Jan. 25, 2009
Washington, D.C. - The 22nd Annual Hoyas Unlimited Athletic Recognition Dinner was held last night at the Leavey Center Ballroom on the Georgetown University campus. Past and present Hoyas gathered to honor the four major award winners of the evening and also recognize the captains and MVP's of the various sports teams at Georgetown.
"Tonight is a special night because it is great for our current student-athletes to interact with various coaches, alumni and award recipients," Georgetown University Director of Athletics Bernard Muir said. "These people are inspiring in so many ways, not just for what they were able to accomplish on the Hilltop, but for what they were able to do after leaving it."
After a quick welcome to all those in attendance, Muir took the stage and presented a short video promoting the school's Raise Our Game program. The video highlighted the various sports on campus and two student-athletes, women's track standout Buky Bamigboye and former Hoya hoopster Jonathan Wallace.
After the video, Master of Ceremonies Joe Lonardo (C'69) recognized the various members of the athletic staff that were in attendance and the Hoyas Unlimited staff that helped make the night possible. This was followed by the acknowledgment of all the coaches, captains and team MVP's at the dinner.
A brief statement was then made about the various Hoyas Unlimited Support Club Incentive Award winners; Fore Hoyas, the Spiked Shoe Club and the Gridiron Club.
After that, it was time for the four award recipients to be honored for their achievements. First up was women's soccer coach Dave Nolan who was awarded the Outstanding Coaching Achievement Award. He was joined on stage by assistant coach Mike Calabretta and seniors Stephanie Zare and Nicole Smith. The 2007 BIG EAST Coach of the Year thanked many in attendance including his players, coaching staff and administrators over the past few years.
Muir took the stage next to introduce the Outstanding Contribution to Athletics Award to Steven J. Paluszek (B'79). Paluszek talked about his time at Georgetown while stating he was "not the greatest athlete and that's what probably made me one of the bigger fans of Georgetown Athletics." Named the Outstanding Intramural student-athlete back in 1979, Paluszek was hailed for his leadership, loyalty and perseverance in his years of service to Georgetown athletics.
The Robert A. Duffey Scholar Athlete Award was then presented to recent graduate Kyle Van Fleet (B'08). The 2007 Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year was introduced by assistant coach Rob Sgarlata and referenced former teammate Darren Craft in his speech. Van Fleet thanked his parents, friends and coaches for helping him with the situations that he faced as a student-athlete at Georgetown.
The final award was the J. Gregory Carroll Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to Hoyas Unlimited and was given to Andrew T. Schreiber (F,86). After an introduction from former Hoya rower Mike Vespoli and a quick video that was shown during the Never Row Weekend from this past fall, Schreiber was presented the award by Carroll's daughter, Julia, in a moving display that capped the evening's festivities.
Be sure to visit www.GUHoyas.com on Friday to catch video interviews with each of the award winners.
