University of Delaware Athletics
McCartney, Delgado, Gray, Giacchino Take Top Honors at UD Athletics Awards Banquet
5/18/2015 4:12:00 PM | Baseball, Field Hockey, Football, Men's Basketball, Men's Golf, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming & Diving, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Golf, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Women's Tennis, Volleyball, Women's Lacrosse, Rowing, Track & Field - Indoor, Track & Field - Outdoor, Delaware Athletics
Photos:
Below left (from left): Mary Ann Hitchens, Allegra Gray, Eric Ziady
Below right (from left): Eric Ziady, Guillermo Delgado, Caitlin McCartney, Steve Beattie
Wood/Doylestown, Pa.) were named the UD Alumni Association Outstanding Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
Women's soccer standout Allegra Gray (Unionville/West Chester, Pa.) was named the winner of the Mary Ann Hitchens Award and baseball all-star centerfielder Joe Giacchino (Malvern Prep/West Chester, Pa.) was the recipient of the Edgar Johnson Award.
Giacchino was not in attendance as he was traveling with the UD baseball team to the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, which will be held this week at Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
The most prestigious honors bestowed on a UD student-athlete, the Johnson and Hitchens Awards are presented to a senior letterwinner who has exhibited the qualities of hard work, dedication, leadership, fairness, and striving for excellence that were the hallmarks of Johnson's and Hitchens' career.
Johnson served as UD Director of Athletics for 25 years while Hitchens was a pioneer in women's athletics and served as UD's Senior Associate Director of Athletics as part of a 41-year career at 
Delaware.
The event drew over 500 UD student-athletes and athletics staff members. Matt Janus, radio voice of UD women's basketball for Fox Sports 1290 AM, served as the master of ceremonies. In addition to the numerous awards for athletic, academic, and community service accomplishments, videos commemorating the outstanding teams and student-athletes were also presented.
UD Alumni Association Board member and former UD swimmer Steve Beattie (Delaware '87) presented the Athlete of the Year Awards, which were selected from a vote of the Blue Hen head coaches, while University of Delaware Director of Athletics Eric Ziady presented the Johnson and Hitchens awards.
ROWING: Senior Denise Cirelli (Baldwin/Wayne, Pa.) earned the Most Valuable Player Award. A four-year letterwinner and two-year team captain, Cirelli was a key member of the team's Varsity Eights crew her final two seasons and competed in all six official events this spring. A first team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection this spring, she led her Varsity Eights crew to a fifth place heat finish at both the Knecht Cup and Murphy Cup and her crew advanced to the semifinals at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia May 9, and placed fifth at the CAA Championships this past weekend. She is an exercise science major at Delaware.
SOCCER: Allegra Gray (Unionville/West Chester, Pa.). See above for more complete biography.
SOFTBALL: Senior outfielder Jessica Grisler (Foothill/Sacramento, Calif./Foothill). A second team All-CAA selection and second team All-Northeast Region honoree this spring, she batted .369, ranking second in the CAA with 66 hits and fourth with 40 runs scored, a UD record. In addition, she also belted 11 doubles and had 21 RBI. The criminal justice major also earned second team All-CAA honors in 2013 and was an All-Rookie Team pick in 2012. She ended her career as the Blue Hens' all-time leader with 213 games played, 698 at bats, 135 runs scored, 239 hits, and 326 total bases, while ranking second with 39 doubles, and fourth with a .342 batting average.
SWIMMING & DIVING: Junior Morgan Whyte (St. John's College HS/Chevy Chase, Md.). Whyte captured the 50 and 100 freestyle titles at the CAA Championships and was runner-up in three relays. She became the first UD female swimmer to win multiple conference championships at the same meet since 2004, was the first swimmer in UD history to advance to the finals of the USS Winter Nationals (19th place in 50 freestyle), and set school records in the 50 freestyle (22.59) and 100 freestyle (49.44). The fashion merchandising major was also was an NCAA Provisional qualifier in the 50 and 100 freestyle in 2015.
TENNIS: Sophomore Denny LaMachia (Hopkinson/Hopkinton, Mass.). A first-year member of the squad after transferring from the University of Richmond, LaMachia posted a 7-6 records in singles, playing at mostly the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. In doubles, she recorded a mark of 9-7 with three different partners. She led the team with a 6-9 dual record and a berth in the CAA quarterfinals. During the fall, LaMachia won the Flight 1 doubles title at the Saint Joseph's Tournament and competed at the USTA/ITA Atlantic Regional Championships. She is a finance major at Delaware.
VOLLEYBALL: Junior outside hitter Katie Hillman (Cardinal Gibbons/Deerfield Beach, Fla.). A three-year starter, Hillman earned second team All-CAA honors in 2014 when she led the teams in points (3.82 per set), games played (117), kills (376/No. 6 in CAA), kills per set (3.21), and service aces (41/No. 2 in CAA), was second in digs (271) and kills per set (2.32), and third in hitting percentage (.224). She also earned a spot on the Harvard Invitational All-Tournament Team. She is an honor student as a nursing major and was selected to the CAA All-Academic Team for volleyball in 2014.
MEN'S SPORTS:
BASKETBALL: Senior guard and captain Kyle Anderson (Newark/Newark, Ill.) won the Colonel C.B. Shaffer MVP Award. A four-year starter, Anderson earned third team All-CAA and CAA Academic Team honors in 2014-15 after leading the team to a berth in the CAA quarterfinals. He ranked third in the CAA in scoring (14.4 points per game), was sixth in three-pointers made (2.3), and eighth in both minutes played per game (34.3) and free throw percentage (.821). The health & physical education major also set a UD career record with 269 three-pointers made and finished with 1,292 career points (No. 12).
BASEBALL: Senior second baseman and captain Zach Lopes (Salesianum/Wilmington, Del.). A three-year starting infielder for the Blue Hens, Lopes has played in all 45 games and ranks second on the team with a .362 batting average that also ranks No. 4 in the CAA. He leads the team in hits (68), total bases (95), runs scored (39), and assists (131), and No. 2 in batting average, doubles (12), triples (3), walks (21), and stolen bases (11). A sport management major at Delaware, he is a strong candidate for All-CAA honors this spring after earning first team honors in 2014. He has led the Hens to their fourth straight CAA Tournament appearance which begins Wednesday.
FOOTBALL: Senior tight end Nick Boyle (High Point Regional/Wantage, N.J.). A co-captain and economics major, Boyle became one of the most honored tight ends in UD history. A three-year starter, he caught 37 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns as a senior in 2014 while earning second team The Sports Network All-American and first team All-CAA honors. He played in the Senior Bowl and was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. His 101 career receptions are the most ever by a UD tight end and his 984 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns rank No. 2.
GOLF: Sophomore Kyle Martin (Christopher Dock/Ambler, Pa.) won the John J. DeLuca/ Scotty Duncan Memorial Team Most Valuable Player Award for the second straight season. A management information systems major at Delaware, Martin played in all 11 tournaments and ranked third on the team with a 74.77 stroke average in 2014-15. The tri-captain recorded four top 10 finishes on the season, including leading all Delaware players at the CAA Tournament with a fifth place finish. He led the team in three other tournaments and had a pair of season-high third place tournament finishes at Navy and Villanova.
LACROSSE: Senior goalkeeper Brett Anton (Madison/Madison, N.J.). A history major, Anton moved into a full-time starting spot in goal early in the 2015 season and anchored a solid defense. He played in 14 game with 11 starts and recorded a 9.54 goals against average while collecting 141 saves for a .547 percentage. He was outstanding down the stretch, posting 49 saves over the final three games, including a career-high 18 stops in the season-ending win over CAA runner-up Massachusetts. He led the CAA in saves per game (10.07), was No. 2 in save percentage, and No. 5 in goals against average.
SOCCER: Sophomore forward Guillermo Delgado (Jose Luis Sampedro/Tres Cantos, Spain) won the award for the second straight year. See above for details.
SWIMMING & DIVING: Senior Tim Ware (Central Bucks South/Doylestown, Pa.) earned the Jack & Hugh Dougherty MVP Award. An honor student as a marketing major, Ware captured the CAA title in the 100 backstroke with a meet record time and also placed fourth in the 200 backstroke and fifth in the 400 medley relay. He set school records in the 50 backstroke (21.39), 100 backstroke (46.90), and 200 backstroke (1:45.6), was an NCAA Provisional qualifier in the 100 and 200 backstroke events, and was 19th at the USS Winter Nationals, becoming the first UD swimmer to advance to the finals
TENNIS: Junior Mike Furr (Unionville/Kennett Square, Pa.) was named the winner of the Alexander J. Taylor Team MVP Award. A three-year letterwinner, Furr was the team's No. 1 singles player throughout the season in 2014-15 and ranked second on the team in doubles victories with 14. An honor student as a mechanical engineering major, Furr was Delaware's representative on the CAA All-Academic Team for men's tennis this spring.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129
Players Mentioned
