UNC Strength & Conditioning Announces Annual Awards

The Loudermilk Center strength and conditioning area.

Photo by: UNC Athletic Communications

June 1, 2018 | Baseball, Field Hockey, Men's Golf, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Golf, Women's Gymnastics, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Rowing, Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Wrestling, Cross Country, Track & Field, Fencing, Swimming & Diving, Athletics

By: UNC Athletic Communications

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In recognition of effort and improvement throughout the past year, the North Carolina Strength and Conditioning staff has announced team awards for 2017-18. Honorees from each of UNC's Olympic sports teams have been selected based on performance during in-season and out-of-season programs.

The top award for each team is the Iron Ram Award, which goes to the student-athlete with the best overall performance during the year. The Most Improved Award goes to the student-athlete who has made the greatest strides during the year, regardless of start or finish point. The final award is the Newcomer Award, for best performance by a first-year member of the team.

All Iron Ram winners will be honored with photos hanging in the Loudermilk Center weight room. Six student-athletes earned Iron Ram honors for the second year in a row. Back-to-back winners are Julia Ashley (women's soccer), Blaine Boyden (men's tennis), Marissa Creatore (field hockey), Justine de Grasse (women's fencing), Ryan Macri (men's lacrosse) and Madison Nettles (gymnastics).

Each team's 2017-18 honorees are as follows:

Baseball
Iron Ram: Tyler Baum (pitcher), Kyle Datres (position)
Most Improved: Hansen Butler (pitcher), Brandon Martorano (position)
Newcomer: Caden O'Brien (pitcher), Kip Brandenburg (position)

Men's Cross Country
Iron Ram: Carl Geiger
Most Improved: Brandon Tubby
Newcomer: Jake McEneaney

Women's Cross Country
Iron Ram: Lauren Moody
Most Improved: Ashley Smith
Newcomer: Kathryn Mayo

Men's Fencing
Iron Ram: Samuel Tate
Most Improved: Andrew Fregenal
Newcomer: Bernard Witek

Women's Fencing
Iron Ram: Justine de Grasse, Jackie Litynski
Most Improved: Amelia Cuomo
Newcomer: Charlotte Smith

Field Hockey
Iron Ram: Marissa Creatore
Most Improved: Megan DuVernois, Catherine Hayden
Newcomer: Feline Guenther

Men's Golf
Iron Ram: Preyer Fountain
Most Improved: Joshua Martin
Newcomer: Mason Elmore

Women's Golf
Iron Ram: Mariana Ocano
Most Improved: Brynn Walker
Newcomer: Ava Bergner

Gymnastics
Iron Ram: Madison Nettles
Most Improved: Lauren Weisel
Newcomer: Lily Dean

Men's Lacrosse
Iron Ram: Ryan Macri
Most Improved: Michael Nathan
Newcomer: Ara Atayan

Women's Lacrosse
Iron Ram: Gianna Bowe
Most Improved: Marisa DiVietro
Newcomer: Ally Mastroianni

Rowing
Iron Ram: Kathryn Johnson
Most Improved: Jackie Kenny
Newcomer: Liz Finnessy

Men's Soccer
Iron Ram: Alex Comsia
Most Improved: Jack Skahan
Newcomer: John Nelson

Women's Soccer
Iron Ram: Julia Ashley
Most Improved: Taylor Otto
Newcomer: Alessia Russo

Softball
Iron Ram: Brittany Pickett (pitcher), Taylor Wike (position)
Most Improved: Kellyn Daly (pitcher), Hailey Cole (position)
Newcomer: Kiani Ramsey

Men's Swimming & Diving
Iron Ram: Greg Brocato
Most Improved: J.T. Casey
Newcomer: Coleman Manchester

Women's Swimming & Diving
Iron Ram: Zhada Fields
Most Improved: Caroline Baldwin
Newcomer: Caroline Hauder

Men's Tennis
Iron Ram: Blaine Boyden
Most Improved: Ladd Harrison
Newcomer: Benjamin Sigouin, Mac Kiger

Women's Tennis:
Iron Ram: Makenna Jones
Most Improved: Marika Akkerman
Newcomer: Anna Harmon

Men's Track & Field
Iron Ram: Kenny Selmon (track), Darryl Shaw (field)
Most Improved: Cory Nicholls (track), Zay Paschall (field)
Newcomer: Dontavian Smith

Women's Track & Field
Iron Ram: Emily Godwin (track), Alex Cooke (field)
Most Improved: Brianna Duncan (track), Nicole Greene (field)
Newcomer: Anna Keefer, Jill Shippee

Volleyball
Iron Ram: Katharine Esterley
Most Improved: Kendra Koetter
Newcomer: Raleigh Clark

Wrestling
Iron Ram: A.J. Rechenmacher
Most Improved: Sawyer Davidson
Newcomer: Gino Esposito