Despite cancelation of the 25th Annual Golden ‘Cane Award Gala due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The University of Tulsa athletics still recognized recently the deserving student-athletes for the 2019-20 academic year with a Virtual Golden ‘Cane Awards.
The annual awards are highlighted by the announcement of the “Ultimate Team”- which recognizes TU’s top-10 student-athletes based on academic achievement, athletic success, campus involvement and community outreach.
There were six female and four male selections named to the Ultimate Team, including repeat winner Taylor Horsfall, from the Tulsa volleyball team. Horsfall was a three-time all-conference selection and two-time winner of the American Athletic Conference’s Libero of the Year award, while earning a psychology degree in 3.5 years.
Horsfall’s senior teammate Mariah Pardo, a four-year starter at the setter position for the Hurricane, was named to the Ultimate Team. The women’s tennis duo of Martina Okalova and Vera Ploner also received the award. The doubles tandem was named All-Americans a year earlier after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship.
Ultimate Team selection Daniela Fusco-House was a senior rower, who primarily raced as a member of the Varsity 4+ and 2nd Varsity 8+ crews. Nine-time all-conference selection and two-time cross-country all-region selection Caitlin Klopfer earned her Ultimate Team recognition after leading the women’s cross-country team to a school-best 25th place finish at the NCAA Championships last fall.
The four male student-athletes rounding out the Ultimate Team recognition include basketball senior Martins Igbanu, cross-country runner Reed Sadehaven, football sophomore Chris Paul and soccer sophomore Rooks Hunter.
Igbanu led the Hurricane basketball team to the regular-season American Athletic Conference championship this season, while Sadehaven was an integral member of Tulsa’s AAC and Midwest Regional Champions and the fifth-place finishing team at the NCAA Championships.
A Top-10 Freshman in 2018-19, Paul, a starting offensive lineman for the Tulsa football team, has been extremely involved in campus activities and community outreach, including serving as a University Ambassador. Hunter serves as Tulsa’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President, while spending time each week reading to students at Kendall-Whittier Elementary School.
Hunter and softball student-athlete Kassidy Scott were recognized as the Warren Garrison Academic Excellence Award-Winners, presented in honor of TU’s first academic advisor and given to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative grade point average.
Scott, a transfer from Texas Tech, has a 4.0 GPA in exercise sports science. Although a sophomore athletically, Hunter graduates this spring after three years with a 3.84 GPA in computer science.
The Wilson Holloway “Ultimate Service” Award was established in order to recognize the efforts of student support staff for service to teams and student-athletes. This year’s winner was football equipment manager Blake Browning. Browning’s football career was cut short due to injury, but he kept close to the sport while going above-and-beyond as a team manager for the Golden Hurricane football team.
In December 1989, Tulsa football All-America receiver Dan Bitson’s life was altered when his automobile was struck head-on just a mile from campus. His unlikely return to the football field in 1991 was inspirational to many and remains an inspiration to Tulsa student-athletes today with the establishment of the Dan Bitson Courage Award.
The Courage award is presented annually to the TU student-athlete who exemplifies courage, perseverance and tenacity for overcoming adversity. Football student-athlete Cristian Williams was this year’s winner of the Dan Bitson Courage Award.
In the fall of 2018, Williams was diagnosed with an Arnold Chiari Type 1 malformation (a fluid-filled cyst commonly known as a syrinx) and was immediately sidelined from the sport. He never thought that he would play again but Williams underwent cervical decompression surgery in the winter of 2019, and returned to the field for the 2019 season.
The Faculty Athletic Board Classroom Grit Award, which recognizes one female and one male graduating senior student-athlete who has faced the rigors of TU classes with extraordinary commitment and effort, went to Lindsey Smith from rowing and football’s Robert Revels III .
Smith will graduate in the summer with a degree in organizational studies and minor in art, while Revels, although returning for the 2020 football season, graduates this May with his organizational studies degree and a minor in sports administration.
Each year, Tulsa student-athletes have the opportunity to select the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Faculty Member of the Year Award.
This year’s award goes to Spanish Professor Elsa Plumlee.
2019-20 SPECIAL AWARDS
Ultimate Team Members
(Awarded to student-athletes based on academic success, campus involvement, community outreach and athletic participation)
- Martins Igbanu, Men’s Basketball, Senior
- Caitlin Klopfer, Women’s XC/Track, RS-Junior
- Reed Sadehaven, Men’s XC/Track, RS-Junior
- Chris Paul, Football, Sophomore
- Daniela Fusco-House, Rowing, Senior
- Rooks Hunter, Men’s Soccer, Sophomore
- Martina Okalova, Women’s Tennis, Senior
- Vera Ploner, Women’s Tennis, Senior
- Taylor Horsfall, Volleyball, Senior
- Mariah Pardo, Volleyball, Senior
Dan Bitson Courage Award
(Presented to the TU student-athlete who exemplifies courage, perseverance and tenacity for overcoming adversity)
- Cristian Williams, Football
Faculty Athletic Board Classroom Grit Award
(Awarded to one male and one female graduating senior student-athlete who has faced the rigors of TU classes with extraordinary commitment and effort)
- Robert Revels III, Football
- Lindsey Smith, Rowing
Wilson Holloway Ultimate Service Award
(Recognizes the efforts of student support staff for service to the teams and student-athletes)
- Blake Browning, Football equipment
Warren Garrison Academic Excellence Award
(Presented to male and female senior student-athlete, academically, who has maintained the highest cumulative GPA)
- Male – Rooks Hunter, Soccer
- Female – Kassidy Scott, Softball
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Faculty Member of the Year Award
(Selected by the TU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee)
- Elsa Plumlee, Spanish Professor
2019-20 INDIVIDUAL SPORT
AWARD WINNERS
Men’s Basketball
- Offensive Player of the Year – Martins Igbanu
- Co-Defensive Player of the Year – Darien Jackson, Brandon Rachal
Women’s Basketball
- Offensive Player of the Year – Kendrian Elliott
- Defensive Player of the Year – KK Rodriguez
Cross-Country
- Female Athlete of the Year – Caitlin Klopfer
- Male Athlete of the Year – Peter Lynch
Football
- Co-Offensive Player of the Year – Keylon Stokes, Shamari Brooks
- Co-Defensive Player of the Year – Trevis Gipson, Reggie Robinson II
- Special Teams Player of the Year – Thomas Bennett
Women’s Golf
- Golfer of the Year – Lorena Tseng
Women’s Rowing
- Co-Most Valuable Rower – Sarolta Papp
- Co-Most Valuable Rower – Veronique Ulrich
Men’s Soccer
- Offensive Player of the Year – Harris Partain
- Defensive Player of the Year – Mitchell Cashion
Women’s Soccer
- Offensive Player of the Year – Valiree Morris
- Defensive Player of the Year – Reagan Whitlow
Softball
- Offensive Player of the Year – Alexis Perry
- Defensive Player of the Year – Samantha Pochop
Men’s Tennis
- Most Valuable Player – Kody Pearson
Women’s Tennis
- Most Valuable Player – Martina Okalova
Track & Field
- Men’s Indoor Athlete of the Year – Patrick Dever
- Women’s Indoor Athlete of the Year – Carsyn Spurgeon
Volleyball
- Offensive Player of the Year – Callie Cook
- Defensive Player of the Year – Taylor Horsfall