General | 5/21/2019 8:49:00 AM

FLUSHING, N.Y. (May 21, 2019) – On Monday (May 20), the Queens College Athletics and Recreation Department held its annual end-of-year awards banquet. Throughout the night of relaxation and celebration, the Knights' student-athletes were honored with team awards and recaps of the year that was in QC athletics.
 
Towards the end of the night, however, the student-athletes in the Student Union ballroom looked on as the end-of-year Department Awards were presented. These awards encompassed honors for Outstanding Freshman of the Year, Outstanding Senior of the Year, Most Improved Player, Most Valuable Player and the Silver Knight Award. In addition, the night culminated with the awarding of the People's Choice Award and the Patrick Parker Award.
 
The winners are listed below.
 
Most Outstanding Male Freshman Award – Jon Strauss, Baseball
 
Strauss, an All-East Coast Conference First-Team honoree, put together one of the greatest debut seasons in Flushing in recent memory. The rookie sensation from Florida finished his year with a .358 batting average and a .512 slugging percentage. Strauss tacked on 72 hits, nearly equaling the program record for hits in a single-season (75) set by Justin Davies in 1998. He added eleven doubles and seven triples to go along with 34 RBI in helping to lift the Knights back to the ECC Tournament for the first time in two decades.
 
Most Outstanding Female Freshman Award – Noelle Bryggman, Softball
 
On a team that was carried primarily by freshmen, Bryggman stood out with the strongest season of them all. The everyday shortstop for the Knights was also the team's main lead-off hitter and had a team-best 30 hits on the season. Bryggman drove in ten runs on the year and also sported a team-high eight multi-hit games on the year which included three-hit offerings in three separate contests. Bryggman was ECC Rookie of the Week early in the season as the team was in Florida to begin its spring campaign.
 
Most Outstanding Male Senior Award – Andras Breuer, Men's Soccer
 
Much like Strauss bringing his team to prominence, Breuer was a key cog in the run to the ECC semifinals for the men's soccer team. The Hungarian native started all 17 games in the midfield as the team's literal No. 10, scoring seven goals and tally fourteen points on the season. Breuer was a perfect 5-for-5 on penalty kicks over the course of the year and was named an All-ECC First-Team mention at the conclusion of the season. Later, Breuer was named an All-American by the Jewish Sports Review.
 
Most Outstanding Female Senior Award – Kaitlyn Mahon, Women's Basketball
 
Capping off one of the finest careers for the Queens College women's basketball team both on and off the court, Mahon earned herself an All-ECC Third-Team accolade at the conclusion of the basketball season. A four-time East Coast Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll selection and a Golden Key Society member in the classroom, Mahon was also a gifted floor-general on the hardwood with excellent court vision. She finished the year with the second-best assists per game average (4.6) in the East Coast Conference and also has the sixth-most assists in program history with 291 total assists. Mahon played nearly 2800 minutes in her four-year career and was a recipient of the ECC's John Smillie, Jr. Award for persevering through a cadre of injuries to play in 91 contests in a Knights uniform.
 
Most Improved Male Student-Athlete Award – Nick Volos, Men's Tennis
 
After a 20-6 season last year, the Queens College men's tennis team was in somewhat of a re-build mode following the graduation of seniors Gabriel Mendez, Roman Laga and Lucas Martinez. Going into the fall, Volos had not even been in the starting-six for singles but ended up performing well in the ITA East Region Tournament in both singles and doubles play. The New York native ended up as the No. 6 singles player for the squad when the spring began, guiding the team with four wins in both singles and doubles play against tough Division I and Division II competition. Volos then turned the keys over to rookies Mariano Biblioni and Lucas Demuth to help the Knights claim the East Coast Conference Championship for a third straight season.
 
Most Improved Female Student-Athlete Award – Lucy Tougas, Women's Basketball
 
Tougas concluded her freshman campaign with a points-per-game average that was a shade under four. In her sophomore season, she became a focal point on the offensive end and brought up her average by eight total points; Tougas scored nearly 12 points per game and started 25 of 26 games played for the team while also averaging 5.2 rebounds per contest. She was a minutes-eater as well, averaging 34.3 minutes played per game while dishing out 83 assists and contributing 25 steals and 11 blocks in total.
 
Men's Most Valuable Player – Cosme Jubera, Men's Tennis
 
The No. 1 singles player for the Knights for the majority of the season, Jubera posted a 10-6 record in singles play and a 12-6 mark in doubles action. The veteran was named an All-ECC First Team honoree and also clinched the Knights' third straight ECC title with an ace against conference Player/Rookie of the Year Marcel Volz of Saint Thomas Aquinas in the championship match just a few weeks ago. Jubera also earned the East Region's Most Improved Senior honor from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Thursday (May 16).
 
Women's Most Valuable Player – Laura Ortega Jover, Women's Tennis
 
As the women's tennis team proved, dominance can come from all sides of the lineup. Ortega Jover was the Knights' fifth-singles player and part of the team's third doubles tandem; yet the senior from Spain posted an unblemished 15-0 mark in singles play going into Wednesday's (May 22) NCAA Tournament match. Ortega Jover was named to the All-ECC Second Team with a 10-4 mark in doubles play as well.
 
Male Silver Knight Award – Romario Hulea, Men's Soccer
 
The Silver Knight Award embodies not just athletic prowess but also a full contribution to the Athletics and Recreation Department in some capacity.  Hulea, in his first season with the Knights after transferring from San Jose State University, checked off all of the boxes. On the field, the native of Sweden scored six goals and was an All-ECC Third Team honoree with game-winning markers against LIU Post and NYIT as the Knights returned to the conference playoffs. Off the field, the media studies major was an active player in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), serving in the group's promotions wing and keeping up the activity for the SAAC social media channels as well.
 
Female Silver Knight Award – Diana Cruz, Women's Cross Country/Track and Field
 
If one was to walk into Fitzgerald Hall or around the campus of Queens College on a given day, chances are fairly good that that person would run into Cruz somewhere on the quad or the cafeteria or at the front desk of either the Tennis Center or the Athletics Office. Cruz served as an active work study member for the department, working either in the Tennis Center helping to answer questions and screen ID cards for new fitness center members or by serving in the Summer Camp office by getting the office ready for another year of fun. On the track, however, Cruz was in no mood for friendly competition. The mid-distance runner from Colombia was a threat whenever she stepped in between the lane lines, winning the 500-meter dash and 400-meter dash at the East Coast Conference's respective indoor and outdoor track championships. Cruz was a four-time All-ECC honoree in her senior season with the Knights.
 
People's Choice Award – Carmine Couloute
 
A special honor designated for this year, Couloute was recognized for her dedication and support of the Athletics and Recreation Department for multiple reasons. She served as the team manager of the women's basketball program for five years and was an integral part of the team while managing to continue her studies and even pursuing a double-major at Queens College. In the 2018-19 calendar year, Couloute was called upon to be the President of the Student Association and became heavily involved in all events on campus including those that were primarily athletic in nature. Throughout all of these duties and assignments, she never wavered and was able to keep up her level of enthusiasm and excitement for all things related to Queens College.
 
Patrick Parker Award – Dennis Buckstein, Baseball
 
 Patrick Parker's hustle, spirit and determination are shining beacons of hope and determination for current and future Queens College student-athletes. Parker passed away in 2016 after a car accident, but his legacy lives on through the creation of the Patrick Parker Award, an honor bestowed upon student-athletes who are "driven, goal-oriented, dedicated to their fellow student and sport, supportive, loyal, humble and selfless."
 
Flanked by his mother, Juliet Jones, and his daughter, Pheonyx Parker, Head Women's Basketball Coach and Senior Woman Administrator Bet Naumovski presented the final award of the evening: the Patrick Parker Award. Buckstein received the honor after being recognized for his loyalty to the department as well as to his fellow student-athletes; a tireless advocate for Queens College athletics, the senior pitcher was a presence at nearly all home sporting events including serving on the scorer's table during all home basketball doubleheaders for much of his time at Queens. Buckstein becomes the first baseball player to be the recipient of the Patrick Parker Award.