2019-2020 Department of Athletics Award Recipients

We want to say congratulations on another fantastic year. Although we were not able to complete our spring sport seasons, we want you all to know your hard work did not go unnoticed. Our annual Athletics Banquet was unfortunately cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, we still want to celebrate the success of our athletes and our annual award recipients. We are proud to announce our overall department awards selected by our Athletic Director as well as award recipients for each sport selected by the respective coaching staff.

Male and Female Athletes of the Year

The Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards are earned by those who have the characteristics across the board of what a standout athlete should be. An athlete of the year is a top performer who has displayed the utmost in skill and accomplishments. No matter the outcome of their events these athletes showed pride, dedication, and leadership. We hope the achievements of these award winners encourages and inspires all HCC athletes to achieve their goals.

Female Athlete of the Year – Isabel Martin

Isabel Martin was named 1st Team All-American, NJCAA National Championships All-Tourney Team, and the FCSAA State Player of the Year, FCSAA State All-Tourney Team, and National Player of the Week. She was top 5 in the nation in the following categories: kills, kills per set, attacks, points, and points per set. Isabel was a work horse for our team, effectively serving, returning serve, digging, and blocking.

Male Athlete of the Year – Michael Cole

Sophomore, Michael Cole, was one of the great stories of this year's men's basketball season. This prolific athlete spent two years at HCC while earning several great accomplishments along the way. Michael finished his basketball season very strong averaging 16.9 PPG, 7.7 RBS and 80% FT, and he was named top five in the Suncoast Conference Team. Michael worked very hard on and off the court to beat the odds, and by doing so he became one of the great players in HCC basketball.

Ray Seymour Award

The Ray Seymour Award is given to a softball player who shows dedication, heart, integrity and sportsmanship. This award was created in honor of Coach Seymour who was the Head Softball Coach at Hillsborough Community College for 25 years. His dedication to the softball program and commitment to the sport of softball makes this award so special.

Dedication-Heart-Integrity-Sportsmanship –
Morgan Mills

Morgan has fought back through injury, never giving up on herself or her team. She hurt her shoulder, requiring surgery, after her freshman year. She still showed up to every single practice, workout, and game supporting the entire team while injured. Once recovered she returned for her redshirt sophomore season, stronger than ever. She never lost her drive and her dedication to being the best she could be on and off the field. In her 2018 season she pitcher 132.1 inning, gave uo194 hits and had 51 strike outs. In the short lived 2020 season she had 65 innings pitched. Morgan only gave up 63 runs ranking her in the top 50 in the nation.

All-Academic Male and Female Athletes

The winners of the All-Academic Athletes of the Year are sophomores selected based on academic achievements, GPA, perseverance, leadership, and character. We want to give special recognitions to these athletes because we know the amount of discipline it takes to balance both academics and athletics.

All-Academic Male – Derrick White Jr.

Player Profile
3.6 GPA, 64 total credits
Graduated with an AA in Liberal Arts & Science
In Progress of AS in Medical Office Administration

All-Academic Female – Caroline Molossi-Benke

Player Profile
4.0 GPA, 78 total credits
Graduated with an AA Engineering

All-Academic Female – Mariana Volponi e. Giordan

Player Profile
4.0 GPA, 66 total credits
Graduated with an AA in Business Administration

Sports Awards

Volleyball

The Lady Hawks Volleyball Team started the season outside the top 20 but finished 6th in the nation. They rode hard work and outstanding chemistry to a 32-10, 6-0 record. The 2019 squad left its legacy by winning the Suncoast Conference Championship and then the Southeast B Region Championship, earning another trip to the NJCAA National Championships. At the FCSAA State Championships, Isabel was named State Player of the Year, and Isabel, Carol Benke, Nadine Burbrink, Mariana Volponi, and Olivia Piazza were named All-Conference. Isabel, Carol, and Olivia were also named to the State All-Tournament Team. At the NJCAA National Championships, Isabel Martin was named 1st Team All-American and to the All-Tournament Team. The Lady Hawks also took home the 2019 National Championships Sportsmanship Award. Carol (California State University at Bakersfield), Mari (Hofstra University), Olivia (Valdosta), and Margaux Neal (Adams State University) have all signed scholarships and will play in the fall. The 2020 season looks bright with 8 returning players.

Lady Hawk Volleyball Award Caroline Benke

Assistant Coaches Volleyball Award Mariana Volponi

Most Improved Player of the Year Olivia Piazza

Offensive Player of the Year Isabel Martin

Defensive Player of the Year Nadine Burbrink

Women's Basketball

With just one returning player, our young team experienced tremendous growth this season. Although we would have liked to have won more games, we were most proud of the individual and overall team accomplishments! Our biggest surprises came from transfer sophomore Alaisa Spivey and returning starter Alisa Marlow, who were both ranked top 15 in the state in scoring. Spivey averaged 19.6 points per game, earning 3rd in the state of Florida and 17th in the Nation honors. Marlow was 14th in the state, averaging 14.5 points per game and leading the team in most minutes played and games started.

Other honorable mentions include freshman guard Holly Davies, who averaged 8 points game, with a career high of 28 points against Eastern Florida State College, and she also led the team in assists. Freshman guard Diana Rivera led the team in defensive stops, steals, charges and averaged 9 points per game. She was always counted on to guard the best athlete on the opposing team.

Three players were recognized for Suncoast All-Conference honors: Alaisa Spivey-first team, as well as Alisa Marlow and Holly Davies-second team. The following were recognized for HCC Team Athletic Awards for the 2019-20 season:

• Alaisa Spivey- Offensive Player of the Year
• Diana Rivera- Defensive Player of the Year
• Holly Davies- Freshman of the Year
• Alisa Marlow- Most Valuable Player

Players moving on to continue their basketball careers include: Alaisa Spivey- St. Leo University, Alisa Marlow- Palm Beach Atlantic University, and Luz Cruz- Webber International University. We are grateful for the opportunity to have completed our season amid the pandemic! We wish our student athletes leaving HCC the best of luck in the next phase of their lives and look forward to having our returners back on campus soon!

Freshman Player of the Year Holly Davies

Defensive Player of the Year Diana Rivera

Offensive Player of the Year Alasia Spivey

Most Valuable Player of the Year Alisa Marlow

Men's Basketball

Most of the time we go through life expecting things to happen without hard work and yet we expect to see results right away. One of the beautiful things in life is you never know what's going to happen each day, but you do hold the power to have good work ethic and dedication to your craft.

To our sophomores Michael Cole, Joshua Jackmon, Derrick White, Samson Mack and Morgan Carter thank you for allowing us to coach you throughout this game we all call life. Your determination, character, loyalty, honesty, respect and your commitment to the HCC family will never be taken for granted. I hope you continue to embark on new and exciting journeys during your adulthood. Never let anyone make you feel you are not worthy because you certainly are. When adversity comes, remember my favorite phrase; ?Make your doubters believers?. All of you earned the privilege to be a student athlete at the next level, don?t take it for granted. Educate yourself as much as you can and always take advantage of new opportunities.

To our returners, I hope this past season taught you hard work is required for success. Nothing is given; you must earn everything you want. You were led by a great group of sophomores who pushed you every day in practice. Now the time has come for you to become a leader for new players joining the team.

As a coaching staff, we are proud to present the following award recipients for Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Top Newcomer, and our Coaches Award. I know we all experienced a severe crisis with the COVID-19 virus. I pray each one of you and your family members are safe and well.

Players moving on to continue their basketball careers include: Alaisa Spivey- St. Leo University, Alisa Marlow- Palm Beach Atlantic University, and Luz Cruz- Webber International University. We are grateful for the opportunity to have completed our season amid the pandemic! We wish our student athletes leaving HCC the best of luck in the next phase of their lives and look forward to having our returners back on campus soon!

Most Value Player of the Year Michael Cole

Defensive Player of the Year Josh Jackmon

Top Newcomer of the Year Edgar Ziegler

Coaches
Award Derrick White

Baseball

If one word could describe the 2019-2020 baseball season, it would be "Preview". Though the season was cut short due to an unprecedented and unforeseen circumstance, we successfully witnessed a glimpse of what is to come in the future. The program took strides towards building a culture of excellence. With the help of our Athletic Administration, we were able to refine the exceptional standards needed to be a student-athlete at HCC.

Offensive Player of the Year: Adrian Mella. This award goes to a player who had an incredible break-out season. At one point leading the nation in stolen bases, maintaining a batting average over .400, and becoming our offensive catalyst. He solidified the lead off role for our lineup and set the tone for the offensive attack. As of March 13, he was top 3 in most of our offensive categories, like: Batting Average, On-base Percentage, runs, RBI, stolen bases, and wins above replacement.

Defensive Player of the Year: Fabian Kovacs. This award goes to a player who entered our program as a freshman and solidified a prime position for our defense. As a catcher he showcased an above average arm strength and had over a 35% success in throwing out base runners. He committed only 1 errors with over 65 attempts.

Pitcher of the Year: Damien Torres. This award goes to one of our few returning players. This player was daunted with the leadership role due to his success the previous year and did not disappoint. He consistently performed at 100% and showed every other player the way to compete. He was our leader in wins, strike outs, innings pitched, WHIP, and Opponents? batting average. Additionally, Damien successfully made the difficult transition from relief pitcher to (Ace) stating pitcher.

MVP Gary Calhoun Award: Adam Frank. This award goes to a player who came to our program with extremely high expectations and much attention from programs and organization beyond our level. He was the voice of reason, the model student-athlete, and the one of the most naturally talent on our roster. His work ethic and training routine was that of a professional athlete. By the time our season concluded Adam was ranked in the top 3 in most offensive categories:Batting Average, On-base Percentage, HR, Doubles, runs, RBI, stolen bases, and wins above replacement.

Overall, our season was on pace to surprise the success of the previous year, and most of our team goals were on track to be accomplished. I couldn't ask for a better trial run, and sneak preview of what the future bring for our baseball program.

Pitcher
of the Year Damien Torres

Defensive Player of the Year Fabian Kovacs

Offensive Player of the Year Adrian Mella

MVP Coaches Gary Calhoun Award Adam Frank

Softball

This year, even though cut short, was still one to be proud of. We had the highest batting average as a team in years, our pitching staff was performing unbelievably, and our defense was strong. The girls were working hard and gearing up for what was sure to be a strong conference run.

Hawk Award of the Year Morgan Mills

Defensive Player of the Year Landry Newgent

Offensive Player of the Year Ysa Dominguez

Most Valueable Player of the Year Cerynn Siemer

Tennis

This season for our Lady Hawks was bittersweet as it was cut short due to the COVID-19 Pandemic; however, the lessons learned and memories made during this past year will stay with this team for a lifetime. The team was able to end the season ranked 5th in the nation, and they captured All-American Honors from Chelsea Samways, Isadora Oliviera, and Magda Tuells. The team has selected award recipients for the Newcomer of the Year, The Lady Hawk Award, Singles player of the Year, and the Spirit Award. Congratulations to the following award recipients!

Newcomer
of the Year Magda Tuells

Lady Hawk
Award Fabiola Candal

Singles Player of the Year Chelsea Samways

Spirit Award of the Year Ana Villalvazo