Miami Announces 2015-16 Award Winners
7/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
OXFORD, Ohio ââ'¬" The Miami University Athletic Department announced Thursday that eight student-athletes have earned its most prestigious annual awards and will be honored at halftime of the Miami versus Western Kentucky homecoming football game on Saturday, Sept. 17.
Earning Male Athlete of the Year was Patrick Flavin (golf), while the Female Athlete of the Year award was won by Taylor Shuey (softball). Evan Bader (swimming and diving) was named Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, while Jenny Ingle (volleyball) earned Female Scholar Athlete of the Year honors. The Phillip Shriver Graduating Champions Medal of Honor - which is presented to an outstanding graduating male and female student-athlete who have been members of a championship team during their careers, along with being leaders and epitomizing Love and Honor ââ'¬" was awarded to Sean Kuraly (hockey) and Stephanie Fukui (synchronized skating). The Darrell Hedric Award was earned by Kent Kern (football), while Tori Alexander (synchronized skating) captured the Leann Grimes Davidge Award.
Flavin (Highwood, Illinois) averaged 72.66 strokes per round during the 2015-16 season, the third-best single season total in school history. He also has the fourth-best total with 72.97 strokes per round during the 2014-15 season. This season he finished in the top 15 in five of the nine stroke play tournaments the RedHawks participated in. This includes winning the Badger Invitational (68-68-71=207) and Hoosier Collegiate (72-68=140) in addition to tying for first at the FAU Slomin Autism Championship (70-66-69=205). All of this was rewarded with four MAC Player of the Week awards throughout the year, a First-Team All-MAC selection and a second straight spot on the PING All-Midwest Team to cap it off.
Shuey (Fishers, Indiana) led the RedHawks' offense by batting .372 with a .460 on-base percentage and a .633 slugging percentage. Shuey also tied for the team lead with 14 doubles while her nine home runs, 46 RBI and 36 runs scored ranked second on the team. Her 114 career RBI is a school record. Shuey became the first Miami softball student-athlete to be named MAC Player of the Year and was also selected First-Team All-MAC as well as Second-Team All-NFCA Mideast Region.
Bader (Oxford, Ohio) became the first in Miami University Athletics history to earn First-Team Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA in the at-large category. A breaststroke specialist for the RedHawks, Bader owns a 3.98 grade-point average and will graduate in December with a double major in chemical engineering and chemistry. In the pool, Bader was an Olympic trials qualifier in the 200 breaststroke and owns the Miami records for the 100 and 200 breaststroke as well as the 400 medley relay. This season, he contributed 48 points at the MAC Championships. Additionally, he was a two-time MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Award recipient and a three-time Academic All-MAC selection during his four-year career.
Ingle (Ludlow Falls, Ohio) completed both her bachelor's degree in kinesiology and her master's degree in Gerontological Studies during her five-year stint at Miami. A two-time All-MAC selection (including first team in 2016), she completed an amazing senior season in which she hit a single-season school record .410 on the year, including an incredible MAC record .481 in conference only matches. She was second on the RedHawks with 221 kills, an average of 1.94 per set. She was also second with 64 total blocks (17 solo and 47 assisted), an average of 0.56 per set. Ingle's career hitting percentage of .349 ranks tops in Miami history.
Kuraly (Dublin, Ohio) served as the captain of the hockey team as a senior and helped lead the RedHawks to an NCHC tournament championship in 2015. A strong contributor offensively, Kuraly led the team with 17 assists in 2016 and his 23 points marked the third-straight season he registered more than 20 points. He was named the NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year in 2016. Off the ice, Kuraly was involved in various community service initiatives through the You Can Play Project and the Dragonfly Foundation. He and his teammates visited and entertained children at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Kuraly was also involved with the Junior RedHawks youth hockey program and he, along with his teammates, cooked meals for kids at the Ronald McDonald House.
Fukui (Arvada, Colorado) helped lead the Collegiate Synchronized Skating team to the National Championship in 2013 and 2014. The four-year skater worked her way through the ranks, starting with the junior team, moving up to the collegiate and then joining the senior team to help them reach the World Championships the last two seasons. Very active in community service, Fukui was the primary contact for Miami's branch of the Feed My Starving Children charity. She was a three-time nominee and 2016 winner of Synchronized Skating's Karin Sherr Trophy, which recogizes the student-athlete who excels in Athletics, Academics, Community Service, Self-Development and Team.
Kern (Toledo, Ohio) was captain of the Miami football team during his junior and senior campaigns. A leader on the field, he was a selected Second-Team All-MAC in 2013, the Miami Defensive MVP in 2014 and the Miami Football Team MVP in 2015. He was a leader off the field as a three-time Academic All-MAC selection, earning spots on the both the Dean's and President's List. He worked as a research assistant with Dr. William Berg in the Kinesiology department and regularly led the football team in community service projects throughout Oxford. Kern graduated Magna Cum Laude in May and will be attending medical school at the University of Toledo in the fall.
Alexander (Lisle, Illinois) was an accomplished skater, earning a spot on the senior synchronized skating team all four years. She participated on three teams that qualified for the World Championships. Alexander served as team captain as a senior in 2016, taking many athletes under her wing, helping them navigate difficult situations, build confidence and find friendship and acceptance. She led the way through many community service projects, as the team won Miami Athletics' Hal Jasper Community Service Award. A strong student, Alexander will be attending Notre Dame in the fall to earn her master's degree in Global Health. She will then attend medical school at Ohio State.
Miami's Male and Female Athlete of the Year honors are awarded to any student-athlete (freshman, sophomore, junior or senior) who has made significant athletic contributions to his/her respective team for that academic year. The Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards are bestowed upon a student-athlete of senior standing, who has excelled in the classroom as well as in the athletic arena.
The Shriver Graduating Champions Medal of Honor is presented in honor of former Miami University President Dr. Phillip R. Shriver, who served in the position from 1965 to 1981, and requires the recipient to have won a championship in his or her time at Miami. Shriver's support of the athletic programs, student-athletes, coaches and support staff went far beyond his stint as Miami University's 17th president. A fixture at Miami Athletics events, Dr. Shriver's legacy lives on through the development of athletics during his tenure as president and his unwavering support of the Red and White.
Noted as a top award for an upper class female student-athlete, the Leann Grimes Davidge Award is presented in honor of the former Miami women's tennis coach from 1979 to 1985, who tragically lost her life in an automobile accident. In six years as head coach, Davidge compiled an overall record of 93-50 and 25-1 in MAC action, while capturing four consecutive MAC Championships. This award is meant to keep her legacy alive through recognition of outstanding female student-athletes who have excelled in athletics, academics and leadership.
The Darrell Hedric Award is presented in honor of a 1955 Miami Alumnus and former men's basketball coach and associate athletic director emeritus, who has had a more-than 50-year association with Miami Athletics. He was a three-time MAC Coach of the Year and two-time Ohio Basketball Coach of the Year, leading Miami to four NCAA Tournament appearances in 14 years guiding the Red and White.
Players Mentioned
