June 2, 2009
DAVIS, Calif. - Men's soccer players Quincy Amarikwa and Dylan Curtis, and women's swimmer Heidi Kucera have been selected as recipients of UC Davis Athletics' top annual awards for 2008-09, it was announced on Tuesday. The trio, along with the men's and women's team academic award recipients, will be honored during the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame and Student-Athlete Awards Ceremonies at Freeborn Hall on Saturday.
Amarikwa, who had a spectacular senior season last fall, won the Colby E. "Babe" Slater Award as the outstanding male athlete. He earned the honor after being named the Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year, All-Far West Region first team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, and to the All-America second team. Amarikwa, who currently plays for the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer after being drafted by the team in December, scored a career-high 15 goals last season while helping the Aggies to 13 wins overall and a berth in the second round of the NCAA Division I Championships. He finished his career with 31 goals and 69 points which rank third and fifth, respectively, at UC Davis all-time.
Kucera, a junior from Atherton, has helped the women's swimming and diving team propel itself to the upper echelon of Big West Conference programs on her way to being named the Hubert Heitman Award winner as outstanding female athlete. Kucera enjoyed a standout season by earning Big West Female Athlete of the Year honors after winning individual conference titles in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200 individual medley in school-record times. She was also a member of the winning 800 free relay team. and a part of seven individual and relay school records during the meet. Kucera, also qualified for the 2009 NCAA Championships with the program's first-ever "A-cut" time, In addition to her swimming achievements, Kucera's verstality was on display as a member of the water polo squad, helping her score six goals during limited action due to her swimming commitments.
Curtis, who graduated in managerial economics following the fall quarter, displayed leadership skills on and off the field as a team captain for the men's soccer team to earn this year's William P. Lindley Award as the school's outstanding scholar-athlete. Named the Big West Conference Midfielder of the Year, Curtis was also selected to the All-Far West Region first team and was a third-team All-America honoree. Off the field, he volunteered for numerous events to benefit UC Davis Athletics and was co-founder of the Davis Senior High School chapter of Young Life, a Christian ministry that reaches high school adolescents. For his efforts, Curtis was named a national finalist for the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, given for classroom, character, community and competition achievement.
In addition to the individual awards, the men's tennis and women's gymnastics teams will be honored for their academic achievement. The tennis squad will receive the Lysle Leach Team Academic Award while gymnastics earned top honors for the Marya Welch Team Academic Award. Both the Leach and Welch awards are presented annually to the teams with the highest mean grade-point average during the most recent spring, fall and winter quarters.
Finalists for each of the individual awards will also be recognized during the banquet. Other finalists for the Colby E. "Babe" Slater Award were John Faletoese (football) and Scott Weltz (swimming). For the Hubert Heitman Award, the other finalists included Kim Conley (cross country, track), Andi Dolinsky (gymnastics), Lindsay Kiyama (water polo) and Chelsea Stelzmiller (golf). Finalists for the William P. Lindley Award were Adam Borchard (swimming), Jonathan Compas (football), Kelsey Fischer (golf), Dustin Noack (wrestling) and Dolinsky.
The student-athlete and team awards will precede the induction ceremonies for the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame. Susan Churchwell (softball), Matthew Davie (swimming), Kameelah Elarms (track and field), Troy Larkin (football), Cynthia Rail (soccer) and Phil Swimley (baseball) have each earned induction into the CAAHOF Class of 2009. Jacalyn Box will receive the Special Recognition Award for contributions as a volunteer.
UC Davis is completing its second official year as an NCAA Division I member.
