Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University athletic department held its second annual WUSPYS on Monday night. The idea was created by the Wingate University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Awards such as best breakthrough athlete, best championship team, best game, best championship performances and other categories were added in addition to the traditional male and female athlete of the year awards. In addition, team awards were handed out at the beginning of the show, with each team recognizing an MVP and then another award such as a Coaches Award or Newcomer of the Year.

To learn more about the WUSPYS, follow @WUSPYS on Twitter or go to wingatebulldogs.com/wuspys. Check back later in the week, when the entire WUSPYS show will be available to watch online. A photo gallery from the red carpet will also be available later this week.

Male Breakthrough Athlete ­­
George Williams, Men's Track & Field
Williams is the first Bulldog indoor track and field student-athlete to qualify for the national championship meet. He posted a provisional mark in his first meet this season, the JDL Fast Track College Kick-off Classic Dec. 7, 2013. Williams holds an outdoor provisional mark as well. In the 2014 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference track meet, Williams cleared 2.05 meters to finish second. In 2013, he finished first in the Lenoir-Rhyne Southeast Regional championship meet high jump with a leap of 2.00 meters.

Other Nominees
Cory Schumacher, Men's Lacrosse
Tyler Brown, Baseball
Jon Jimenez, Football
Shaun Gadsby, Men's Soccer

Female Breakthrough Athlete
Allison Rickher, Volleyball
A contributor off the Wingate bench during her first three years at Wingate, Allison Rickher earned second team All-SAC honors in 2014, leading the conference with 1.13 blocks per set while ranking second in the league with a .349 hitting percentage. Rickher had more kills, blocks and starts during her senior year than she had in her first three years combined. She helped lead Wingate to an eighth straight SAC title and third regional championship in four years. 

Other Nominees
Taylor Laskey, Softball
Ashlyn Hardie, Women's Soccer
Christina Matheny, Women's Track & Field
Jessika Weiss, Women's Swimming

Best Upset  
Softball vs. #14 Lenoir-Rhyne
Stacey Houser picked up both wins on the day, allowing just two runs in 12 2/3 innings of work helping Wingate win 2-1 and 8-6. RBI singles from Taylor Laskey and Kayla Saliga were all the support Wingate needed in game one. In game two, the 'Dogs trailed 5-1 in the third until a Laskey three-run homer made it 5-4. Laskey then connected on a grand slam in the fifth to put the 'Dogs on top 8-5.

Other Nominees
Volleyball vs. #9 UIndy
Women's Tennis vs. #12 Francis Marion
Men's Soccer vs. #11 Queens
Baseball vs. #16 UNC Pembroke

Bulldog Club Spirit Award
Jasmine DeBerry, Women's Basketball

Other Nominees
Bryce Sneed, Men's Lacrosse
Kathryn Rand, Women's Golf
Tiffany Williams, Women's Tennis
Tyler Simmons, Baseball

Fanatic Fan Award
Natalie Burns

Play of the Year   (Watch all nominees here)
Jade Montgomery game-winner in SAC title game
With the score tied 1-1 in the final minute of the 2013 SAC championship game against LMU, All-American Jade Montgomery found the back of the net to give the Bulldogs a dramatic 2-1 victory, giving Wingate its second SAC Tournament title in three years.

Other Nominees
Kevin Norman behind the back winner in triple OT
Amber Neely buzzer beater vs. Coker
Charlie Machell goal from 20 yards out vs. UNCP
Jordan Berry diving touchdown catch against Brevard
Taylor Laskey game-winning grand slam against Lenoir-Rhyne
Men's Swimming 200 Fly at the BMC Championships
Keith Griffin dunk at LMU

Game of the Year
Women's Soccer vs. Columbus State (NCAA Tournament)
Hosting NCAA Tournament games for the first time in program history, the Bulldogs advanced to the regional championship game by advancing past Columbus State, winning PKs 5-3 after the two teams finished in a 1-1 tie after 110 minutes. Chandler Murphy scored on a Jade Montgomery assist five minutes into the opening half to give Wingate a 1-0 lead. Columbus answered 23 minutes into the second half to tie it. The next 42 minutes were scoreless, moving the contest to penalty kicks. Taryn Grivois, Montgomery and Kaitlyn Brunworth made the first three PKs, while Columbus also made its first three. Brandi Baldwin gave the 'Dogs a 4-3 lead, while the Cougars missed on their fourth attempt. Freshman Naomi Matley found the back of the net to send the Bulldogs to the regional finals and eventually the first Elite Eight appearance in program history.

Other Nominees
Women's Basketball vs. #24 Lenoir-Rhyne (SAC championship game)
Volleyball vs. Armstrong (Regional title match)
Women's Cross Country at SAC Championships
Men's Tennis vs. Tusculum (SAC Title Match)
Men's Track & Field at SAC Championships
Women's Golf at SAC Tournament
Men's Basketball at Anderson
Women's Swimming at BMC Meet

Best Comeback Win
Men's Lacrosse vs. Mount Olive
Mount Olive netted eight straight goals to give the Trojans a 10-2 lead early in the third. Wingate scored eight of the next nine goals, cutting the lead to one at 11-10 on an Austin Murphy goal four minutes into the fourth. The Trojans regained a two-goal lead, but goals from Murphy and Kevin Norman tied it at 12. Mount Olive led 14-13 in the final minute, but Norman scored with 11 seconds left to tie it. Norman struck again in the third overtime, netting the behind-the-back winner to give the 'Dogs a 15-14 win.

Other Nominees
Men's Swimming at BMC Meet
Men's Basketball vs. Mars Hill
Football at Catawba
Softball against Newberry
Men's soccer at Carson-Newman

Best Men's Championship Team
Men's Tennis
The Bulldogs went 11-0 in the SAC regular season, capturing their third regular season title in four years while going undefeated in conference play for the fourth time in six years. Wingate backed up the regular season title by capturing its second SAC Tournament championship in three years, winning 5-1 over Queens and 5-3 over Tusculum. Sebastian Hall and Filippo Pezzoli earned All-SAC honors, while freshman Connor Kudrick went a perfect 23-0 against Division II opponents.

Other Nominees
Men's Swimming
Men's Track & Field
Baseball

Best Women's Championship Team
Volleyball
The Bulldogs won their eighth straight regular season SAC title, going undefeated in league play for the seventh time in eight years. Wingate also won the SAC Tournament for the eighth straight year. The Bulldogs hosted the NCAA regionals for the sixth time in seven years, winning their second straight regional title and third in four years. Wingate picked up wins over #9 UIndy, #11 Colorado School of Mines and #17 Armstrong in the regional title match. Ranked as high as ninth nationally during the year, the highest ranking in the history of SAC volleyball.

Other Nominees
Women's Soccer
Women's Cross Country
Women's Basketball
Women's Golf
Women's Tennis
Women's Swimming

Wounded Bulldog
Justin Somers, Baseball
Somers spent his first three years of his career on the Wingate pitching staff, earning All-SAC honors as a sophomore with a 7-4 record and 2.60 ERA. He had major surgery after his junior season, then sat out during 2013 to recover. Somers did not pitch in 2014, but did play 37 games as an outfielder, hitting .288 with two homers, seven doubles, 19 RBI and 26 runs scored. Wingate was 10-3 with Somers hitting in the lead-off spot.

Other Nominees
Caroline Holland, Women's Tennis
Ernest Bridges, Football
Chantal Dunbar, Women's Basketball
Jasmine DeBerry, Women's Basketball
Natalie Quinchia, Women's Lacrosse

Best Championship Performance
Marko Blazevski, NCAA Championships
The 2012 Olympian capped his amazing Wingate career in style, registering four All-American swims in 2014, while taking home the national championship in the 400 IM. It is the third national title for Blazevski in four years. He broke his own school record in the 400 IM in 2014, winning the national title by over three seconds. Blazevski finished third in the 200 Fly and sixth in the 200 IM. His strong performance helped the Bulldogs finish eighth at the NCAA meet.

Other Nominees
Jade Montgomery, SAC Championship Game
Kayla Harris, SAC Tournament
Keeley Wood, SAC Championship Meet
Anna Hilton, Regional title match
Sofia Petrenko, NCAA Meet
Connor Kudrick, SAC Tournament

Haskins Scholar-Athlete Award
The Haskins Scholar-Athlete Award is given to the senior student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA. There were two winners of the award, both accumulating a GPA of 4.0.

Winners
Binyam Ateka Belachew, Men's Cross Country
Brandi Baldwin, Women's Soccer

Geddings Award (Overall Student-Athlete)
Robbie Nallenweg, Football
The second-team All-SAC quarterback was named the SAC Scholar Athlete for the second straight year. The SAC leader in completions and completion percentage ranked in the top five nationally in both and was one of 28 finalists for the Harlon Hill Award. In the classroom, Nallenweg has a 3.802 GPA with his Biology major. He is a two-time Capital One Academic All-Super Region 2 team member. Nallenweg is involved with Special Olympics Field Day and the Union County Boys and Girls Club. Nallenweg was a nominee for the 2012 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® for his role in Wingate's initiative with the Union County Boys and Girls Club.

Keeley Wood, Women's Cross Country
The back-to-back SAC Runner of the Year is the Editor-in-Chief of the Wingate Triangle. She is also a leader of Girls on the Run. Wood helped the Bulldogs win six team titles in 2013, including the first regional title in program history. Wood finished eighth at regionals and was Wingate's top finisher at the national meet, finishing 88th. She has a 3.881 GPA in Communication Studies.

Other Nominees
Amanda Gilbert
Marko Blazevski
Garrett Dahms
Brandi Baldwin

Freshman Male Athlete of the Year
Connor Kudrick, Men's Tennis
Kudrick was a second team All-SAC doubles selection, while earning MVP honors at the SAC Tournament. Kudrick has a team-best 23-2 record, winning 23 consecutive singles matches. He is undefeated against NCAA Division II opposition. He is also tied for the team lead with 17 doubles wins. During his 23 match winning streak, Kudrick has dropped just two sets, and is currently riding a 41-set winning streak. That streak includes straight-set wins against #20 GRU Augusta, #28 Mount Olive, #36 Coker and #38 Limestone. He also has a 2-1 win against #17 Francis Marion.

Other Nominees
Austin Murphy, Men's Lacrosse
Isiah Cureton, Men's Basketball
Jordan Berry, Football
Leif-Henning Kluver, Men's Swimming

Freshman Female Athlete of the Year
Sofia Petrenko, Women's Swimming
In her first year at Wingate, Petrenko piled up six All-American swims, helping the Bulldogs finish sixth at the NCAA national meet. Petrenko earned All-American honors in the 200 IM, 200 Free and 200 Fly, while also taking part in three relay teams that notched top-eight finishes in the nation. Petrenko finished third in the 200 Free, missing out on a national title by just three-hundredths of a second. She was also third in the 200 Fly, while finishing fourth in the 200 IM. She was also a key factor in Wingate's second straight BMC title.

Other Nominees
Layla Tanik, Women's Tennis
Shelby Tricoli, Women's Basketball
Logan Bounds, Women's Lacrosse
Kaitlyn Brunworth, Women's Soccer

Best Male Athlete
Marko Blazevski, Men's Swimming
The 2012 Olympian capped his amazing Wingate career in style, registering four All-American swims in 2014, while taking home the national championship in the 400 IM. It is the third national title for Blazevski in four years. He broke his own school record in the 400 IM in 2014, winning the national title by over three seconds. Blazevski finished third in the 200 Fly and sixth in the 200 IM. His strong performance helped the Bulldogs finish eighth at the NCAA meet. Blazevski also led Wingate to its seventh consecutive BMC title.

Other Nominees
Olen Little, Baseball
Benedict Gebhardt, Men's Golf
Deion Turman, Men's Basketball
Robbie Nallenweg, Football

Best Female Athlete
Jade Montgomery, Women's Soccer
The SAC and Region Player of the Year earned All-American honors from Daktronics and the NSCAA. She led the SAC in goals, assists and points, while ranking fifth nationally in assists, sixth in points and 10th in goals. Montgomery led the Bulldogs to their second SAC tournament title in three years, while leading Wingate to its first-ever regional title. The Bulldogs finished the season ranked eighth nationally, the highest ranking in Wingate women's soccer history.

Other Nominees
Anna Hilton, Volleyball
Keeley Wood, Women's Cross Country
Katie Pheil, Women's Swimming
Kayla Harris, Women's Basketball
Johanna Neumann, Women's Golf


Team Awards

Football
MVP: Robbie Nallenweg
Offensive MVP: Jordan Berry

Volleyball
MVP: Anna Hilton                                                                                           
Consistency in Excellence Award: Lexi Potter

Men's Cross Country
MVP: James Lawson                                                                                      
Find A Way Award: Kyle Osburn

Women's Cross Country
MVP: Keeley Wood                                                                       
Find A Way Award: Brianna Stevens

Men's Soccer                                                                                                    
Player of the Year: Gui Andrade                                                              
Freshman of the Year: Callum Ross

Women's Soccer
MVP: Jade Montgomery                             
Team Award: Sarah Linhart

Men's Basketball
MVP: Deion Turman                                                                                      
Academic Achievement Award: Dustin Dodd                     

Women's Basketball
MVP: Janitsha Williams                                         
Most Outstanding Player: Kayla Harris

Men's Swimming
MVP: Marko Blazevski                                                                                  
Scholar-Athlete Award: Marko Blazevski

Women's Swimming
MVP: Katie Pheil                                                                                                             
Bridget Beth Melvin Award: Amanda Gilbert

Men's Lacrosse
MVP: Austin Murphy                                                                                    
MVP: Bryce Sneed

Women's Lacrosse
MVP: Logan Bounds
Coaches Award: Allie Holland

Baseball
MVP: Olen Little                                                                                                                              
Coaches Award: Ben Currie                                                        

Softball
MVP: Taylor Laskey                                                                                        
Offensive Player of the Year: Mellena Helms    

Men's Golf
MVP: Ben Gebhardt                                                                                      
Senior Leadership Award: Garrett Dahms

Women's Golf
MVP: Johanna Neumann                                                                                            
Senior Leadership Award: Samantha Pugh-Gilder

Men's Tennis
MVP: Connor Kudrick                                                                                                    
Coaches Award: Sebastian Hall                 

Women's Tennis
MVP: Ali Evers                                                                                                  
Coaches Award: Becca Thomas                                 

Men's Track and Field                  
Track Performer of the Year: Cole Henderson                                                                   
Field Performer of the Year: George Williams   

Women's Track and Field
Track Performer of the Year: Ashley Hinderer   
Field Performer of the Year: Christina Matheny               

Cheerleading
MVP: Lacey Maners                                                                                       
Most Spirited: Danielle Carew

Athletic Training
Best Overall Athletic Training Student: Darin Hinson      
Best Academic Senior Athletic Trainer: Katy Troyer

SAAC Leadership Award
Garrett Dahms