NORFOLK, VA—ODU two-time All-American field hockey defender of the year Christy Longacre (Bethlehem, PA.) and All-American soccer forward Tim Hopkinson (Nottingham, England) were named Athletes of the Year by the Old Dominion University Alumni Association, while seniors Nikkie Clarke (Annandale, VA.) of women’s soccer, Dillon Paiva (Raleigh, NC. ) of sailing and James Brockington (Oxfordshire, England) of golf were named the 2014 recipients of the Jack Wilkins/James Howard Scholar Athletes of the Year at the annual Old Dominion University Athletic honors banquet Monday night.
Hopkinson was a second team All-American by the NSCAA coaches and College Soccer News and was a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy (National Player of the Year), winning the fan poll. He was named first team NSCAA All-South Region, Conference USA’s Offensive Player of the Year, and first team All-C-USA. Hopkinson led the league in total goals (12) and total points (28). He scored his second hat trick of his career with three goals against VMI. Hopkinson ranked 11th nationally in total goals and 15th nationally in total points. Hopkinson completed his career at ODU as fourth all-time with 33 career goals, third all-time at ODU in career points with 85,and seventh all-time with 19 career assists. He helped lead ODU to second place in C-USA and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Last week, Hopkinson was awarded the Tom Scott award by the Norfolk Sports Club as ODU’s top senior athlete. He will graduate in May with a degree in business/accounting.
Longacre, the BIGEAST Defensive Player of the Year, was selected a first team All American by the NFHCA. As a junior she was named an NFHCA Second Team All-American and CAA Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Longacre is a National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-South Region member and was named to the BIGEAST All-Tournament Team, as well as first team All-Conference selection. The senior co-captain helped ODU to their first BIGEAST conference regular season title and helped anchor an ODU defense that recorded eight shutouts on the season. The Lady Monarchs only allowed 25 goals, the lowest total in the league, and scored 20 goals during her career. She graduated in December with a degree in sports management and is now an assistant coach at Ball State.
The Jack Wilkins/James Howard Scholar Athletes of the Year are presented to the male and female senior athletes with the highest cumulative grade point averages. Both Howard and Wilkins were instrumental in the formation of the ODU Intercollegiate Foundation, now the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation.
This year, there are co-male recipients with James Brockington of men’s golf and Dillon Paiva of sailing.
James Brockington was the 2010-11 champion at the Joe Agee tournament and he placed 10th in the 2011-12 event. He tied for 38th at the Caribbean Classic. The native of Oxfordshire, England will graduate in May with a 3.54 grade point average and a degree in sports management with a marketing minor.
Dillon Paiva was a May 2013 ICSA National All-Academic Sailing team selection as well as the Robert Hobbs Sportsman of the Year recipient, becoming the second Monarch sailor to receive this award. Paiva earned first team All-MAISA honors for coed skippers and helped lead the Monarchs to the coed dinghy national semifinals with a second place finish. Paiva graduated in December with a degree in English, and a 3.54 grade point average.
Lady Monarch defender Nikki Clarke anchored the Lady Monarch defense for four seasons. She played in all 71 matches and will graduate in May with a 3.80 grade point average in criminal justice, with a minor in psychology. She was selected to Conference USA’s first team All-Academic squad and was active in the Student Activities Council at Old Dominion.
ODU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS
FOOTBALL: Taylor Heinicke (Atlanta, GA.)
Men’s Basketball: Aaron Bacote (Hampton, VA. ) & Richard Ross (Wichita Falls, TX.)
Women’s Basketball: Shae Kelley (Denver, CO.)
Baseball: (will be named after the completion of the season)
Field Hockey: Christy Longacre (Bethlehem, PA.)
Men’s Golf: Jamison Randall (Cumberland, RI.)
Women’s Golf: Kimberley Bradbury (Derbyshire, England) & Elizabeth Haycock (Birmingham, England)
Women’s Lacrosse: Emily Austerberry (Barto, PA.)
Rowing: Paige Madison (Virginia Beach, VA.)
Coed Sailing: Esteban Forrer (Tucson, AZ.)
Women’s Sailing: Jill Fattibene (Southport, CT.)
Men’s Soccer: Tim Hopkinson (Nottingham, England)
Women’s Soccer: Nikki Clarke (Annandale, VA.)
Men’s Swimming & Diving: Sidni Hoxha (Tirane, Albania)
Women’s Swimming & Diving: Rachel Eckert (Rochester, N.Y.)
Men’s Tennis: Carlos Lopez-Villa (Madrid, Spain)
Women’s Tennis: Nikol Hristova (Sofia, Bulgaria)
Wrestling: Jack Dechow (Richmond, Ill.)