April 24, 2007
NORFOLK, VA--Field Hockey senior Caroline Nichols (Virginia Beach, VA.) and senior soccer forward Edson Elcock (Brooklyn, NY.) were named Athletes of the Yearby the Old Dominion University Alumni Association, while senior sailor Ryan Kozoriz(Yorktown, VA.) and senior field hockey player Dana Sensenig (Denver, PA.) werenamed the 2007 recipients of the Jack Wilkins/James Howard Scholar Athletes of the Year at the annual Old Dominion University Athletic honors Banquet and Hall of Fame induction at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on Tuesday night.
The Jack Wilkins/James Howard Scholar Athletes of the Year are presented to the maleand female senior athletes with the highest cumulative grade point averages. Both Howard and Wilkins were instrumental in the formation of the ODU Intercollegiate Foundation in 1965.
This year's male recipient is Ryan Kozoriz (Yorktown, VA.) from the sailing squad.Ryan raced in the Atlantic Coast Championships with Michael Collins and the two sailed to the best B division finish for ODU at that regatta. He also crewed a season high 11races in A division at the Charleston Spring Intersectional and raced to five top ten finishes. As a sophomore, he placed sixth overall in B division at the ICSA Dinghy National Championships and last year won the A division at the War Memorial Regatta.the mechanical engineering major interned with NASA at the Langley Research Centerlast summer, and carries a 3.67 grade point average.
This year's female recipient is Dana Sensenig (Denver, PA.) from the field hockey squad. The senior midfielder was a third team All-American selection by the NFHCA and first team selection by Women's fieldhockey.com as well as first team All-South Region, All-CAA and CAA All-Tournament selection. Sensenig led the Lady Monarch field hockey team to a 19-4 Overall record and their 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance with 20 goals and 16 assists. Nationally she ranked eighth in both points and assists and led the nation with five penalty strokes. She concluded her career at ODU tied for eighth on the school's all-time points list with 171. A four-time member of the NFHCA national Academic squad, she carries a 3.87 grade point average in health and physical education. Dana is a member of the U.S. National squad.
Nichols (Virginia Beach, VA.) is the first player in CAA history to be named CAA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same year. The senior defender was also named Player of the Year in the state of Virginia by VaSID. She helped lead the Lady Monarchs to a 19-4 record and their 26th straight NCAA tournament appearance. Nichols was named first team All-American by both the NFHCA and women's fieldhockey.com. Nichols anchored the Lady Monarch defensive unit that ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation, which included ten shutouts. Nichols was fourth on the team in scoring with 10 goals, four assists and 24 total points. Additionally she was named to the NFHCA National Academic squad for the second straight year. Nicholsis a member of the U.S. National squad.
Edson Elcock (Brooklyn, NY.) became just the fourth Monarch in school history tobe selected first team All-American by the NSCAA/adidas. The senior forward was selected first team All-CAA and led both ODU and the CAA with 11 goals, and six assists for 28 total points. Elcock scored two goals in ODU's nationally televised win over William and Mary on the Fox Soccer channel, and was named national player of the week by Soccer News. He helped lead ODU to its fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance as the Monarchs advanced for the first time to the round of 16. Elcock wasselected in the third round of the MLS draft by Kansas City and is a member of thatsquad. Elcock was also honored by the Norfolk Sports Club with the Tom Scott awardwhich is presented to ODU's top senior student athlete.
Old Dominion University also inducted five new members into the school'sSports Hall of Fame. They included Dr. Mikki Baile (Administrator), Cal Bowdler(Basketball), Tony Gsell (Baseball), Jill Reeve (Field Hockey) and Tony Morris (Baseball).
In addition, the Most Valuable Players from each sport were recognized.They are as follows:
Baseball:TBA(after completion of season)Men's Basketball:Drew Williamson (Burlington, NC.)Women's Basketball:Sherida Triggs (Norcross, GA.)Field Hockey:Caroline Nichols (Virginia Beach, VA.)Men's Golf:Stan Guerrero (Tijuana, Mexico)Women's GolfAshley Davis (Toronto, Ontario Canada)Women's LacrosseTBA (after completion of season)Coed Sailing:David Tunnicliffe (Pittsburgh, PA.)Women's SailingKatrina Williams (Bermuda)Men's Soccer:Edson Elcock (Brooklyn, NY.)Women's Soccer:Heather Jones (Waldorf, MD.)Women's SwimmingJennifer Sargent (Chesterfield, VA.)Men's SwimmingTyler Haverty (Virginia Beach, VA.)Men's TennisHenrique Cancado (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)Women's TennisCharleen Harhoff (Durbin, South Africa)WrestlingChristian Staylor (Chesapeake, VA.)