Carlos Rodriguez |Sports writerThe 2019-2020 athletic year was filled with many accomplishments along with an unfortunate ending due to the novel coronavirus. At the end of every school year, the Augusta University Athletics Department hosts the William Sherrill athletic banquet at Christenberry Fieldhouse to honor student-athletes. Because of the virus, the banquet could not be held at Christenberry Fieldhouse and was done virtually instead on Thursday, May 29, as the award winners were recognized via social media.For each of the 14 AU sports teams, three awards are given. These include the coach’s award, most improved and most valuable player. Aside from these awards, the athletics department gives out five awards that are named after important Jaguar supporters.The Tommy Werrick Scholar-Athlete Awards are given to both a male and female athlete who has the highest grade-point average throughout all athletic teams. Werrick was a member of the first baseball team here at AU back in 1966. The award is in honor of Werrick, who passed away in 1990, and is presented to athletes for their performance in the classroom.There were two winners for the female award, seniors Rachel Hammesfahr and Sinead O’Bryant. Hammesfahr and O’Bryant are both members of the cross-country and track teams. This past cross-country season Hammesfahr won the PBC Elite 15 award. The Elite 15 award is given to the athlete with the highest GPA competing in their conference championship tournament.Senior Rafael Monteiro from the men’s basketball team was the male winner. Like Hammesfahr, Monteiro won the Elite 15 award this past basketball season. All three athletes have a 4.0 GPA.The Dick Wallace Coach of the Year Award is given to the coach who had a successful season and one who shows respect to others. Wallace was a supporter of Augusta Athletics up until he passed away in 2009.This year’s winner is coach Sharon Quarles from the volleyball team. Quarles led her team to win a second-consecutive Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship along with reaching the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship for the first time in program history. Going into the conference tournament, the Jags weren’t the favorites as they came in as the third seed but with Quarles coaching and her players playing their best, they were able to pull off the upset against No. 2 USC Aiken in the semifinal and No. 1 Flagler in the championship, winning both matches 3-0.Gerald Daise was a former basketball player for AU from 1989-1993 who passed away after battling with cancer. To be awarded the Gerald Daise Leadership Award, an athlete has to be a leader not only in their sport but outside their sport.Sophomore Rakeem Littles from the men’s cross-country and track team won this year’s award. Littles is a member of SAAC, SGA, CREW and AAMI. In addition, Littles had great success during cross-country as he was named all-conference.The Roscoe Williams Award is given to a male and female freshman who had an outstanding first year playing at AU. Williams was the former dean of students at AU.The female freshman of the year goes to Samantha Zittrauer from the volleyball team. Zittrauer, who’s from Savannah, plays setter. She was third on the team in assists with 249 on the season. Zittrauer’s career high in assists came in a win over Lander on Nov. 16 when she had 34 assists.The male freshman of the year is Ben Van Wyk from the men’s golf team. Van Wyk hails from George, South Africa. He was the top golfer at two tournaments, the N.C. State Wolfpack Classic and the Wexford Plantation Invitational. At the Wolfpack Classic, Van Wyk finished 12th with an overall score of 212. He helped the team win the Wexford Plantation Invitational after finishing third with a score of 216.The final overall award is the Fred Barnabei Female and Male Athlete of the Year Awards. Barnabei was a former vice president of Student Services at AU.The female athlete of the year went to junior Chloe Allen of the volleyball team. Allen was also named co-Bell Ringer Female Athlete of the Year. After earning second-team all-conference honors her sophomore year, Allen stepped up this season earning her a spot on the first-team all-conference. Allen also received second-team All-Region honors.The junior from Richmond Hill helped her team win their second consecutive conference championship along with reaching the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship for the first time in school history. Allen, who plays middle hitter, was second on the team in block assists with 109 while adding 118 blocks on the season. She also had a total of 297 kills, averaging 2.15 kills per set.Rafael Monteiro was awarded the male athlete of the year. Monteiro, who was the Bell Ringer Male Athlete of the Year, had an outstanding senior season, posting averages of 18.2 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game.Monteiro helped the Jags finish second in the regular-season standings of the PBC while also leading the team to another NCAA Tournament berth. Monteiro became the 32nd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points and finished his career 29th on the all-time scoring list.Like Allen, Monteiro had received second-team all-conference honors the previous year and stepped up playing a bigger role this season, earning him first-team all-conference honors along with being named to the NABC All-District Second Team.As for the individual sports awards, in volleyball, Chloe Allen received the team MVP. Zittrauer was named most improved and was also given the coaches' award.For the women’s cross-country team, junior Micah Weathers was named MVP. Weathers, who was also named co-Bell Ringer Female Athlete of the Year with volleyball's Allen, had the most dominant individual season in school history. She became the first conference champion in school history and placed 44th at the Division II national championship. That was the highest individual finish in school history for men or women.Teammate Hammesfahr was named most improved. Hammesfahr's season best in the 5K was a 21:03 at the PBC Championship and she ran a personal best in the 6K with a time of 24:20 at the regionals. O’Bryant was given the coach's award.The men’s cross-country team MVP was given to junior Jacob Poston, who had a stellar year with a lot of big performances and personal bests. Poston achieved his personal best in the 8K at the Queen City Invite, finishing in 24:36 and a 10K personal best and school record of 30:57 at the NCAA Division II nationals.Sophomore Chris Shelp was awarded most improved. Shelp started off the season with a 28:50 8k but decreased his time nearly each race as he achieved a personal best of 26:31 at the Queen City Invite. The coach's award was given to freshman Carlos Rodriguez (the author of this story).Women’s basketball named freshman Kennedi Manning MVP. In her first season she posted averages of 10.6 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game. Manning was named third-team all-PBC.Freshman Asheligh Boulin was named most improved as she averaged 4 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Kiera Howard was awarded the coach's award.Monteiro picked up yet another honor after being named the men’s basketball team MVP. Junior Troy Cracknell received most improved. Cracknell saw a rise in playing time from his sophomore year. This past season, Cracknell started every game except one for the Jags, compared to not starting a game during his sophomore season. Cracknell saw his scoring average increase from 6.5 to 12.6 points per game. Sophomore guard Tyree Myers, the Jags' assists leader, won the coach's award.For cheerleading, senior Hannah Joslin won MVP. Freshman Lanie Dukes won most improved, and junior Natalie Bien-Aime won the coach's award. The team was crowned 2020 PBC Spirit Competition Champions.Women’s track and field named freshman Priscilla Ajala the team’s MVP. Despite only having two meets, Ajala broke the 200-meter school record at the Victor Ice Breaker Duals with a time of 25.43. Freshman Robyn Cummings was named most improved. Cummings ran the 200-meter dash at the Cougar Invitational in 27.48. The coach's award was shared by sophomore Skylar Ackerman and freshman Regan Clegg.For men’s track and field, junior Joshua Hewing won MVP. Hewing recorded events in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash. At the Victor Ice Breaker Duals, he achieved a personal best in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.03. At the same meet he helped the 4x1 relay team break the school record with a time of 40.46. Sophomore Noah Whitacre was named most improved. Whitacre achieved three personal bests in three different events, long jump, discus, and shot put. His marks were 16-8.75-feet for long jump, 77-8-feet for discus, and 29-7.5-feet for shot put. Sophomore Tremond Hatten was given the coach's award.For softball, freshman Kelsey Parks won MVP. Parks was the go-to pitcher having pitched the most innings during the shortened season. The left-handed pitcher led the team in strikeouts, striking out 73 batters en route to her 4 wins on the season.Senior Courtney Browne won most improved. Browne, a right-handed pitcher, recorded a 2-0 record on the mound this season and posted a team-best 1.07 ERA. Junior Megan McCook won the coach's award.The baseball team had sophomores sweep the three awards. Infielder Ben Markiewicz was named MVP after leading the team in batting average at .364, with 28 hits and with 12 RBIs. Catcher Garet Suiter won most improved as he led the team in putouts with 103. John Paul was given the coach's award.The women’s golf team named senior Linda Lundqvist the MVP. Lundqvist best finish of the season was third at the Moon Golf Invitational, helping the team finish second. Sophomore Natalia Yoko was named most improved. Yoko’s best finish was 22nd at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. Freshman Napabhach Boon-In won the coach's award.After being named male freshman of the year, Ben Van Wyk also received the honor of men’s golf MVP. Senior Gustaav Anderrsson was awarded the coach's award.For women’s tennis, senior Meyre Gobernte was named both MVP and most improved. Gobernte picked up her final singles win of the season against Lincoln Memorial, defeating her opponent in two of the three sets 6-4 and 6-2. Senior Alejandra Gonzalez Arranz was given the coach's award.Sophomore Lucas Bolle won MVP for the men’s tennis team. In his last singles match before the season was cancelled, he won both sets 6-0 against Concord University. He and sophomore Ricard Rubio also won their doubles match against Concord, 6-2. Sophomore Ricard Rubio won both most improved and the coach's award. Rubio also won his last singles match against Concord winning both sets 6-0 and 6-3.The women’s and men’s tennis teams also received the Jaguar Cup award, which is given to the team with the highest overall team GPA.It is uncertain what is yet to come for the next athletics season, but at the current moment Augusta University is looking to returning face-to-face instruction this fall. Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carlosjr521@gmail.com.