Strength and Conditioning Staff Announces Team Awards

May 12, 2020 | 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. – The UNC Strength and Conditioning staff has selected team award winners for the 2019-20 school year, recognizing performance, effort and improvement. The awards honor student-athletes from Olympic sports team who excelled as part of in-season and out-of-season programs.

Tar Heels were selected for Iron Ram, Most Improved and Newcomer awards.

The Iron Ram Award goes to the top all-around performer on each team, and winners are honored with photos hanging in the Loudermilk Center Olympic sports weight room. Three Tar Heels – Marcus Krah from men's track and field, Anna Keefer from women's track and field and Mia Fradenburg from volleyball – earned the award for the second year in a row.

Additionally, three student-athletes were honored as Iron Rams this year after earning the Newcomer Award in 2018-19. They are James Mulligan (Men's Fencing), Erin Matson (Field Hockey) and Dougie Ergood (Men's Golf).

2019-20 UNC Olympic Sports Strength & Conditioning Awards

Baseball
Iron Ram: Gage Gillian (Pitcher), Dylan Harris (Position)
Most Improved: Max Alba (Pitcher), Angel Zarate (Position)
Newcomer: Nick James (Pitcher), Patrick Alvarez (Position)

Men's Cross Country
Iron Ram: Luke Peterson
Most Improved: Ian Moini
Newcomer: Dalton McGlamery

Women's Cross Country
Iron Ram: Madeline Kraft
Most Improved: Camryn Petit
Newcomer: Alex Morris

Men's Fencing
Iron Ram: James Mulligan
Most Improved: Lucas Fernandez
Newcomer: Connor Head

Women's Fencing
Iron Ram: Amelia Cuomo
Most Improved: Darby Haskel
Newcomer: Sophia Mandour

Field Hockey
Iron Ram: Erin Matson
Most Improved: Romea Riccardo
Newcomer: Madison Orobono

Men's Golf
Iron Ram: Dougie Ergood
Most Improved: Luis Castro
Newcomer: Austin Greaser

Women's Golf
Iron Ram: Mariana Ocano
Most Improved: Jennifer Zhou
Newcomer: Kayla Smith

Gymnastics
Iron Ram: Jamie Antinori
Most Improved: McKenna Appleton
Newcomer: Shailyn St. Brice

Men's Lacrosse
Iron Ram: Ryan O'Connell
Most Improved: Will Nicklaus
Newcomer: Zach Young

Women's Lacrosse
Iron Ram: Taylor Moreno
Most Improved: Catie Woodruff
Newcomer: Emily Nalls

Rowing
Iron Ram: Bridget Tarnowski, Elizabeth Mitchell
Most Improved: Hattie Doherty, Caileigh Ryan
Newcomer: Jackie Wilhelm

Men's Soccer
Iron Ram: Santiago Herrera
Most Improved: Mark Salas
Newcomer: Jacques Bouvery

Women's Soccer
Iron Ram: Alessia Russo
Most Improved: Maggie Pierce, Lois Joel
Newcomer: Libby Moore

Softball
Iron Ram: Hannah Nommensen (Pitcher), Taylor Puetz (Position)
Most Improved: Hannah George (Pitcher), Lexi Godwin (Position)
Newcomer: Alyssa Stanley (Pitcher), Katie Perkins (Position)

Men's Swimming & Diving
Iron Ram: Jack Messenger
Most Improved: Valdas Abaliksta
Newcomer: Alex Mays

Women's Swimming & Diving
Iron Ram: Emma Cole
Most Improved: Brooke Perrotta
Newcomer: Amy Dragelin

Men's Tennis
Iron Ram: Ladd Harrison
Most Improved: William Blumberg
Newcomer: Rinky Hijikata

Women's Tennis
Iron Ram: Sara Daavettila
Most Improved: Anika Yarlagadda
Newcomer: Elizabeth Scotty

Men's Track & Field
Iron Ram: Marcus Krah (Track), Daniel McArthur (Field)
Most Improved: Ari Cogdell (Track), Madias Loper (Field

Women's Track & Field
Iron Ram: Lauryn Hall (Track), Anna Keefer (Field)
Most Improved: Nicole Barnes (Track), Madison Wiltrout (Field)
Newcomer: Kayla Hunt (Track), Sydney Banks (Field)

Volleyball
Iron Ram: Mia Fradenburg
Most Improved: Destiny Cox
Newcomer: Ryan Shannon

Wrestling
Iron Ram: Austin O'Connor
Most Improved: Josh McClure
Newcomer: Timothy Decatur