WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The University of New Haven held its annual Athletics & Senior Awards Banquet on Wednesday, May 8 at Anthony’s Ocean View, where nearly 200 people gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of New Haven’s student-athletes during the 2012-13 academic year. The event concluded by recognizing Jason Thompson (Indiantown, Fla./South Fork ), David Thomas (Taneytown, Md./Frostburg State), Keidy Candelaria (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Bayamon Military Academy) and Christina Gelardi (Derby, Conn./Derby) as the UNH co-Male and co-Female Athletes of the Year.
 
The event was presented by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and hosted by SAAC’s Executive Board. University President Steven H. Kaplan began the celebration by welcoming all the student-athletes, administrators, faculty, friends and family members on behalf of the administration. Associate Vice President, Director of Athletics Deborah Chin then highlighted the achievements accomplished by the University of New Haven Department of Athletics during the 2012-13 campaign and over the last four years. SAAC President Shannon Hall (Levant, Maine/Hermon) also welcomed the seniors, student-athletes and award winners at the opening of the night.

Rachel Putorti (Seymour, Conn./Seymour) and Hannah Allen (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue) hosted the festivities, introducing each head coach to recap his or her team’s season. The head coaches also presented a portrait to each of their senior award winners and announced their Most Valuable Player (complete list of MVPs below).

Hall was also first to present major awards at the ceremony. Selected by the members of SAAC, 2013 is the first year to award the Faculty and Staff Mentor Awards to a deserving faculty and staff member for their outstanding support for student-athletes in and out of the classroom. The senior presented Silvia Hyde the staff award and Dr. Charles Vigue with the faculty award for 2012-13.
 
Faculty Athletics Representative and Professor, Dr. Charles Vigue approached the podium at the midway point and awarded the Chargers’ senior academic achievement awards. This award was presented to all senior student-athletes who have obtained a 3.30 cumulative grade point average or better during their careers – the same standard utilized by the CoSIDA Academic All-America program (see complete list of MVPs below).
 
Dr. Vigue, along with colleague Ed Todd, also presented the distinguished scholar-athlete awards, the evening’s major academic awards. The award is given to a male and female student-athlete who has achieved success both academically and athletically, has shown commitment to university and community service and has interacted in a positive manner with their professors. Mark Palmieri (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) of the men's basketball team and Rachel Putorti (Seymour, Conn./Seymour) of the women's track & field team earned the honor in 2013.
 
Deborah Chin then presented the UNH Rookies of the Year. These awards are chosen from team nominations and presented to a male and female student-athlete in his or her first season of eligibility that has made a significant contribution to his or her team's success and/or achieved individual athletic success.
 
Oskar Sewerin (Stockholm, Sweden/Östra Reals Gymnasium) from the men’s soccer team was named the 2013 UNH Male Rookie of the Year. A Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team honoree after his first season in the Charger back row, Sewerin was one of three Chargers to start all 17 matches last fall. He finished his freshman campaign with a goal and three assists in addition to playing a key role in four New Haven shutouts. Sewerin is also a Dean’s List student and a member of the Northeast-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
 
The UNH Female Rookie of the Year Award went to Kristen Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) from the women’s volleyball team. Lee was the AVCA Division II East Region Freshman of the Year and the Northeast-10 Rookie of the Year. She was also a member of the NCAA East Region All-Championship Team as the Chargers finished at 30-2 and advanced to the NCAA National Quarterfinals. Lee averaging 2.43 kills and 2.84 digs per set with nine double-doubles while appearing in all 32 matches last fall. The is a Dean’s List student and a member of the Northeast-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
 
The UNH Athletes of the Year were also announced by Deborah Chin. With seven teams having already qualified for the NCAA postseason, both the Male and Female awards were shared by equally deserving student athletes. David Thomas and Jason Thompson were named co-Male Athletes of the Year and Keidy Candelaria and Christina Gelardi collected co-Female Athlete of the Year laurels.
 
David Thomas (Taneytown, Md./Frostburg State) was an All-America honoree in the long jump during the indoor track and field season, while also qualifying for the national meet in the 60-meter dash. He was the USTFCCCA East Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, the Northeast-10 Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year and the conference’s Most Valuable Athlete in at both the indoor and outdoor championship meets. He is five-time Northeast-10 Champion and owns three New Haven program records. Thomas was a Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference selection and is a member of the UNH Dean’s List and the NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. His season is still in progress, as he has reached NCAA automatic qualifying standards in the long jump and NCAA provisional standards in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.
 
Jason Thompson (Indiantown, Fla./South Fork ) was an All-America performer for the New Haven football team this fall en route to a third-straight Northeast-10 Championship and second-consecutive trip to the NCAA postseason. Also an All-Region and First Team All-NE-10 pick, Thompson reeled in 44 passes for 881 yards, including 16 touchdown receptions. He ranks in the top five in program history in receptions, receiving yards, touchdown receptions and points. Thompson was recently signed as an undrafted free agent by the Washington Redskins.
 
Keidy Candelaria (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Bayamon Military Academy) was named All-America by two organizations after guiding the women’s volleyball team to the NCAA East Region Championships and the National Quarterfinals. She was the AVCA East Region and Northeast-10 Player of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player of the East Region Championship. Candelaria led the NE-10 with 3.58 kills per set with 15 double-doubles. She will graduate as one of just seven student-athletes to tally 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in the storied history of New Haven women’s volleyball.
 
Christina Gelardi (Derby, Conn./Derby) is in the midst of one of the best offensive seasons in New Haven softball history. The Northeast-10 Player of the Year currently leads the nation with a .647 on-base percentage and ranks in the top 10 in five statistical categories. Gelardi, who will lead the Chargers into NCAA postseason play beginning on Friday, was also selected as the NFCA Division II National Player of the Week on April 10. For her career, she is among the all-time top five at New Haven in walks, batting average, runs batted in, stole bases, hits, home runs and doubles.
 
University of New Haven 2011-12 Athletics & Senior Awards Banquet
Co-Female Athletes of the Year: Keidy Candelaria, Women’s Volleyball and Christina Gelardi, Softball
Co-Male Athletes of the Year: David Thomas, Men’s Track & Field and Jason Thompson, Football
Female Rookie of the Year: Kristen Lee, Women’s Volleyball
Male Rookie of the Year: Oskar Sewerin, Men’s Soccer
Women’s Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Award: Rachel Putorti
Male Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Award: Mark Palmieri

Senior Academic Achievement Award Winners
Rachel Resnick, Women's Lacrosse
Joe Romanelli, Baseball
Jake Stark, Football
Micah Stonesifer, Softball
Morgan Streit, Dance
David Thomas, Men's Track & Field
Karla Velazquez, Dance
Kevin McLaughlin, Men's Basketball
Anthony Nelson, Cheerleading
Mark Palmieri, Men's Basketball
Lauren Primovic, Women's Soccer
Rachel Putorti, Women's Track & Field
Alex Quinn, Football
Nikita Reddy, Women's Basketball
Molly Abdelhamid, Dance
Kristina Curry, Women's Lacrosse
Lucy Francisco, Women's Soccer/Softball
Christina Gelardi, Softball
Shannon Hall, Women's Track & Field
Tom Herd, Football
Shraya Manick, Women's Track & Field

Most Valuable Players
Football: Jason Thompson
Men's Soccer: Clancy Purcell
Women's Soccer: Monica Yanez
Women's Volleyball: Keidy Candelaria
Men's Cross Country: Sean Grady
Men's Track & Field: David Thomas
Women's Cross Country: Danielle Sorrentino
Women's Track & Field: Ada Udaya
Men's Basketball: Eric Anderson
Women's Basketball: Anh-Dao Tran
Women's Tennis: Eva Rybka
Baseball: Joe Romanelli
Softball: Christina Gelardi
Women's Lacrosse: Natalie Lieberman