Douglass, Montes earn top honors to highlight Hoos Choice Awards

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Posted on Monday, May. 8, 2023, 7:07 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photos: UVA Athletics

Kate Douglass and Iñaki Montes were honored as Virginia’s top female and male athletes for the 2022-23 academic year. Douglass earned the IMP Award as UVA’s top female athlete, while Montes de la Torre claimed the WINA Award as the top male athlete.

Douglass was named the Honda Sport Award winner for the second straight season. The Pelham, N.Y. native, captured three individual NCAA titles and was part of four relay titles, leading Virginia to its third consecutive NCAA Championship. Douglass swam NCAA, American and US Open records in all three individual event wins at NCAAs. She was named the CSCAA Women’s Swimmer of the Year and ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Year for the second-straight year.

Montes was the 2022 ACC Player of the Year and an ITA All-American in singles, rising to a No. 4 national individual ranking. Last season, he won the clinching match for the Cavaliers in the ACC Championship final against UNC in a dramatic tiebreaker to decide the third set, giving UVA its second straight conference title. Montes came up huge in UVA’s 2022 NCAA Championship run, picking up wins against the 2021 NCAA Singles Champion in the Elite Eight, the No. 10 player in the country in the Final Four, and another top-25 win in the NCAA Championship final to lead the Cavaliers to the 2022 NCAA title.

Gary Martin of men’s track & field was named Male Rookie of the Year and swimmer Aimee Canny was named Female Rookie of the Year.

One of the nation’s top recruits in 2022, Martin set a Virginia freshman record in the mile, running 3:56.83, a time that ranks as the second-fastest in program history. Martin also ran on the Virginia distance medley relay team which set a UVA record of 9:23.71. In his first outdoor season, Martin has set a freshman record running 3:39.53 in the metric mile (1500 meters) and ranks second on the Virginia all-time list in the event.

Canny earned ACC Women’s Freshman of the Year honors after joining the Cavaliers in January. Canny won NCAA titles as part of the 800 free relay and 400 medley relay in her first NCAA Championship appearance. Canny added a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle at NCAAs. Her time of 1:42.34 is the second-fastest in UVA history. Canny was runner-up at the ACC Championships in the 200 free behind teammate Alex Walsh.

Football’s Mike Hollins earned the 1*15*41 Award (formerly the Wahoowa Award), which is given to the individual who best displayed selflessness, commitment, school pride and leadership, all while contributing to the betterment of the department and shining a light on those around them with positivity.

Track and field student-manager Marlee Morgan received the new award named in her honor – The Marlee Morgan Service Award. The award is given in recognition of a student-manager in the UVA Department of Athletics who serves as an inspiration to others as a result of their perseverance, commitment and work ethic.

Women’s soccer earned Comeback of the Year by scoring three second-half goals in its dramatic 3-2 win at then-No. 2 North Carolina. Douglass earned Female Play of the Year, becoming the first woman to ever swim the 200-yard IM under 1:50, winning the event with a time of 1:48.37 to lead the Cavaliers to their third straight NCAA Championship. Jeffrey von der Schulenburg earned Male Play of the Year for clinching UVA’s NCAA quarterfinal win over Florida.

Nancy Rivers was honored with the Bus Male Memorial Award for dedication, service and spirit during her distinguished 33-year career at UVA.

Laughlin Ryan (women’s soccer) received the Craig Fielder Memorial Award for overcoming adversity.

Will Baginski (men’s track) received the Gus Tebell Memorial Award as the fourth-year male student-athlete with the highest scholastic average through his four years at Virginia, while Lexi Cuomo (women’s swimming) was the recipient of the Jettie Hill Memorial Award as the fourth-year female student-athlete with the highest scholastic average through her four years at UVA.

Rebecca Skolar (women’s golf) earned UVA’s Distinguished Student-Athlete Scholarship Award, while Cole Kastner (men’s lacrosse) was the recipient of the Ralph Sampson Scholarship Award.

Leia Till (rowing) earned the Susan J. Grossman Memorial Award in recognition of outstanding service to student-athletes and contributions to the Student-Athlete Mentor Program.

Anna Williamson (men’s basketball) was the recipient of Bob Goodman Memorial award for outstanding student-manager, while Annaliese Georgi (men’s lacrosse, track & field) received the Tim Abbott Memorial Award, honoring the undergraduate sports medicine student most dedicated to and possessing empathy for the student-athletes.

Owayne Owens (men’s track & field) received the ACC Male Scholar-Athlete Award, while Gretchen Walsh earned the ACC Female Scholar-Athlete Award.

Virginia’s ACC Top VI Award recipients for dedication to community service and outreach programs included Lia Godfrey (women’s soccer), Jared Rayman (football), Umberto Pela (men’s soccer), women’s golf and volleyball.

TEAM AWARDS­
Baseball – Billy Word Memorial Award – TBD
Men’s Basketball – Sidney Young Memorial Award – Chase Coleman
Women’s Basketball – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Sam Brunelle
Men’s Cross Country – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Justin Wachtel
Women’s Cross Country – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Margot Appleton
Field Hockey – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Anarose McDonough
Football – John Acree Memorial Award – Jared Rayman
Men’s Golf – F. Dixon Brooke Memorial Award – Ben James
Women’s Golf – William E. Eacho Memorial Award – Virginia Bossi
Men’s Lacrosse – Henry Gaver Memorial Award – Grayson Sallade
Women’s Lacrosse – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Ashlyn McGovern/Nina Garfinkel
Rowing – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Kate Kelly
Men’s Soccer – Stanley Lerner Memorial Award – Andreas Ueland
Women’s Soccer – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Lia Godfrey
Softball – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Mikaila Fox
Men’s Squash – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Tyler Mackesy
Women’s Squash – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Sydney Maxwell
Men’s Swimming & Diving – Brooke Maury Memorial Award – Josh Fong
Women’s Swimming & Diving – Diane Montgomery Greene Memorial Award – Ella Nelson
Men’s Tennis – Norton Pritchett Memorial Award – Ryan Goetz
Women’s Tennis – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Natasha Subhash
Men’s Track & Field – Henry Cummings Memorial Award – TBD
Women’s Track & Field – Z Society – The Lou Onesty Memorial Award – TBD
Men’s Indoor Track & Field – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Conor Murphy
Women’s Indoor Track & Field – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Margot Appleton
Volleyball – Coach’s Award for Excellence – Grace Turner
Wrestling – David Senft Memorial Award – Justin McCoy