CUA honors careers of its senior student-athletes

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, May 12 CUA held its annual Senior Student-Athlete Banquet inside the Pryzbyla Center.  Over 350 people gathered to look back on the careers of CUA’s senior student-athletes.  Each head coach was in attendance, along with numerous university administrators and guests, and at the end of the night several awards were presented, including the Jone Dowd Role Model Award, the Senior Athlete Award, the Harris Cup and the Donley Cup. Here is a photo gallery from the banquet.

The Jone Dowd Student-Athlete Role Model Award is given annually to a male and female student-athlete who exudes graciousness in victory, humility in defeat and rallies their peers to consistently compete at a high level in athletics and beyond.  

The female winner of this year’s Jone Dowd Student-Athlete Role Model Award is Kelly Ryan.  Kelly is a two-sport athlete at CUA, participating in lacrosse and basketball.  A member of the Dean’s List and Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll, Kelly serves as President of CUA’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee.  She has been involved in numerous community service projects during her time at CUA, including the Special Olympics, Friends of Jacklyn, Habitat for Humanity and helping to raise breast cancer awareness.  Kelly is an elementary education major.

The male winner of this year’s Jone Dowd Student-Athlete Role Model Award is Joe Gribbin.  A member of the tennis team, Joe is described by many as the perfect teammate.  He is the team’s hardest worker, never complains and he is a terrific role model to the younger members of not only the tennis team, but all student-athletes.  A math major who is a member of the Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll, Joe has been involved with the Special Olympics for all four years he has been at CUA and this year he finished off his career with a selection to the All-Landmark Conference team.

The Outstanding Senior Athlete Award is presented to the male and female athletes who have made significant contributions to their respective teams.

The female winner of this year’s Senior Athlete of the Year is Lisa Brooks. Lisa has had a remarkable career in the pool at CUA.  She is the only female swimmer in the history of the Landmark Conference to win the same event four times – and she did it in two different events.  An eight-time conference champion, Lisa holds the school record in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 400 medley relay, the Landmark Conference record in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the conference meet record in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.  Lisa was the first female swimmer in Landmark Conference annals to qualify for the NCAA championships and the first female swimmer at CUA to accomplish the feat since the mid 1990’s.

The male winner of this year’s Senior Athlete of the Year is Jason Banzhaf.  A three-time All-American and All-Region selection, Jason will go down as one of the best basketball players ever at CUA.  He is third in school history with 1,819 points and 879 rebounds and received All-Conference accolades in each of his four years.  He was the 2008 conference Rookie of the Year and earned First Team All-Conference recognition each year after that.  Jason led the Cardinals in scoring and rebounding in each of the past three seasons and is just the third player in the 100-year history of CUA basketball to score at least 1,800 career points.

The Donley Cup is presented annually to a female student-athlete regarded as an outstanding leader, athlete, and scholar who made a significant contribution to the campus and community.  

The winner of this year’s Donley Cup is Andrea Baick.  Andrea is as well-rounded a student-athlete as we have at CUA.  She is a two-time All-Conference selection, including the 2007 Rookie of the Year.  She is a member of the Dean’s List with Distinction as well as the Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll and the NFHCA Academic Squad.  Andrea has given a great deal of her free time towards volunteering for numerous causes, including at the Armed Forces Retirement Home, the undergraduate constituency group, the Greenbuild Campaign at the Department of Commerce, Shady Grove Nursing Home and Little Sisters of the Poor.  In August Andrea will begin working for the prestigious Teach for America program in Baltimore.

The Harris Cup is presented annually to a male student-athlete regarded as an outstanding leader, athlete, and scholar who made a significant contribution to the campus and community.

The winner of this year’s Harris Cup is R.J. Dixon.  R.J. has been a tremendous asset to our university and athletic department.  He is a two-time First Team All-Conference selection and 1,000-point scorer on the basketball court, and a member of the Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll and NABC Honors Court off of it.  R.J. has participated in the Brookland Area Clean Up Day, the Wreaths Across America program, Cancer Awareness program and the Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness.  He is a tremendous leader and hard worker who always puts the interest of others ahead of his own.