Newberry Wolves Announce Wolfie Award Nominees

NEWBERRY The Newberry College athletic department has announced the Second Annual Newberry College Athletic Awards -

The Wolfies will provide a night of recognition for the student-athletes, coaches and teams of Newberry College teams for the 2014-15 athletic season.

The awards show will also give acknowledgement to student-athletes for earning Player of the Week, All-Region and All-America status while also honoring student-athletes for their academic achievements.

Former assistant womens basketball coach and current Newberry professor and Wolves public address announcer, John Lesaine, will serve as the master of ceremonies. Senior womens basketball player Zara Pearson (Echuca, Victoria, Australia) will serve as the co-host for the evening which will see 15 awards presented spanning eight different categories. The awards will be presented by Newberry student-athletes.

The student-athletes will be recognized in the following categories: Newcomer of the Year, Individual Performance of the Year, Billy Douglas Community Player of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, the Jimmy Villeponteaux Senior Award, the W.L. Laval Senior Award and Athlete of the Year.

In addition, awards will be given for Team of the Year and Coach of the Year.

These awards were nominated by the head coaches of Newberrys 19 teams and the Comeback Player of the Year is chosen by the Newberry athletic training staff for a male and female student-athlete who suffered an injury, but has returned to play to make a significant impact on their team.

The Billy Douglas Community Player of the Year will go to a male or female student-athlete who best exemplifies excellence on the fields and courts of play, as well as in the Newberry community and beyond.

The Jimmy Villeponteaux and W.L. Laval Senior Awards will be presented to a male and female senior student-athlete, respectively, who have demonstrated the characteristics of integrity, honesty and sportsmanship in athletics, scholarship and in the community. The awards will serve as a reflection of the recipients' four years at Newberry College.

Newcomer of the Year will honor male and female student-athletes who have made an immediate impact on their team in their first season of competition on campus while the Individual Performance of the Year is in place to highlight impact moments in a game, season or career for Newberry student-athletes.

"The Wolfies are a fantastic way to celebrate the season accomplishments of each individual athlete and team here at Newberry College," Director of Ahtletics Matt Finley said. "This is a great event that ehances the student-athlete experience here, but also gives the student-athletes a chance to recognized not only in front of their peers, but in front of the Newberry community as well."

On the mens side, 17 student-athletes are nominated across the different awards, while 20 women are up for recognition.

Wrestlings national runner-up and All-American, Huston Evans (Springfield, Ohio), and softballs Maude McCourry (Centreville, Md.) lead all contenders with three nominations.

Baseballs Albert Baur (Philadelphia, Pa.), golfs Tommy Hurst (Miami, Fla.), Scarlet Poms Chris Velez (Summerville, S.C.) and mens basketball players Dondray Walker (Fountain Inn, S.C.) and Demarkus Smith (Johnston, S.C.) each have two nominations apiece.

The womens side has three student-athletes with two nominations apiece in womens basketball player Sam Creed (Montmorency, Victoria, Australia), volleyballs Elayni Stokes (Houston, Texas) and womens soccer player Alexis Carrillo (La Puente, Calif.).

A fan vote will be included in the awards voting process with five male and five female categories: Newcomer of the Year, Individual Performance of the Year, Team of the Year, Coach of the Year and Athlete of the Year.

Fans can vote HERE. The survey will ask you to rank nominees, with 1 being the top selection and will close of Friday, April 10, at 5 p.m.

The Newberry Athletic Awards will be open to the public with business casual attire recommended.

A post-show dessert social will follow in the Blue Room of Smeltzer Hall for graduating seniors and award winners along with their guests.

Fans are also encouraged to use the hashtag #NCWolfies on social media leading up to, during and the awards show.

Please visit "The Wolfies" page on www.NewberryWolves.com for all up to date information on the #NCWolfies.

2015 Newberry Athletic Awards Nominees

Male Newcomer of the Year
Jacob Bass, Baseball
Evan DeGrazia, Golf
Huston Evans, Wrestling
Paul Marie, Soccer
James Stepp, Baketball

Female Newcomer of the Year
Alexis Carrillo, Soccer
Nicola Handreck, Basketball
Maude McCourry, Softball
Karly Mims, Golf
Beth Williamson, Tennis

Male Individual Performance of the Year
Albert Baur, Baseball, hit for the cycle with 2 home runs, 7 RBIs and 5 runs scored in 20-5 win versus Limestone
Huston Evans, Wrestling, pin to seal win vs. UNC Pembroke
Tommy Hurst, Golf, finished second at the Lander Bearcat Classic at 8-under par
Nick Lucido, Soccer, 14 saves in 2-1 win versus Mars Hill
Demarkus Smith, Basketball, 30 points and 10 rebounds in double overtime game versus Carson-Newman

Female Individual Performance of the Year
Jessica Baxtrom, Lacrosse, 8 goals in 17-11 win versus Brevard
Tinara Brown, Dance, wins at Cheer Ltd. Nationals at CANAM
Alexis Carrillo, Soccer, 9 saves in 0-0 draw versus Wingate
Colleen Leung, Basketball, 17 points, 4 rebounds and a steal in SAC Championship game against Anderson
Maude McCourry, Softball, logged a complete game, 2-0, shutout of Lander and also went 2-for-3 with a double and drove in two runs

Billy Douglas Community Player of the Year
Mallory Gerndt, Softball
Alex Kirby, Baseball
Emily Perry, Basketball
Elayni Stokes, Volleyball
Brandon Taylor, Basketball

Jimmy Villeponteaux Senior Award
JP Ferguson, Golf
Jared Holliday, Wrestling
Nick Rembowski, Soccer
Alex Roberts, Baseball
Dondray Walker, Basketball

W.L. Laval Senior Award
Taylor Corbin, Cheer
Summer Bartek, Softball
Kirsti Hawkins, Basketball
Brayden Miller, Soccer
Maria Rivas, Dance

Male Athlete of the Year
Albert Baur, Baseball
Huston Evans, Wrestling
Tommy Hurst, Golf
Edmond Robinson, Football
Demarkus Smith, Basketball

Female Athlete of the Year
Gabrielle Brodie, Soccer
Nakiayah Brown, Dance
Haylee Lepaio, Basketball
Maude McCourry, Softball
Marianna Monaco, Golf