 win season to this point.
Women's Strength and Conditioning Team Award - Softball
On the women's side, the team honoree for the Strength and Conditioning Award is Salem Softball. Head Coach Steve Potts' team has been hard at work all season in the weight room, and has shown a strong commitment to athletic development both in their pre-season preparations and in their in-season maintenance day in and day out.
Men's Team GPA Award - Men's Tennis
The next set of awards go to the overall programs who performed well in the classroom this season. The Men's Team GPA leader was the men's tennis program led by Head Coach Dennis McNaboe. Men's Tennis earned a 3.51 GPA this season, and has shown their commitment to high academic achievement all season.
Women's Team GPA Award - Women's Tennis
We stay at the newly rededicated Mutschelknaus Community Courts for the women's honoree for the Team GPA award. The Women's Tennis team here at Salem joins their male counterparts in leading the school in GPA this season with a team average of 3.94. In fact, women's tennis was also the overall leader in Team GPA across all sports this season.
Team Community Service Award - Baseball
The next award goes out to the team that led the department in community service hours this school year. That team was the Salem Baseball program. Salem baseball was involved with numerous community service initiatives in Salem and in Nutter Fort, where their home field is located. Those projects included community clean-up days and working with United Way of Harrison County on various projects in the community.
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Nikola Krstonosic
The next round of awards go to the student-athletes who had the best performances in the classroom this school year in unison with their athletic pursuits. The first is our men's awardee, Nikola Krstonosic. Krstonosic has been very proficient in the classroom this year. He earned high marks in the classroom all year, and earned All-Academic honors for his scholarly rigors this year.
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year - JoJo DeSalvo
We stayed on the pool deck for the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year with JoJo DeSalvo. DeSalvo has been a senior leader for the Tigers this season in the pool, and has shown academic excellence in the classroom.
Coach of the Year - Rob Bullion
The final award is actually for the coach who has lead their programs particularly well throughout the season. This season, that honoree is Men's Water Polo Head Coach Rob Bullion. Coach Bullion led the Tigers to a strong 19-4 record including a 6 game sweep of WWPA regular season competition, and big wins over NCAA Division I programs Wagner and Mount Saint Mary's.
The Salem University Athletics Department would like to thank all our honorees for their commitment to Tigers Athletics on the field, and for all their hard work and dedication outside of athletic endeavors.
