ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – To celebrate another successful academic and athletic year, the 2019 Swords Awards were held on Tuesday night, acknowledging the UCF student-athletes for their accomplishments in and out of competition.
Student-athletes, coaches, staff and members of the Shareholders Society gathered for the annual tradition at Addition Financial Arena.
One female and one male student-athlete were recognized for their athletic success with the Iron Knight, Heart of the Knight, Freshman of the Year and Athlete of the Year honors. For the second straight year, those in attendance were again able to cast their votes for the Male and Female Moments of the Year.
The Swords Awards saw the addition of an award at the 2019 event, as Bob and Carol Garvy were honored with the inaugural Donor of the Year.
This year, the Knights were again excited to celebrate the highest honor a UCF student can receive. Spirit’s Angelo Baldado and Women’s Soccer’s Adrienne Li were recognized for being named to the Order of Pegasus. Order of Pegasus recognizes exemplary performance by graduate and undergraduate students in the areas of academic achievement, outstanding university involvement, leadership and community service.
The Dr. Richard Lapchick Servant Leader Award, which measures both athletic and academic achievements, along with community service, was presented to Adrienne Li (women’s soccer) and Jordan Johnson (football).
Nyala Shuler (women’s basketball) and Tacko Fall (men’s basketball) were honored with the Bill Callarman Perseverance Award, which is named after UCF's former NCAA Faculty Representative.
The Dr. John C. Hitt Scholar-Athletes of the Year winners were volleyball’s Jordan Pingel and men’s soccer’s Cal Jennings.
Volleyball took home the highest female team GPA (3.645), while the men's tennis team held the highest male team GPA (3.465) for the second consecutive year. The softball team earned the Excalibur Cup Award, which encompasses great community service, leadership development, academic and athletic excellence and support and pride for their peers' events.
The following is a look at the awards that were handed out Tuesday night:
Athlete of the Year
Female: Kay Kay Wright, Women's Basketball
Male: Cal Jennings, Men’s Soccer
Dr. John C. Hitt Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Female: Jordan Pingel, Volleyball
Male: Cal Jennings, Men’s Soccer
Highest Team GPA
Volleyball
Men's Tennis
Excalibur Cup
Softball
Dr. Richard Lapchick Servant Leader Award
Female: Adrienne Li, Women's Soccer
Male: Jordan Johnson, Football
Dr. Bill Callarman Perseverance Award
Female: Nyala Shuler, Women's Basketball
Male: Tacko Fall, Men’s Basketball
Heart of the Knight
Female: Tolulope Omokore, Women's Basketball
Male: Pat Jasinski, Football
Iron Knight Award
Female: Gabby Durant, Track and Field
Male: Chad Brown, Men's Basketball
Freshman of the Year
Female: McKenna Melville, Volleyball
Male: Andres Hernandez Betancur, Men’s Soccer