WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – University of Hartford men's lacrosse alumni reunited with current student-athletes, coaches, administrators, supporters and parents in celebrating Hawktober Weekend. Several members of the Hartford Lacrosse family landed back on campus last weekend for three days filled with golf, lacrosse and a special banquet to honor the reigning 2016 America East Champions.
"Hawktober Weekend proved to be a great celebration of Hartford Lacrosse," exclaimed Ryan Martin, who is entering his first year as head coach of the Hawks after spending the last two as an assistant. "We enjoyed incredible weather for both the golf outing and the alumni game, and our Annual Banquet had the largest turnout in program history."
Following the Alumni Game, which pitted former Hartford players up against the 2017 edition of the Hawks, student-athletes, coaches, parents, administrators and supporters of the program celebrated last season's successes both on and off the field at the Annual Banquet, held at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Hartford.
At the banquet, each member of the 2016 America East Championship team received a championship ring to commemorate the Hawks' title. The graduating seniors and their parents were also honored in addition to former head coach Peter Lawrence.
"The Annual Banquet was an historic celebration of the success we had in 2016," Martin added. "We are grateful to all of the alums, parents and supporters that make up the Hartford Lacrosse family for making the trip to West Hartford to be a part of it."
Prior to the ring ceremony, Martin presented the team's annual awards. Below are the award winners:
ARLINE ROBBINS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Named after former academic advisor Arline Robbins, this year's award was given to Brendan Gates for the second-straight year. Over his two years, Gates has maintained a 3.87 grade-point average.
HARRIS FAMILY PARENT AWARD
The Harris Family Parent Award recognizes a parent who has gone above and beyond for the Hawks. Named after Stan and Susan Harris, parents of Tom Harris '08 and Christian Harris '09, this year's award was given to Gary and Linda Schuldt, parents of 2016 graduate Ty Schuldt.
MOST IMPROVED AWARD
The Most Improved Award is voted on by the team and reflects the dedication, work ethic and attitude of the recipient. This year's recipient was Doug Biondi. After seeing limited time as a sophomore, he worked hard and took a huge step forward, playing with the top offensive midfield line while recording a 3.5 GPA in the classroom.
JACK MCGETRICK AWARD
Dedicated in honor of the late and great coach of the Hawks, this award is given on an annual basis to a player who exemplifies perseverance, dedication, sacrifice and unyielding performance. Chris Duffy took home the award this year after coming back from injury in 2016 stronger than he has ever been.
UNSUNG HERO AWARD
Voted on by his teammates, the Unsung Hero Award is given to a player whose contributions have not gone unrecognized by his teammates or coaches. This year's winner, Spencer Andrews, was a huge part in Hartford finishing as the No. 1 faceoff unit in the nation. He won over 59 percent of his faceoffs last year.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Rookie of the Year Award is given to the top freshman performer. A three-time America East Rookie of the Week who was named the conference's rookie of the year, Dylan Jinks was named the Rookie of the Year by his peers. An attackman, Jinks led the team in scoring and posted the second-most points by a rookie in program history.
THE COACHES AWARD
The Coaches Award is not given out every year. This year, the coaching staff felt that recent graduate Jake Vogl was deserving of the award. Vogl had an outstanding career both on the field and in the classroom. A team captain as a senior, he kept the team focused during the good times and the bad and played a pivotal role in leading the Hawks to the America East Championship in 2016.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jaedon Henderson was named the Offensive Player of the Year by his peers in 2016 after posting career-best numbers in points (49) on 16 goals and 33 assists. He was instrumental in leading the Hawks to the conference title after handing out five assists in the championship game against Vermont.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
This year's Defensive Player of the Year Award was granted to Torrey Martone. Graduating with the fourth-most caused turnovers in program history, Martone, who was a versatile defender, was an annoyance to other teams' offenses. He consistently took the opposition's top offensive players out of the game throughout his entire career.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD
The Most Valuable Player award is the most prestigious of the Hawks' team awards. Playing in every game of his career, Dylan Protesto was named this year's MVP. A faceoff specialist, Protesto led the nation in faceoff winning percentage (.708) and was named to the USILA All-American Third Team in 2016. He was also an America East All-Conference First Team pick, an NEILA All-New England Second Team selection and the America East Championship's Most Outstanding Player last season.
