SHERMAN, Texas — The Austin College coaches and team members honored more than 50 student-athletes, including the Austin College male and female athletes of the year, in its annual Athletics Convocation on Thursday night in Sid Richardson Gymnasium on the Austin College campus.

By virtue of head coaches' selections, senior swimmer Chris Brown of Garland and senior basketball player Bryce Frank of Granbury were selected as the Pete Cawthon Male Athlete and Gene Day Female Athlete of the Year, respectively. This is the third consecutive year that Frank has been named the Gene Day recipient.

Women's swimmer and water polo player Lexi Wong of Denton and men's water polo player Andrew Pope of Flower Mound were named the female and male Tim Jubela Award winners as the most outstanding freshmen student-athletes. Wong was named the CWPA Newcomer of the Year and Pope was an honorable mention All-America performer as both players led the 'Roo water polo teams in goals scored in their inaugural seasons.

Brown earned All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference honors in swimming and made Austin College history, becoming the first 'Roo men's swimmer to bring home an individual conference title when he won the 100 backstroke at the SCAC Championship Meet. He broke his own program record in that event in the process, and finishes his career holding numerous Austin College swim records.

Frank was named the SCAC Player of the Year for the second straight season, in addition to being named first team All-America and becoming just the fourth player in SCAC history to reach 1,000 career rebounds. Frank led the conference in both scoring and rebounding, and was the national leader in double-doubles. She was also selected to play in the inaugural Collegiate Women's Basketball All-Star Game.

List of Award Winners:

Team Awards (selected by team members) 

• Baseball – Cecil Grigg Award (most outstanding baseball player) – Brett Taff
• Baseball – Newcomer of the Year – Jake Webster
• Men's Basketball – Hustle Award – Kam Hogan
• Men's Basketball – Pat E. Hooks Award (most outstanding basketball player) – Devin Roland
• Women's Basketball – Brittany Simpson Award – Ann Savage
• Women's Basketball – Pat E. Hooks Award (most outstanding basketball player) – Bryce Frank
• Men's Cross Country – Ron Munden Award (most outstanding runner) – Charlie McIntyre
• Men's Cross Country – Most Improved – Andrew Thomas
• Men's Distance Track – Ron Munden Award (most outstanding runner) – RJ Navarro
• Men's Distance Track – Most Improved – Andrew Thomas
• Women's Cross Country – Ron Munden Award (most outstanding runner) – Hannah Richards
• Women's Cross Country – Most Improved – Jessica Hoffman
• Women's Distance Track – Ron Munden Award (most outstanding runner) – Hannah Richards
• Women's Distance Track – Most Improved – Danielle Lozano
• Football – William B. Traylor Award (for hard work and dedication) – Josh Keys
• Football – Gene "Duke" Babb Award (most outstanding football player) – TJ Melontree
• Men's Soccer – Clayton Hustle Award – Colin Saum
• Men's Soccer – Most Outstanding Player – Joseph Khalaf
• Women's Soccer – Carole Lomangino Award – Grace Auth
• Women's Soccer – Hustle Award – Karolina Cruz
• Softball – Spirit Award – Elizabeth Parks
• Softball – Most Outstanding Player – Ashley Elliott
• Men's Swimming – Hannah Award (most outstanding swimmer) – Chris Brown
• Men's Swimming – Most Improved – Ethan Miles
• Women's Swimming – Hannah Award (most outstanding swimmer) – Chloe Hunt
• Women's Swimming – Most Improved – Claudia Theriot
• Men's Tennis – Carroll Pickett Award (most outstanding tennis player) – Josh Granberry
• Men's Tennis – Most Improved – Kenneth Hardy
• Women's Tennis – Carroll Pickett Award (most outstanding tennis player) – Anna Sergiovanni
• Women's Tennis – Most Improved – Diana Carvajalino
• Volleyball – Most Outstanding Player – Aelyn Rodriguez
• Volleyball – Team Impact – Christine Royalty
• Men's Water Polo – Golden 'Roo – Will Koelzer
• Men's Water Polo – Cap 15 Award – Brett Skinner
• Women's Water Polo – Golden 'Roo – Valery Piachonkina
• Women's Water Polo – Cap 15 Award – Madison Taylor
• Athletic Training – Most Improved – Julia Fields
• Athletic Training – Most Outstanding – Nicole Garrow
• Cheerleading – Most Outstanding – D'ara Henderson-Starkes

Departmental Awards (selected by head coaches)

• Gene Day Award – Most outstanding female athlete – Bryce Frank, basketball
• Pete Cawthon – Most outstanding male athlete – Chris Brown, swimming
• Tim Jubela – Most outstanding female freshman athlete – Lexi Wong, water polo
• Tim Jubela – Most outstanding male freshman athlete – Andrew Pope, water polo
• Robert T. Mason – Sportsmanship Award – Joseph Khalaf, soccer
• Robert T. Mason – Sportsmanship Award – Katie Seibert, tennis
• Slats McCord – Senior Perseverance and Improvement – Clay Gilbert, baseball
• Slats McCord – Senior Perseverance and Improvement – Ann Savage, basketball
• Bo Miller – Outstanding Achievement in Academics and Athletics – Joseph Khalaf/Ben Sloan, soccer
• Bo Miller - Outstanding Achievement in Academics and Athletics – Ann Savage, basketball
• Sig Lawson – Dedication and Commitment to Austin College Athletics – Hayden Schilling, football; JP Feider, basketball; Juan Ramirez, soccer; Oscar Gonzalez, baseball; Colton Baker, swimming; Will Crouch, tennis; Johnny Biffar, cross country/distance track; Sam Skinner, water polo
• Sig Lawson – Dedication and Commitment to Austin College Athletics – Kristen Massey, volleyball; Cassidy McDaris, softball; Andrea Selkow, basketball; Anessa Tomblin, soccer; Jade Kemp, swimming; Tori Dodd, cross country/distance track; Georgia Moore, tennis; Shannon Berry, water polo
• T. Ellis Lockhart Spirit – Most Supportive Faculty/Staff Member – Shannon Cornelison-Brown
• Dr. Jack Pierce Academic Excellence Award – Highest Team GPA – Women's Tennis