Flushing, N.Y.- The City University of New York Athletic Conference announced its 2023-2024 Scholar-Athletes of the Year at the 37th Annual Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner at Terrace on the Park. Among the honorees was Cooper Moran, of Hunter College, who was named the Senior College Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Cooper Moran has had an impactful and impressive three seasons with the Hawks, both on and off the court. He is a three-year captain of the team and, as a setter, has appeared in 72 matches, contributing over 2,180 assists, 338 digs, and 110 blocks. Off the court, Cooper majors in human biology with a minor in music on the pre-med track, maintaining a 3.81 cumulative GPA. He has been named to the Dean's List in every semester at Hunter. Cooper also serves as the Vice President of SAAC and has conducted nano-science research at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center. In addition, Cooper Earned the prestigious Golden Hawk Award at Hunter's award banquet this year. The award is given to one male and one female senior student-athlete with outstanding academic and athletic combined accomplishments during their athletic careers at Hunter College.
In addition, the conference also named three other student-athletes from Hunter as honorable mentions in Sophia Perez, Ryan Lau, and Karina Tan.
Sophia was the Golden Hawk female winner, alongside Moran. She is the team captain of the softballl team and boasts a stellar 3.84 GPA with a major in Biological Science and a minor in Classical Culture and Archeology. On the field, she won the CUNYAC Championship in 2022 and was elected Player of the Week in the same year, as well as earning the title of CUNYAC All-Star. In 2023, She maintained a .342 batting average across her career, tallying 83 hits, 12 doubles, six triples, and three homers, in addition to 33 RBIs. She is a triple threat with her speed, long ball and slap on offense. Furthermore, she holds a .889 fielding percentage with 90 putouts across 79 games as a utility outfielder. Off the field, Sophia serves as the Treasurer of SAAC. She conducted cervical cancer research in under-screened Latinas at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia for over a year and spent last summer as one of only two CUNY students selected for the 2023 HSS Summer Pre-Medical Internship. During this internship, she shadowed orthopedic surgeons and physicians in the clinic and operating room. Additionally, she has volunteered with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at HSS, participating in several events including the Juneteenth Celebration and manning the HSS tent at NYC Pride to continue her battle against healthcare disparities.
Karina is a member of the women's cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field teams contributing to two indoor team championships in 2022 and 2023, three outdoor championships (2022, 2023, 2024) as well as three cross country CUNYAC Championships. Off the field, Karina has maintained a 3.508 GPA as a Human Biology major and a minor African-Puerto Rican-Latino Studies.
Last but not least, Ryan Lau was also honored. He is a five year member and captain of the men's basketball team. Ryan scored his career high, 31 points twice in 2021 against Canton and this season against Medgar Evers. He's scored 661 points including 139 threes with 92 steals and 197 rebounds in his career. Off the court, Ryan is majors in Human Biology while maintaining a 3.128 GPA.
