New York, NY – Hunter College student-athletes were honored on Friday, May 21 for their hard work and dedication throughout the last nine months that spawned three CUNYAC Championships, men's volleyball's third consecutive ECAC Championship, six NCAA Tournament appearances, the program's 20th CUNYAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and countless numbers of All-Stars and postseason award winners at the 40th Annual Hunter Athletics Awards Banquet.

On the academic side, 65 student-athletes were honored for holding a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or better. Also, the women's indoor track & field team was awarded the program's highest overall GPA award along with the most improved GPA ward which is based on the team's final average from last season.

The Purple & Gold Award recognizes the hard work and dedication of an individual who donates their time and energy in helping promote the Hunter College Athletic program. This year's recipient was Vincent Pecora, a Kings College graduate who served as an intern this year, handling various tasks throughout the year that included working as game day staff, working with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and even put in time as the “Hawk”.

Finally, the night was capped off with the 2010 recipients of Hunter Athletics most prestigious honor, the Golden Hawk Award which is given to one male and one female senior student-athlete with outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments during their athletic careers. This year's winners were three-time CUNYAC All-Star and starting midfielder for the men's soccer team, Andreas Kalpaxis and four-time CUNYAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year Evgeniya Kim.

Each of Hunter's 18 varsity team's coaching staffs select a team Most Valuable Performer, Most Improved Performer and a Coach's award winner. The recipient of the Coach's award is a student-athlete who has gained the respect of the coaching staff for either their athletic contributions or for their leadership qualities. The Most Improved Performer award is given to a student-athlete who has made great strides from either the prior season to current or from the beginning to the end of the current season. The Most Valuable Performer is awarded to the student-athlete who has excelled above and beyond for their program. Also, each senior is presented with a plaque that features a full career recap and an action photo of the student-athlete.

List of Award Recipients:

Golden Hawk:
Andreas Kalpaxis – Men's Soccer
Evgeniya Kim – Women's Tennis

Purple & Gold:
Vincent Pecora

Highest & Most Improved Team GPA:
Women's Indoor Track & Field

Recreation Award:
Tom Carboni – Recreation Staff

Team Awards:

Men's Basketball:
MVP – Rocco Rubino
MIP – Mark Courtien
Coaches – Maxwell Dubois

Women's Basketball
MVP – Shay Branch El-Vielot
MIP – Juanita Whyms
Coaches – Johanna Keilwitz

Men's Cross Country
MVP – Luis Cabrera
MIP – Arben Agjir
Coaches – Jose Miranda

Women's Cross Country
MVP – Lizzy Mahoney
MIP – Johanna Keilwitz
Coaches – Natoya Bromfield

Men's Fencing
MVP – Jose Samora, Jr.
MIP – Michael Quackenbush
Coaches – Darin Boodram

Women's Fencing
MVP – Nicole Schirmer
MIP – Stella Shifrin
Coaches – Christina Lio

Men's Indoor Track & Field
MVP – Max Zamor
MIP – Nikoloz Rekhviashvili
Coaches – Joseph Papa

Women's Indoor Track & Field
MVP – Lizzy Mahoney
MIP – Nancy Olisma
Coaches – Jennifer Arozamena

Men's Outdoor Track & Field
MVP – Max Zamor
MIP – Lorenzo Daly
Coaches – Gem Alegre

Women's Outdoor Track & field
MVP – Nancy Olisma
MIP – Melanie Boyce
Coaches – Heidi Rim

Men's Soccer
MVP – Andreas Kalpaxis
MIP – Nico Sowinangoen
Coaches – Oscar Dotti

Softball
MVP – Stephanie Alves
MIP – Lauren Stensland
Coaches – Jackie Frank

Women's Swimming & Diving
MVP – Heather Alvord
MIP – Carla Mendoza
Coaches – Adrienne Baldassno

Men's Tennis
MVP – Yevgeny Perepelov
MIP – Bihn Luu
Coaches – Irving Salazar

Women's Tennis
MVP – Evgeniya Kim
MIP – Ericka Jaramillo
Coaches – Jennifer Kraham

Men's Volleyball
MVP – Chris Newcomb
MIP – John Gemegah
Coaches – Eric Barty

Women's Volleyball
MVP – Christine Luebcke
MIP – Kim Hirten
Coaches – Katina Boutis

Wrestling
MVP – Sean Messina
MIP – James Mustakis
Coaches – Ariel Guerrero