NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion University athletics hosted the annual Golden Monarch Awards on Monday night at the ODU Volleyball Center. Awards were given out for Athlete of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Championship Effort Award, Scholar-Athlete, Staff Member of the Year and the prestigious Monarch Cup.
Women's tennis player Yuliia Starodubtseva and baseball player Andy Garriola took home the awards for male and female Athletes of the Year.
Garriola leads the Monarchs in doubles and is fourth in the country with 61 RBIs.
Starodubtseva helped the Monarchs to a C-USA Championship over the weekend. She is 20-1 in singles this spring and currently ranked No. 17 in the country.
The night ended with the handing out of the Monarch Cup, given to the team that earned the most points through community service and supporting their fellow student-athletes games on campus. This year's winner was women's lacrosse.
Female Freshman of the Year
Myah Conway – Volleyball
Myah Conway played her way onto the Conference USA All-Freshman Team in the fall and was invited to participate in the Women's National Team Open Program in February. Conway played in all 26 matches for ODU, starting 20 times. She ranked third on the team in kills per set (2.19) and was second on the team with 70 total bocks. Conway posted 10 or more kills on nine occasions, including a personal best 16 in the first meeting with Middle Tennessee. Conway helped the Monarchs set the team single-match blocks record against UAB on Oct. 1 and finished that match with 10 blocks.
Male Freshman of the Year
Alonzo Ford Jr. – Football
Ford started all 13 games at defensive tackle for the Monarchs … He led all ODU defensive linemen with 38 tackles and registered 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack … The run stuffer in the middle of the defensive line, Ford helped ODU to the third best rush defense in Conference USA, allowing 134.1 yards per game.
Male Athlete of the Year
Andy Garriola – Baseball
Andy Garriola has been an offensive threat all season long for the Monarchs. He ranks second in C-USA and fourth nationally with 18 home runs and leads the conference with 61 RBIs, good for fourth in the country. He is also second in C-USA with an .810 slugging percentage. Garriola set the program's career home run record in early April and now has 42 career long balls. Additionally, he is third in career RBIs at ODU with 195.
Female Athlete of the Year
Yuliia Starodubtseva – Women's Tennis
20-1 in singles during the spring 2022 season … Knocked off NCAA D1 top-ranked Daria Frayman from Princeton in three sets (3/25) … Has won 17 in a row in singles matches in a row … Rallied for three-set win over 20th-ranked Tiphanie Fiquet of Ole Miss in 4-3 dual win to put Monarchs in ITA Nationals (1/30) … Was part of No. 1 ranked doubles tandem with Tatsiana Sasnouskaya (2/9) … Was second with Sasnouskaya in ITA Fall Nationals (11/4) ... Currently 4-0 vs. nationally-ranked opponents in spring … In the fall, she and Sasnouskaya defeated then top-ranked duo of Ivana and Carmen Corley of Oklahoma in the ITA All-American championships.
Male Championship Effort Award
Noah Wilkins – Men's Swimming
Wilkins was named the CCSA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second-straight season. At this year's CCSA Championships, Wilkins finished in second place in the 50 freestyle at with a time of 20.24, just .08 out of first place. He also took third in the 100 freestyle with a time of 44.32. Wilkins was also a member of the ODU 4X1 and 4X5 relay teams that earned fourth place finishes.
Wilkins has a 4.0 GPA and earned ODU's Howard-Wilkins Award last season for top GPA by a male athlete. He earned his degree in nuclear medicine technology and is getting his master's degree in public health. Wilkins is also working as a nuclear medicine technologist. He is the President of ODU's SAAC and this year has accumulated around 20 hours of community engagement hours and helped spearhead many events like SAAC pen pals and our blessing bag campaign for the homeless.
Female Championship Effort Award
Ryan Parncutt – Women's Soccer
Parncutt appeared in all but two matches this year for the Conference USA Champions. She played in 17 games and started nine on the back end. She added an assist and registered five shots.
Off the field, Parncutt is the Community Service Co-Chair for SAAC and has donated over 73 hours of time by herself. She has arranged several events herself and supports all the student ideas. She has been nominated for the SEES community engagement award for this academic year. Parncutt is the youngest member of the leadership team for women's soccer and they rely on her to organize and follow through with planning for their soccer sisters program as well as their individual events.
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Jackson Grotjohn – Men's Swimming
Psychology
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Andrea Dalatri – Baseball
Sport Management
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Emily Garrick – Women's Soccer
Physical Education – minor in psychology
Staff Member of the Year
Rick French – Senior Associate Athletic Director, Facilities and Operations
Monarch Cup
Women's Lacrosse
Myah Conway Named ODU Freshman of the Year
Myah Conway