Athletics Honors Best of Blue and Gold at Year-End Banquet

PHILADELPHIA - The Drexel Athletics Department held its annual Best of Blue and Gold banquet on Friday night in the Drexel Rec Center. The banquet looked back on one of the most successful academic years in department history, and honored some of the student-athletes, coaches and teams that were responsible for that success.

One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the John and Mary Semanik Awards, given to the top male and female senior student-athletes. The Mary Semanik Award went to Amanda Norcini, a senior women's lacrosse player who ranks near the top of the program record lists in several offensive and defensive categories and helped lead the team to three postseason appearances during her four years on campus. The John Semanik Award was shared by two standout male student-athletes, both of whom guided their teams to the NCAA tournament in 2013-14. Men's soccer's Ken Tribbett and men's lacrosse's Ben McIntosh shared the award.

Also recognized at the banquet was the 2013-14 Team of the Year, an award voted on by the department administration. Men's lacrosse, which advanced to the 2014 NCAA quarterfinals, took home the distinction. Head coach Brian Voelker was also awarded the Coach of the Year, with the team's NCAA first round win at Penn earning Victory of the Year.

Catered for a second-consecutive year by Drexelbrook, the banquet also served as an opportunity to honor the All-Dragon Teams and All-Mario Team. The All-Mario Team honors the ten top freshmen of the year, while the three All-Dragon Teams recognize the best that the department had to offer from all sports. Those teams are listed in full below.

First Team All-Dragon
Lindsay McArdle, Field Hockey
Nick Trizano, Men's Lacrosse
Lauren Hibschman, Field Hockey
Dad Vail Varsity 8 Boat, Women's Crew
Ken Tribbett, Men's Soccer
Frantz Massenat, Men's Basketball
Ben McIntosh, Men's Lacrosse
Nick Saputo, Men's Lacrosse,
Amanda Norcini, Women's Lacrosse
Brandon Palik, Wrestling

Second Team All-Dragon
Jantien Gunter, Field Hockey
Tal Bublil, Men's Soccer
Nathan Page, Men's Soccer
Chris Fouch, Men's Basketball
Justin Singh, Men's Squash
Kevin Devoy, Wrestling
Chris Crawford, Golf
Melissa Chapman, Women's Soccer
Ryan Belka, Men's Lacrosse
Matt Dusek, Men's Lacrosse

Third Team All-Dragon
Michele Pataia, Men's Soccer
Robert Liberatore, Men's Soccer
Rachel Pearson, Women's Basketball
Dad Vail Second Varsity 8 Boat, Men's Crew
Austin Sommer, Wrestling
Eve Badana, Women's Soccer
Christina Conrad, Field Hockey
Badr Ouabdelmoumen, Men's Tennis
Kelly Palace, Women's Lacrosse
Kyle Lukens, Men's Swimming & Diving

All-Mario Team
Jessica McCarthy, Field Hockey
Tyler Afflerbach, Men's Soccer
Rodney Williams, Men's Basketball
Sarah Curran, Women's Basketball
Cole Shafer, Men's Lacrosse
Markel Nelson, Men's Lacrosse
Caroline Thiele, Women's Lacrosse
Kim Chan, Softball
Elisa Money, Women's Squash
Rachel Bernhardt, Women's Swimming & Diving

Drexel University Athletics

Athletics Honors Best of Blue and Gold at Year-End Banquet

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