CSU honors top performers at annual athletic banquet

Athletes of the Year pictured with A.D. Hank Small

CHARLESTON, SC - Men's tennis player Santiago Falla and women's soccer player Betsy Lapp were named the 2002-03 Senior Male and Female Athletes of the Year at Charleston Southern University's athletic awards banquet, held on campus Monday night.

Falla, a four-year member of the men's tennis team, played on three Big South Conference championship teams and participated in three consecutive NCAA tournaments. He twice earned All-Conference honors, including this past spring when he was honored in both singles and doubles. Falla also was named to the Big South All-Academic team for men's tennis this spring and was ranked ninth as a singles player in the Southeast region.

Lapp finished her career as a four-time All-Conference performer, earning second-team honors in 2002. A former Big South Rookie of the Year, Lapp finished third on the school's all-time goals scored list and third all-time in points scored.

Baseball player Adrian Vanderburg received the Michael Frost Christian Athlete Award and volleyball player Jenny Shaw received the R.L. Wynn Christian Leadership Award.

Most Valuable Player and Sportsmanship awards also were presented by the head coach of each team. Athletes who earned letters were also recognized by the athletic department.

Following is a partial list of award winners in each sport:

Men's Basketball: MVP - Charles White; Sportsmanship - Gene Granger; Women's Basketball: MVP - Marea Daniels; Sportsmanship - Lisa Crandall; Women's Soccer: MVP - Kate Basom; Sportsmanship - Kristen Siebert; Volleyball: MVP - Rebecca Miller; Sportsmanship - Jamaica Hicks; Women's Tennis: MVP - Nandita Chandraseker; Sportsmanship - Melisa Mathis; Men's Tennis: MVP - Santiago Falla; Sportsmanship - Soufiane Rechag; Football: MVP - Mike Washington; Sportsmanship - Nick Nester; Baseball: MVP - R.J. Swindle; Sportsmanship - Brandon Massey; Women's Cross Country: MVP - Lindsay MacPherson; Sportsmanship - Alicia Walker; Men's Cross Country: MVP - Jacob Karn; Sportsmanship - Martin Kutz; Women's Track and Field: MVP - Audrika Gadson; Sportsmanship - Janeen Gudger; Men's Track and Field: MVP - Chris Ward; Men's Golf: MVP - Tom Schupp; Sportsmanship - Matt Selby; Women's Golf: MVP - Julie St. Onge; Sportsmanship - Ashlee Cooke.