Miami Athletics Announces Annual Award Winners for 2024-25
7/29/2025 9:56:00 AM | General, Men's Basketball, Softball, Swimming and Diving, Women's Tennis, Track & Field, Cross Country
OXFORD, Ohio—Miami University announced the winners of its annual awards for the 2024-25 academic year this afternoon. The honorees will be recognized on the field at the home football game vs. UNLV on Saturday, Sept. 20.
Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek (tennis) and Ella Scally (track and field) shared Female Athlete of the Year honors, while Henju Duvenhage (swimming) was named Male Athlete of the Year.
Duvenhage also earned Male Scholar Athlete of the Year recognition, with fellow swimmer Madeline Padavic claiming the Female Scholar Athlete of the Year award.
The Dr. Phillip Shriver Graduating Champions Medal of Honor went to three student-athletes: Nishitha Saravanan (tennis), Abby Suszek (track and field) and Zach Bann (swimming). The Shriver medals recognize outstanding graduating male and female student-athletes who have been members of a championship team during their careers, along with being leaders and epitomizing Love and Honor.
Chloe Parks (softball) received the Leann Grimes Davidge Award and Peter Suder (men's basketball) won the Darrell Hedric Award. The Leann Grimes Davidge Award (awarded in memory of former women's tennis coach Leann Grimes Davidge) and the Darrell Hedric Award (awarded in honor of Miami alumnus, former men's basketball coach and associate athletic director emeritus Darrell Hedric) are presented to a female and male student-athlete who exemplify outstanding qualities of leadership, scholarship, community service, sportsmanship, and athletic achievement.
The Dr. David G. Shrider and Darcy Shriver Academic Impact Awards (honoring influential administrators, instructors, faculty or staff members who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the student-athlete experience in pursuit of Graduating Champions) went to Aaron Bixler and Terri Shannon, respectively. Bixler serves as Miami Admissions' Senior Associate Director for International Enrollment, while Shannon recently retired from her role as Associate Director of the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center.
Denysiewicz-Slowek was named the 2025 MAC Player of the Year after going undefeated in regular-season singles at the No. 1 spot during MAC play. She helped lead Miami (9-1 MAC) to a regular-season conference title, the 24th in program history and the second during her time as a RedHawk. Denysiewicz-Slowek went 41-22 overall during the 2024-25 season (including a 13-4 record in doubles) and captured the inaugural MAC Fall Individual Tournament singles championship last October, qualifying her for the ITA Conference Masters Championships in Rome, Ga. The Drummondville, Quebec native earned First-Team All-MAC, MAC All-Tournament Team and Academic All-MAC honors, while also receiving the MAC Medal of Excellence in May.
Scally earned Honorable Mention All-American recognition in the long jump, placing 22nd at the outdoor national championships after coming in 10th at the East First Round. The Fishers, Ind. native became Miami's first-ever All-American in the women's long jump. Last winter, she set the indoor school record in the long jump (6.27m) and captured gold at the MAC Indoor Championships in that event as part of a stretch of nine consecutive meets (between indoor and outdoor seasons) where she finished first in the long jump. Scally was named First-Team All-MAC and Academic All-MAC during the indoor season. She ranks second in program history in long jump (outdoor) with a mark of 6.29m and earned three top-five finishes at the MAC Outdoor Championships (4x100m, 4x400m, long jump), including a bronze in her signature event.
Duvenhage was named First-Team All-Conference for the fifth consecutive season, helping the Miami men's swimming and diving team win a fifth-straight conference championship. The Cape Town, South Africa native won gold in the 100 backstroke and the 200 IM at the MVC Swimming and Diving Championships, adding a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. He added three silver medals at that meet while setting a variety of program, conference and championship records in the pool. Duvenhage, a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree who was also named Miami Athletics' Male Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2023-24, graduated with a 3.48 GPA in Biomedical Engineering from Miami's College of Engineering and Computing.
Padavic represented Miami at the NCAA Championships in March, competing in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. She set two program records at the MAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, helping the RedHawks to a third-place team finish. In the 100-yard backstroke, Padavic shattered the MAC, MAC Championship, pool and program records with a time of 51.52 to win gold and claim First-Team All-MAC honors. The Downers Grove, Ill. native also won three bronze medals at the conference championships (200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 100 freestyle). An Academic All-MAC and CSC Academic All-District honoree, Padavic graduated with a 3.78 GPA as a Finance/Business Analytics double major in the Farmer School of Business.
Saravanan helped Miami Tennis to its second regular-season conference title in four years, competing mostly at No. 3 singles and No. 3 doubles. She served as Co-President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and also represented Miami on the Mid-American Conference's Council of Student-Athletes (COSA). Saravanan was instrumental in increasing the RedHawks' total of community service hours in 2024-25, leading to Miami Athletics' recognition as a top-five finalist for NACDA's Fiesta Bowl Community Service Award. A native of Waterford, Va., she has previously been recognized as Academic All-MAC, All-MAC and MAC Freshman of the Year. Saravanan graduated with a degree in Public Health/Premedical Studies from Miami's College of Arts and Science.
Suszek won gold in the 400m at the MAC Championships during the indoor and outdoor seasons this year, becoming the first RedHawk ever to do that. The Mentor, Ohio native also won bronze medals at both championships (4x400m relay [indoor] 200m [outdoor]) and earned First-Team All-MAC honors in both the winter and spring. Her record-setting senior year included establishing new indoor program records in the 200m, 300m and 400m, winning MAC Female Track Athlete of the Week four times in a row (indoor), helping the 4x400m relay (outdoor) to a school record and representing Miami in the 400m at the NCAA East First Round (outdoor). A vital leader on her team who consistently reflected excellence in the classroom, on the track and in the community, the Academic All-District and Academic All-MAC honoree graduated with a degree in Psychology/Strategic Communication from Miami's College of Arts and Science.
Bann won a myriad of awards this year, including the MAC Medal of Excellence and an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. He served as co-president of the RedHawk Council, represented Miami on the MAC Council of Student-Athletes and was selected as one of 150 athletes for the NCAA National Leadership Forum. Bann was a leader for Miami Swimming and Diving, helping the RedHawk men win four consecutive conference titles during his time in Oxford. He produced new personal-best times in the 200 backstroke, 100 backstroke and 50 backstroke at the MVC Championships last February and was named to the MVC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete Team. A native of Austin, Texas, Bann graduated from Miami's College of Education, Health and Society with a degree in Sport Leadership and Management.
Parks led Miami Softball in hitting, started every game at second base and set multiple career and single-season records this year, earning All-MAC, All-Tournament, All-Region and Academic All-MAC recognition to go with her 2025 MAC Tournament MVP award. The Indianapolis, Ind. native also won the MAC's Nan Harvey Award and was ranked among D1Softball's top mid-major players in the country. During Parks' time in Oxford, the RedHawks averaged 41 victories per year, claimed every conference regular-season and tournament title possible and advanced to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Off the field, Parks was committed to community service, including organizing events in Oxford, reading to children at local elementary schools, volunteering at the Oxford Women's Center, helping coach travel softball, raking leaves for the elderly, working at vaccine clinics, conducting local vision/hearing screenings and serving at Indianapolis-area food pantries. She graduated with a degree in Nursing from Miami's College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science.
Suder, who was voted a team captain for the RedHawks ahead of his first season with the program, helped carry the Red and White to a program-record 25 wins and a berth in the MAC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2007. The Carmel, Ind. native's efforts propelled Miami to a 10-win improvement over the previous season, the team's largest single-season turnaround since 1983-34. Suder became the first Miami men's basketball player since 2012 to be named First-Team All-MAC, leading the RedHawks in points and assists. He poured in a career-high 42 points in a memorable win over Air Force last December, the most a Miami player has ever scored at Millett Hall. Suder is a Sport Management major in the College of Education, Health and Society.
Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek (tennis) and Ella Scally (track and field) shared Female Athlete of the Year honors, while Henju Duvenhage (swimming) was named Male Athlete of the Year.
Duvenhage also earned Male Scholar Athlete of the Year recognition, with fellow swimmer Madeline Padavic claiming the Female Scholar Athlete of the Year award.
The Dr. Phillip Shriver Graduating Champions Medal of Honor went to three student-athletes: Nishitha Saravanan (tennis), Abby Suszek (track and field) and Zach Bann (swimming). The Shriver medals recognize outstanding graduating male and female student-athletes who have been members of a championship team during their careers, along with being leaders and epitomizing Love and Honor.
Chloe Parks (softball) received the Leann Grimes Davidge Award and Peter Suder (men's basketball) won the Darrell Hedric Award. The Leann Grimes Davidge Award (awarded in memory of former women's tennis coach Leann Grimes Davidge) and the Darrell Hedric Award (awarded in honor of Miami alumnus, former men's basketball coach and associate athletic director emeritus Darrell Hedric) are presented to a female and male student-athlete who exemplify outstanding qualities of leadership, scholarship, community service, sportsmanship, and athletic achievement.
The Dr. David G. Shrider and Darcy Shriver Academic Impact Awards (honoring influential administrators, instructors, faculty or staff members who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the student-athlete experience in pursuit of Graduating Champions) went to Aaron Bixler and Terri Shannon, respectively. Bixler serves as Miami Admissions' Senior Associate Director for International Enrollment, while Shannon recently retired from her role as Associate Director of the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center.
Denysiewicz-Slowek was named the 2025 MAC Player of the Year after going undefeated in regular-season singles at the No. 1 spot during MAC play. She helped lead Miami (9-1 MAC) to a regular-season conference title, the 24th in program history and the second during her time as a RedHawk. Denysiewicz-Slowek went 41-22 overall during the 2024-25 season (including a 13-4 record in doubles) and captured the inaugural MAC Fall Individual Tournament singles championship last October, qualifying her for the ITA Conference Masters Championships in Rome, Ga. The Drummondville, Quebec native earned First-Team All-MAC, MAC All-Tournament Team and Academic All-MAC honors, while also receiving the MAC Medal of Excellence in May.
Scally earned Honorable Mention All-American recognition in the long jump, placing 22nd at the outdoor national championships after coming in 10th at the East First Round. The Fishers, Ind. native became Miami's first-ever All-American in the women's long jump. Last winter, she set the indoor school record in the long jump (6.27m) and captured gold at the MAC Indoor Championships in that event as part of a stretch of nine consecutive meets (between indoor and outdoor seasons) where she finished first in the long jump. Scally was named First-Team All-MAC and Academic All-MAC during the indoor season. She ranks second in program history in long jump (outdoor) with a mark of 6.29m and earned three top-five finishes at the MAC Outdoor Championships (4x100m, 4x400m, long jump), including a bronze in her signature event.
Duvenhage was named First-Team All-Conference for the fifth consecutive season, helping the Miami men's swimming and diving team win a fifth-straight conference championship. The Cape Town, South Africa native won gold in the 100 backstroke and the 200 IM at the MVC Swimming and Diving Championships, adding a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. He added three silver medals at that meet while setting a variety of program, conference and championship records in the pool. Duvenhage, a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree who was also named Miami Athletics' Male Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2023-24, graduated with a 3.48 GPA in Biomedical Engineering from Miami's College of Engineering and Computing.
Padavic represented Miami at the NCAA Championships in March, competing in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. She set two program records at the MAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, helping the RedHawks to a third-place team finish. In the 100-yard backstroke, Padavic shattered the MAC, MAC Championship, pool and program records with a time of 51.52 to win gold and claim First-Team All-MAC honors. The Downers Grove, Ill. native also won three bronze medals at the conference championships (200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 100 freestyle). An Academic All-MAC and CSC Academic All-District honoree, Padavic graduated with a 3.78 GPA as a Finance/Business Analytics double major in the Farmer School of Business.
Saravanan helped Miami Tennis to its second regular-season conference title in four years, competing mostly at No. 3 singles and No. 3 doubles. She served as Co-President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and also represented Miami on the Mid-American Conference's Council of Student-Athletes (COSA). Saravanan was instrumental in increasing the RedHawks' total of community service hours in 2024-25, leading to Miami Athletics' recognition as a top-five finalist for NACDA's Fiesta Bowl Community Service Award. A native of Waterford, Va., she has previously been recognized as Academic All-MAC, All-MAC and MAC Freshman of the Year. Saravanan graduated with a degree in Public Health/Premedical Studies from Miami's College of Arts and Science.
Suszek won gold in the 400m at the MAC Championships during the indoor and outdoor seasons this year, becoming the first RedHawk ever to do that. The Mentor, Ohio native also won bronze medals at both championships (4x400m relay [indoor] 200m [outdoor]) and earned First-Team All-MAC honors in both the winter and spring. Her record-setting senior year included establishing new indoor program records in the 200m, 300m and 400m, winning MAC Female Track Athlete of the Week four times in a row (indoor), helping the 4x400m relay (outdoor) to a school record and representing Miami in the 400m at the NCAA East First Round (outdoor). A vital leader on her team who consistently reflected excellence in the classroom, on the track and in the community, the Academic All-District and Academic All-MAC honoree graduated with a degree in Psychology/Strategic Communication from Miami's College of Arts and Science.
Bann won a myriad of awards this year, including the MAC Medal of Excellence and an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. He served as co-president of the RedHawk Council, represented Miami on the MAC Council of Student-Athletes and was selected as one of 150 athletes for the NCAA National Leadership Forum. Bann was a leader for Miami Swimming and Diving, helping the RedHawk men win four consecutive conference titles during his time in Oxford. He produced new personal-best times in the 200 backstroke, 100 backstroke and 50 backstroke at the MVC Championships last February and was named to the MVC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete Team. A native of Austin, Texas, Bann graduated from Miami's College of Education, Health and Society with a degree in Sport Leadership and Management.
Parks led Miami Softball in hitting, started every game at second base and set multiple career and single-season records this year, earning All-MAC, All-Tournament, All-Region and Academic All-MAC recognition to go with her 2025 MAC Tournament MVP award. The Indianapolis, Ind. native also won the MAC's Nan Harvey Award and was ranked among D1Softball's top mid-major players in the country. During Parks' time in Oxford, the RedHawks averaged 41 victories per year, claimed every conference regular-season and tournament title possible and advanced to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Off the field, Parks was committed to community service, including organizing events in Oxford, reading to children at local elementary schools, volunteering at the Oxford Women's Center, helping coach travel softball, raking leaves for the elderly, working at vaccine clinics, conducting local vision/hearing screenings and serving at Indianapolis-area food pantries. She graduated with a degree in Nursing from Miami's College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science.
Suder, who was voted a team captain for the RedHawks ahead of his first season with the program, helped carry the Red and White to a program-record 25 wins and a berth in the MAC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2007. The Carmel, Ind. native's efforts propelled Miami to a 10-win improvement over the previous season, the team's largest single-season turnaround since 1983-34. Suder became the first Miami men's basketball player since 2012 to be named First-Team All-MAC, leading the RedHawks in points and assists. He poured in a career-high 42 points in a memorable win over Air Force last December, the most a Miami player has ever scored at Millett Hall. Suder is a Sport Management major in the College of Education, Health and Society.
Players Mentioned
Back/IM
/ Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Tennis
Fly/Back/IM
/ Swimming and Diving
Free/Back
/ Swimming and Diving
INF
/ Softball
/ Women's Tennis
Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps
/ Track & Field, Cross Country
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