California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

California State University East Bay

The Pioneer

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Pioneers Are Honored at Athletics Banquet

Chris Herzog (left) and Jenel Lopez (right) are this
year’s Pioneer Athletes of The Year.

Concluding a year that saw many team and individual records broken, Pioneer athletes and coaches, along with various school administrators gathered at the Dining Commons on June 2 to recognize the many accomplishments  made by students during the athletic year.

Various athletes displayed outstanding athletic and academic performances this year, as Pioneer Athletics celebrated 50 years of existence and the first official year in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Division II.

The Male and Female Athletes of the Year were announced and various awards were dispersed to deserving athletes such as the Pioneer Spirit Award, scholar athlete awards for each team and the Dr. Hal Charnofsky Scholar Award, which is given to 24 athletes across the CCAA for their accomplishments both on the field and in the classroom; two of which were Pioneer athletes.

This year’s Female Athlete of the Year Award went to Jenel Lopez. This year, Lopez was consistently ranked in the top 30 in the nation in division II for the 50-, 100-, and 200-yard freestyle events, breaking school records in all three as well as anchoring four school-record-setting relays.

The Los Angeles area native achieved three NCAA “B” cuts and was the Pioneers top scorer at the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference (PCSC) championships.

Along with Lopez, nominees for Female Athlete of the Year were Linda Brown of golf, Jayme Pekarske of water polo, Eugenie Foote of soccer and track, Leslie Ray of volleyball, Micah Walker of basketball and Taylor Neumann of softball.

This year’s Male Athlete of the Year award went to Chris Herzog, who led the men’s golf team to their first-ever NCAA Regional appearance while posting a 74.48 scoring average in the regular season.

While participating in nine tournaments, the junior won one tournament, was a four-time top-10 finisher and a seven-time top-20 finisher. His individual victory came at the Pioneer Shootout marking the first individual team victory in team history. That same week, the Medford Oregon native collected the team’s first CCAA Player of the Week honors on March 12.

Herzog also received the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for men’s golf with a 3.67 cumulative GPA and was the first recipient of the Dr. Hal Charnofsky Scholar Award.

“When they announced my name I was shocked. During the season the focus is just to get better every week; always looking forward to the next tournament and try to improve,” said Herzog.

“To be selected as the male athlete of the year is a nice cap to end a season of hard work. I couldn’t have done it without my team; our team chemistry played a large part in everyone’s success.”

Tyler Andersen of soccer, Mark Samuels of basketball and Jordan Wilder of baseball were also nominated for Male Athlete of the Year.

This year’s Pioneer Spirit Award went to Morgan Hirzel, who was a gtrue anchor for the volleyball team this season.

The second recipient of the Dr. Hal Charnofsky Scholar Award representing the Pioneers was awarded to Tenaya Davis from women’s soccer.

The senior, who will be graduating with honors, currently maintains a 3.79 GPA.

The Fremont native was also named to the 2011-12 Capital One Academic All-District first team in November, honoring her performance on and off the field.

Davis, who opened the ceremony with welcoming remarks, served as this year’s president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee where her duties were to represent CSUEB at CCAA conferences and organize and run meetings held twice a month with more than 30 athlete representatives to plan campus and athletic events. Davis also worked with Associated Students Inc. (ASI) as the Director of Recreation and Wellness.

“For me personally, it’s sad to walk away from my four years of being a Pioneer with Pioneer Athletics,” said Davis. “I’m really proud of all of our student athletes, what they’ve done on the field, on the court as well as in the classroom. The only thing I can say is positive things. I just really wish everyone the best of luck in the future years even though I’ll be gone, but I’m really looking forward to see what Cal State University East Bay does as a whole. I’m sure it will be nothing but positive things in the future.”

Although the 2011-12 athletic year has come to a close, athletes, coaches and Pioneer Athletics say they will remember the various individual and team efforts that made the record books, the countless CCAA honors given to Pioneer athletes – including eight total player of the week honors – CCAA Freshman of the Year honors given to Jacari Whitfield and Micah Walker of men’s and women’s basketball and the induction of the newest Pioneer Hall of Fame members, among other highlights.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, senior blankets were given to those who served all four years.

“This was a perfect culminating event although for some people, graduation will be their culminating event this year and we’re excited about that, and our graduation rates,” said Pioneer Director of Athletics, Debby DeAngelis. “To see the faces of the future in terms of the history of this program who are just really proud to be Pioneers, you could really feel the spirit here tonight.”

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Pioneers Are Honored at Athletics Banquet