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DAVIS, Calif. – UC Davis student-athletes and teams were honored Sunday evening at the third-annual A.G.G.I.E., a year-end event organized by Intercollegiate Athletics' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
 
In addition to bestowing the department's top individual and team honors at this year's A.G.G.I.E — an acronym for Aggie Gunrock Gala Idol Extravaganza — the 11th installment of "Aggie Idol," UC Davis' annual student-athlete charity variety show, took place with musical and dance performances throughout the evening. 
 
"Aggie Idol" initially took place in Upper Hickey Gym, then moved to Freeborn Hall for five years until the latter building's closure. The 2014-16 editions were held at Toomey Field before relocating to Aggie Stadium the following year. The 2019 show marked the first time that ICA's student-athlete awards ceremony and "Aggie Idol" were combined into one event with performances taking place between award presentations.
 
Senior Taylor Cuenin (lacrosse) received the W.P. Lindley Award, the department's top individual honor presented to the outstanding scholar-athlete of the year.
 
Cuenin is the second lacrosse student-athlete selected for the Lindley, joining Kelly Albin who won this award in 2004. A four-time Dean's List selection who holds a 3.82 GPA as a neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, Cuenin recently earned membership to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation's oldest and most prestigious undergraduate honors organization.
 
In addition to earning Mountain Pacific Sports Federation all-conference honors for the fourth year in a row — the first Aggie in school history to accomplish this feat — the Danville, Calif., native repeated as MPSF Player of the Year and led the league with 48 goals.
 
After visiting Guatemala three times in high school, Cuenin sponsored a 15-year-old with the help of staff members from Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos —  an organization that provides homes for orphans and abandoned children in nine Latin American countries. That sponsorship continued throughout her UC Davis career.
 
As a member of Athletes in Action, she volunteers extensively throughout the year; in addition to her academic, athletic and AIA commitments, she also coaches numerous youth lacrosse clinics.
 
Seniors Erinn Beattie (track & field) and Morgan Bertsch (women's basketball) each earned the Hubert Heitman Award, bestowed to the female athlete of the year; the Colby E. "Babe" Slater Award, honoring to the male athlete of the year was bestowed to Jake Maier (football).
 
This is the first time since 2004 that a pair of elite student-athletes earned Heitman honors, and the first occasion since 1988 and '89, when Chris Petersen and Tim Lajcik were honored, that a football student-athlete collected "Babe" Slater accolades in consecutive seasons as Maier followed Keelan Doss' award last year.
 
Earlier this season, Beattie qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, placing fourth overall and earning first-team All-America distinction with a new school record of 4,293 points in the pentathlon. She also set new indoor school records in the high jump and long jump that week.
 
Beattie's success continued during outdoor competition: in addition to setting seven new all-time outdoor track marks, she will compete in the women's heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field national championships, which starts Wednesday (June 5) in Austin, Texas. 
 
The human development major is the first UC Davis track athlete, male or female, to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in a combined event, during the program's Division I era.
 
When Beattie returns to Davis from Austin, she will have nearly two months to train and prep for her appearance in the high jump at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which begin on July 25 in Des Moines, Iowa. She earned her spot among the nation's elite talents after hitting an auto-qualifying mark (and new school record) of 1.85m (6-00.75) at the Bryan Clay Invite.
 
Women's basketball won its third straight regular season title, a Big West Tournament championship, and punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament thanks to Bertsch, who played a key role in the team's success. The 2019 Big West Player of the Year and conference Tournament MVP, who hails from Santa Rosa, Calif., will graduate from UC Davis as its all-time leading scorer with 2,422 points — an accomplishment aided by double-digit point totals posted in her final 67 consecutive games — blowing past the previous record of 1,711.
 
That points total is the third-highest in Big West history.
 
Bertsch, who majored in biomedical engineering, ended her senior season shooting .495 overall, .479 from three, and .832 at the free throw line, while averaging 23.6 points per game — the fourth-highest in the nation.
 
From a historic perspective, Bertsch's accomplishments are unparalleled. Not only was she the first Aggie in program history drafted by a WNBA team, when the Dallas Wings selected her with the 29th overall pick in this year's draft, four UC Davis single-game, 11 single-season, and 11 career records bear her name.
 
The 100th season of UC Davis football is one no fan will ever forget due to the numerous program milestones that took place. In addition to winning their inaugural Big Sky Conference title, the Aggies enjoyed another three firsts as a FCS program: playoff appearance, home playoff game, and postseason victory.
 
UC Davis also finished with 10 overall and seven league victories, two of a slew of new program records set last season.
 
Playing a vital role in the team's success was Maier, the 2018 Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year, unanimous first-team All-Big Sky selection and member of the Walter Payton Award Watch List — an honor bestowed to the most outstanding offensive player in the nation.
 
The communication major ranked No. 2 in the nation with 34 touchdowns and No. 3 in passing yards with 3,931, the La Habra, Calif., native fueled one of the top offenses in the nation -- at the FCS or FBS levels -- last year.
 
A pair of familiar programs earned the Marya Welch Award and Lysle Leach Award for posting the highest women's and men's team GPA. For the third straight year and fifth year in a row, respectively, women's cross country and men's tennis were honored for their outstanding academic accomplishments.
 
Sarah Sumpter Perseverance Award bestowed upon Aggie gymnast
Earning All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors, and qualifying for the NCAA Championship's Corvallis Regional following multiple knee surgeries that usually force gymnasts to medically retire, sophomore Alyssa Ito endured a grueling rehab process after each of her three procedures and strengthened her skill level in the process, which led to a sophomore season that included all-conference honors and an individual berth at the Corvallis Regional in the second round of the NCAA Championships.
 
The work ethic and commitment displayed by Ito throughout her rehab, and subsequent return to competition, is why she is the second recipient of the Sarah Sumpter Perseverance Award.
 
This honor is named after Sumpter, a former state champion from Cloverdale, Calif., who captured a Big West Conference cross country title in 2009 and became the program's first conference champion of the Big West era.

Forced to miss a year when diagnosed with a brain tumor, Sumpter returned to competition one year later. Throughout the 2011-12 season, she earned a Big West Conference Athlete of the Year nod and All-America honors in track & field, the 2012 Hubert Heitman Award, and set Big West Conference Championship records in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in addition to a UC Davis record in the 10k.

After battling a recurrence of the brain tumor, she passed away in September, 2015, one month before she should have competed in the New York City Marathon.

Created in her honor, the Sarah Sumpter Award is presented to a current UC Davis intercollegiate student-athlete who overcame a significant obstacle to return to his or her sport and enjoyed outstanding and/or distinguished participation, even in a different capacity.
 
UC Davis student-athletes honor their own with four additional awards
Boasting an honor roll that includes Big West Freshman of the Year, Kirsten Carter's (track & field) results at the league's year-end championships led to Female Newcomer of the Year accolades.
 
Carter earned a spot on the podium in all four events that took place at the conference's postseason event: She finished first in the 4x100 relay and 400m, second in the 4x400 relay and third in the 200m to earn 34 points for the Aggies that weekend.
 
The first freshman to earn a berth at the NCAA West Prelims in an individual event since 2016 was one of two women's track & field student-athletes who battles for a spot at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Carter will enter her sophomore season ranked No. 2 on UC Davis' all-time list in the 400m (53.85), No. 4 in the 200. (23.86) and No. 7 in the 100m (11.84).
 
Thanks to its historic season, which included numerous top national rankings, a Big Sky championship and deep postseason run, UC Davis football is now known nationwide as a program with legitimate chance to win a national championship. Playing a key role in the team's success last season was Male Newcomer of the Year Ulonzo Gilliam.
 
In his first game as an Aggie, the redshirt freshman running back scored three touchdowns to help UC Davis collect its third victory over a FBS program — an attention-grabbing performance that led to STATS FCS National Freshman Player of the Week honors.
 
What started in his team's season opener continued throughout the entire year with Gilliam shredding opposing defenses on a weekly basis. By rushing for 976 yards, and scoring 17 touchdowns (a total that includes 13 rushing TDs), he became the first Aggie in program history nominated for the Jerry Rice Award, presented to the national freshman of the year.
 
When the Aggies' season concluded, Gilliam added Freshman All-America and Third Team All-Big Sky to his first-year honor roll.
 
For the third time in as many seasons, women's basketball ended the regular season as Big West Conference champions. After back-to-back postseason runs in the WNIT, the Aggies punched their ticket to the "Big Dance" with their epic second-half comeback vs. Hawai'i in the league tournament's championship game.
 
Down by 17, UC Davis outscored the Rainbow Wahine, 25-6, and held UH scoreless for the final nine minutes to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Combined with a 16-game win streak, the third longest in school history, and a defense ranked No. 5 in the nation, women's basketball experienced a season for the ages, which is why the program was selected for the Female Team Performance of the Year.
 
What started with its third victory over a FBS program, continued with a 10-3 overall record and seven Big Sky victories — both new program-best marks — and the longest win streak in the program's Division I era (six games), which led to the Aggies' first Big Sky title when they defeated Sacramento State in this year's Causeway Classic.
 
Less than 24 hours after bringing the Causeway and league championship trophies back to Davis, football learned that it was the No. 6 seed in the NCAA playoffs, which meant that it would enjoy a bye before competing in the program's inaugural FCS playoff game, hosted at Aggie Stadium.
 
And in the first FCS postseason game in program history, UC Davis defeated Northern Iowa, 23-16, to collect its first-ever FCS playoff victory.
 
In just his second season at the helm of the program, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Dan Hawkins turned UC Davis into one of the top squads in the nation — a program that is responsible for this year's Male Team Performance of the Year.
 
Head strength and conditioning coach Jeff Bourque presented the female and male Iron Aggie awards to Erika Contreras (track & field) and Kooper Richardson (football), for displaying an exemplary work ethic, uncommon level of commitment and drive throughout year during their team's strength and conditioning program.
 
 
UC Davis Athletics — 2018-19 Student-Athlete Award Recipients
 
W.P. Lindley Award (Outstanding Scholar-Athlete of the Year)
Taylor Cuenin, Women's Lacrosse
 
Dr. Hubert Heitman Award (Female Athlete of the Year)
Erinn Beattie, Women's Track & Field
Morgan Bertsch, Women's Basketball

Colby E. "Babe" Slater Award (Male Athlete of the Year)
Jake Maier, Football

Sarah Sumpter Perseverance Award
Alyssa Ito, Women's Gymnastics
 
Female Newcomer of the Year
Kirsten Carter, Women's Track & Field
 
Men's Newcomer of the Year
Ulonzo Gilliam, Football

Marya Welch Award
Women's Cross Country

Lysle Leach Award
Men's Tennis

Female Team Performance of the Year
Women's Basketball

Men's Team Performance of the Year
Football
 
Iron Aggie Award
Erika Contreras, Women's Track & Field
Kooper Richardson, Football

 
AGGIE EVO
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation.
 
Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis.
 
Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
 
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley.
 
The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.